OPM Contract for Credit Monitoring Services Called into QuestionFederalNewsRadio.comJun. 18, 2015 |
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With all the focus on the cyber breach affecting anywhere from 4 million to 14 million current and former federal employees, let's not overlook the simple fact that despite what some would call urgent and compelling needs, the government has rules and regulations that still must be followed. One shining question mark in this discussion is how the Office of Personnel Management went about awarding its contract for credit monitoring services to Winvale/CSID. Several media organizations picked up on the fact that OPM made the $20.1 million award to these companies. But when I looked at the notice on FedBizOpps.gov, several red herrings jumped out. And as I talked to several procurement experts, the questions about whether OPM "wired" the contract to Winvale/CSID only grew. Let's start with the facts: OPM issued the request for quotes on May 28 at 11:33 a.m. with a response date of May 30 at 11:59 p.m. — roughly this RFQ was open for 36 hours. In the 1.5 days the solicitation was on the street, OPM issued three amendments and made the award on June 5 to Winvale Group of $20.7 million for "privacy act incident services." There are several things that, on the surface, make this contract questionable — starting off with the 36-hour turnaround time for the RFQ. Read More |