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11-06

Procurement Information Circular

September 20, 2011

 FY2012 CR FUNDING AVAILABILITY FOR SEVERABLE ACTIVITY, NOTIFYING CONTRACTORS

 

PURPOSE:  To provide guidance on notification to contractors of funding availability to ensure continuity of severable services funded with the CAS Appropriation.

 

BACKGROUND:  The NASA FY 2011 Appropriation Bill provides that NASA’s Cross-Agency Support Funds (CAS) are limited to a one-year period of availability. The funds will expire on September 30, 2011.  For FY 2011 CAS funds, NASA does not have contractual authority to write contracts across fiscal years for severable services nor fund them across fiscal years.  This limitation means contractors cannot use CAS funds obligated in FY 2011 for performance in FY 2012.  Therefore, the FY 2012 Continuing Resolution (CR) Authority and appropriations process can significantly impact the CAS-funded contracts. 

 

Procurement Information Circular (PIC) 11-04 was issued to describe the preliminary steps contracting officers must take to determine contracts affected by the 2011 CAS funds limitation, and prepare those contracts and contractors for end-of-fiscal-year funding procedures.  This PIC supplements PIC 11-04; the two PICs should be considered jointly in the administration of affected contracts.

 

The Procurement POC template consists of Centers’ procurement focal points who actively participated in the development of this PIC.   

 

GUIDANCE: Notification of funds availability for severable work funded with FY 2012 CAS must be provided to the contractor by the Contracting Officer (CO) using the instruction below.  Notification to contractors shall take place only after the CO receives funding certifications for the FY 2012 CAS appropriation or after the Agency CFO provides authorization to proceed. 

 

Significant CO activities include:

 

  1. If the CR or appropriation is signed before 3:00 PM EDT on September 30, 2011, the Center Funds Control Team will notify contracting officers identified on the Procurement POC template by email, no later than 5:00 PM EDT on September 30, 2011, certifying availability of FY 2012 CR funds.  This notice shall include contract number, funding amounts at the appropriate level within the contract (i.e., contract, project, task order) as well as the number of days for which COs may fund FY 2012 performance.

 

Contracting officers shall then inform contractors that funds are available for performance in FY 2012 using the letter “Notice to Contractors:  FY 2012 CR Funding Availability for Severable Activity” (Enclosure 1 to this PIC).  Centers are authorized to utilize alternative notification methods, consistent with the time available to ensure timely receipt by contractors, including e-mail and fax. The letter shall include dollar amounts authorized and the number of days the contractor is authorized to proceed in FY 2012. This interim method of notification is designed to prevent a break in contract performance until the Government opens its systems on October 1, 2011, and the CO issues a formal funding modification.   Depending upon the language in the CR, multiple interim notifications may be utilized until passage of an appropriations act for FY 2012.

 

  1. If the CR is signed after 3:00PM EDT, but before midnight EDT, on September 30, 2011, the Agency CFO or designee will notify the contracting officers identified on the Procurement POC template that funds are available for specified CAS-funded contracts to continue on October 1, 2011.  Once Contracting Officers receive the notification that funds are available from the Agency CFO or designee, then Contracting Officers shall notify those CAS contractors that they are authorized to proceed to work on October 1, 2011, and that further information will be provided to the contractors on that date.  The Centers have the option to follow the process in paragraph (i) if the CR is signed later than 3:00PM EDT.

 

  1. The Contracting Officers shall work with resource personnel on October 1, 2011 to issue modifications to obligate funds on the CAS contracts identified for funding.  The executed contract modifications shall supersede the letter notifications provided to the contractors (Enclosure 1).  The contracting officer shall include the following statement in the modification: This contract modification supersedes the letter “Notice to Contractors:  FY 2012 CR Funding Availability for Severable Activity,” dated _______.”

 

  1. If the modification described in (iii) cannot be issued by October 1, 2011, Contracting officers shall send (enclosure 1) on October 1, 2011 to those CAS contractors who received an informal notice to proceed permitted in (ii).

 

REFERENCE: Enclosure 1, Notice to Contractors: FY 2012 Funds Availability for Severable Activities.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This PIC is effective as dated and shall remain in effect until cancelled or superseded. 

 

HEADQUARTERS CONTACT:  Michael L. Powers, Office of Procurement, Contract Management Division, (202) 358-2346, email: michael.l.powers@nasa.gov.

      /s/

Ronald Poussard

Director, Contract Management Division

 

Enclosure:

    Notice to Contractors:  FY2012 CR Funding Availability for Severable Activity

 

DISTRIBUTION:

  PIC List

ENCLOSURE 1

Notice to Contractors:  FY 2012 CR Funding Availability for Severable Activity 

 

To:  Your Contractor Name and address here,

Contract No: *

 

By letter dated, I notified you that contract no.__________was potentially impacted by a limitation in NASA’s appropriation authority applicable to fiscal year 2011 Cross Agency Support (CAS) funds.  That communication provided a modification to incorporate FAR clause 52.232-19, Availability of Funds for the Next Fiscal Year and advised you that NASA was not obligated to pay for performance occurring in FY 2012 unless you were advised that FY 2012 funding was available.

 

This is to advise that the FY2012 Appropriation or Continuing Resolution (CR) Authority, allowing NASA to continue to operate after September 30, 2011, has been signed, thereby permitting continued performance under your CAS-funded contract after that date. 

 

In order to minimize breaks in service, you are authorized to continue performance into FY 2012 with the following limitations.  FY 2012 CAS funding, in the amount of $ _________ is presently available for performance under contract ___________, for performance for ______ days. The Government’s obligation for performance of this contract beyond ______days is contingent upon the availability of additional appropriated funds from which payment for contract services can be made.  No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise for performance under this contract beyond _________days until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for performance and until you are notified of funds availability. This authorization to proceed for _______days will be confirmed by contract modification.  Likewise, all future authorizations to proceed, which may occur frequently depending upon the terms of a continuing resolution, will be confirmed by contract modification.

 

If you have any questions please contact the undersigned at ________, or _______________.

 

 

 

Contracting Officer

 

 

*Note to Contracting Officers:  Contracting officers may modify the word “contract” for situations where severability determinations were made below the contract level; i.e., the letter may be modified to reflect the level at which the determination was made and funding is delineated (e.g. task, CLIN, work authorization). REMOVE THIS NOTE BEFORE ISSUING THIS LETTER TO CONTRACTOR.