TWIC vendor competition modified

TWIC vendor competition modified    The Transportation Security Administration has temporarily scaled back its pending contract solicitation to support deployment of a universal identification card with embedded biometric authentication to control access for workers at U.S. ports.
   The agency on Friday posted a notice on a federal procurement portal that it plans to issue a contract for managing enrollment and a customer help call center for an estimated 850,000 maritime transportation workers, including truckers and longshoremen, applying for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential. The pre-solicitation for vendors to submit their qualifications for the job does not include a requirement to run the identification management system, or worker database, that will be the foundation of the system, as TSA had previously announced in late March.
   TSA said companies have until April 28 to submit their qualification statements, and that a request for proposals will be issued by May 22 to firms that are capable of performing the work. The Department of Homeland Security agency previously said it planned to issue a comprehensive bid request by May 8.
   DHS officials promised Congress in March that they have made rapid deployment of the much-maligned and delayed TWIC program a top priority, but the modified contracting process indicates short-term delays are still to be expected.
   The TSA and Coast Guard must still issue a rulemaking making use of the cards mandatory and detailing how the program will work.
   TSA officials say they plan to begin issuing cards in the first quarter of 2007.