GSA awards contract for end-to-end ID card services

The General Services Administration has awarded BearingPoint a $104 million, 5-year contract to provide end-to-end services to agencies seeking to comply with a presidential identification card mandate.

Under the Aug. 17 agreement, BearingPoint will provide integrated products and services to agencies seeking the assistance of GSA's managed service office to comply with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 deadlines.

Under the directive, all federal agencies are required to begin issuing new standardized ID cards to at least some employees and contractors by Oct. 27. Two years from then, all employees and contractors will be expected to have the new cards and use them to access government facilities and computer systems.

Clay Johnson, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement that "GSA has worked hard to ensure that we develop the necessary resources and services to successfully meet the HSPD-12 deadline." Last week's announcement "notes another step in the right direction," he said.

The contract will give agencies a means to pull together the complex set of products and services necessary to enroll employees in the new identity management program. BearingPoint must use products and services -- such as card readers and identity management systems -- that meet government standards.

Currently there are 10 product categories without any certified products to fill them. For some of those, applications have not yet been filed to fill the holes, GSA officials said Friday.

"It is an incredibly aggressive timeline, and we're not going to have a lot of free time in the next couple of months," said Michel Kareis, director of GSA's HSPD 12 program. "We've committed a tremendous amount of our personal time in addition to our business time. The team is quite committed to this."

Kareis said GSA is talking to agencies about signing up for its shared service option. She said several small agencies cannot afford the infrastructure required under HSPD 12.

While GSA's contract with BearingPoint is not the only means by which agencies can comply with the mandate, GSA officials said the more agencies that sign up, the lower the cost will be for each participating agency.

A draft memorandum of understanding provides information to all interested agencies with the costs and other terms of the shared-services program.

Agencies that sign up for the GSA offering will begin enrolling in the new identity system using stations located in Atlanta, Seattle, New York City and Washington, D.C. The Washington enrollment station will primarily target the needs of small agencies, GSA officials said.

A month ago, OMB released a list of certified products and services that meet previously established requirements for HSPD 12. GSA officials said the list is constantly being updated.

Agencies that need help from GSA have until Aug. 30 to order HSPD 12-related services through the Federal Acquisition Service and have until Sept. 22 to order supplies, according to OMB.