The period of performance for the BPAs will be for a base period through December 31, 2012.

The Place(s) of Performance will be throughout Region VII, which comprises Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas.

The VHR Contractor for an SSA hearing, before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), is responsible for the delivery of a final product consisting of:

1. Complete, legible and accurate notes, in the Agency provided software format for digital proceedings, summarizing all aspects of hearing testimony and Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) directives at each hearing proceeding before an SSA ALJ;

2. A complete set of proposed and admitted exhibits offered by the claimant on the day of the hearing, along with any background records associated with the record available at the sites; and

3. A complete audible digital recording, on compact Disc (CD) and computer hard drive, of the verbatim record for each hearing proceeding before an SSA ALJ, labeled with the claimant's name, social security number, hearing date and digital recording identification.

All contractors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration database at www.ccr.gov prior to award, and all contractors must undergo a security background screening prior to performance of any work under the BPA.