Social Security Administration Awarded a Contract to SHERI PRUITT for $250,000.00

Summary of Award

The JSON dataset from usaspending.gov details a recent contract awarded by the United States federal government to an individual recipient named Sheri Pruitt. This contract is categorized under a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), with the primary objective of providing vocational expert witnesses to the Social Security Administration (SSA). These experts are essential for hearings before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) when claimants appeal the denial of specific benefits administered by the SSA.

**Overview of the Agreement:**

The contract identified by the unique award ID "CONT_IDV_28321325AV0440032_2800" falls under the vocational rehabilitation services category, as indicated by its NAICS code 624310. The BPA serves as a framework for organizing multiple purchases without the need for individual procurement processes for each purchase, effectively simplifying the acquisition of necessary services. The principal product or service code (PSC) associated with this award is R424, which denotes support of a professional nature, specifically pertaining to expert witnesses. The contract outlines an overall value ceiling of $250,000, reflecting the maximum expenditure the SSA anticipates over the course of the agreement's lifetime. Notably, no obligations or outlays have been recorded up to the current point, suggesting that financial transactions or payments are yet to commence or are managed through a separate reporting process. The identified period of performance for the contract extends from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2030, suggesting a strategic five-year window during which Sheri Pruitt will provide her expert witness services as required. **Role of the Social Security Administration:** The Social Security Administration acts both as the awarding and funding agency. The SSA is a principal agency within the U.S. government tasked with providing a wide network of social security and disability benefits. The SSA oversees the adjudication and appeal processes related to benefits denials, where vocational expert witnesses such as Sheri Pruitt play a crucial role in determining the vocational capacities of claimants appealed against their benefit adjustments. **Recipient Profile:** Sheri Pruitt is classified under several business categories, highlighting her status as an economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business, a self-certified disadvantaged business, and a sole proprietorship. These distinctions are significant: they reflect both the diversity and the small-business-friendly procurement strategies of federal agencies like the SSA, which seek to empower minority and disadvantaged businesses through targeted opportunities. Pruitt’s business is based in Henderson, Tennessee, a small city within Chester County. As a provider of vocational rehabilitation services, her business contributes to a specialized field, ensuring that expert witness testimonies align with vocational standards and regulatory compliance. **Transactions and Financial Details:** The transactions listed within the dataset are minimal in terms of financial movement at present. Two transactions are recorded: one on February 28, 2025, and another on April 10, 2025. Both reflect a transaction amount of zero dollars, indicating that neither the disbursement of funds nor the initiation of payment has been executed as of those dates. It's crucial to note that such initial transactions may serve to establish the foundational administrative processes required to activate the BPA. The absence of immediate financial transactions may be typical in the initial phases of contract execution, where the primary focus is on setting up the mechanisms that will later facilitate service delivery and subsequent payments. **Contractual and Financial Implications:** The BPA approach underlines a fixed-cost model (firm fixed price), providing predictability in expenditure and financial obligations for the SSA. This contracting method aligns well with projects where the scope and deliverables are defined and expected to remain stable over the contract’s duration. This structure ensures that both the SSA and Pruitt, as the recipient, have clearly delineated expectations. A single-award BPA signifies exclusivity to Sheri Pruitt regarding the provision of these specific expert vocational services, streamlining processes and potentially enhancing efficiency by focusing resources and communications through a single provider. **Strategic Importance:** Contracts such as this not only illustrate the SSA’s commitment to fair adjudicative processes but also reflect broader governmental strategies to inclusively involve smaller, disadvantaged, and minority-owned businesses in federal procurement processes. Such initiatives are pivotal in fostering economic growth across diverse communities and ensuring that the services delivered by these businesses meet the specialized needs inherent to many federal programs. While the full picture of the contract’s execution remains to be realized, this BPA serves as a critical component of the SSA’s operational architecture, emphasizing the importance of expert testimony in the fair and just administration of social benefits. Accordingly, the involvement of professionals like Sheri Pruitt underscores the essential role of vocational expertise in upholding the integrity and accuracy of social security determinations.