Attachment 5 - Dept of State 19AQMM22R0012 Individual NMR Waiver.pdf

All SBA programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. 1

Office of Government Contracting and Business Development | 409 3rd Street SW | Washington DC 20416

August 23, 2022

VIA EMAIL: DicksonMS@state.gov

Mr. Michael Dickson

Branch Chief/Contracting Officer

1200 Wilson Blvd., 11th Floor Arlington, VA 22009

RE: Solicitation Identification No: 19AQMM22R0012

Dear Mr. Dickson:

On August 19, 2022, the Department of State (DOS) submitted a revised request to the U.S. Small

Business Administration (SBA) for an individual waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule (NMR) for the purchase of Radio Repeaters in five (5) different configurations. The applicable North American

Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334220 (Radio and Television

Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing) and the estimated value of this procurement is $36M.

The waiver of the NMR on an individual procurement is provided for in section 8(a)(17) of the Small

Business Act, 15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(17), and section 121.406(b)(5) of title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 13 C.F.R. § 121.406(b)(5). At a minimum, an individual NMR waiver request must include the specific item to be waived, why the specific item is required, the proposed solicitation number, the NAICS code, the dollar amount of the procurement, a brief statement of the procurement history, and a Statement of Work (for contracts expected to exceed $500,000). 13 C.F.R. § 121.1204(b)(1).

In addition, the contracting officer must provide a determination that no small business manufacturer can reasonably be expected to offer the product(s) required under the solicitation.

This determination must be supported by a narrative of market research and supporting documentation. 13 C.F.R. § 121.1204(b)(1)(iii).

mailto:DicksonMS@state.gov

All SBA programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. 2

According to your submission, the DOS plans to procure Repeaters conforming to very specific technical requirements. The DOS has indicated that the technical requirements for the Repeaters are needed in order to support its worldwide Emergency & Evacuation and Emergency Action

Committee radio networks. Although the DOS did not identify any small business that manufactures the required Repeaters, it did identify several women-owned small business resellers or distributors that can provide the required Repeaters.

As the DOS has demonstrated that no small business can meet the specifications of the contract as a manufacturer, an individual waiver is appropriate in this instance. This individual waiver applies to this one-time award only and does not apply to modifications to the scope of the contract or other procurement actions. Modifications determined by the contracting officer to be within the scope of the contract will require an additional waiver. 13 C.F.R. § 121.1203(b). Please note that if this contract has option periods each option period will require submission of a new waiver request and in no case shall a waiver be valid for more than five years. In addition, this waiver must be published with the solicitation so that potential offerors are aware of the waiver and the specific product(s) covered.

The effect of this waiver is to allow an otherwise qualified small business to supply the product of an other-than-small manufacturer or processor on this intended women-owned small business set-aside contract. However, it must be emphasized that this waiver of the NMR does not waive other legal requirements applicable to Government procurements, such as the Buy American Act and the

Trade Agreements Act.

Please also note that this individual waiver is effective for the duration of the contract and must be used within one year of issuance. Please inform the SBA of the date you enter a contract using the waiver, the contract number, and the actual dollar value of the contract. Should you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact Susan Bergeron of my staff at

(207) 622-8554 or Susan.Bergeron@sba.gov.

Sincerely, For

Wallace D. Sermons, II Acting Director

Office of Government Contracting mailto:Susan.Bergeron@sba.gov