36C10X22Q0269.docx

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

Department of Veterans Affairs

5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick MD 21703

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contracting Officer: Anne Hicks anne.hicks@va.gov

Contract Specialist: Jennifer Mack jennifer.mack1@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

810 Vermont Ave NW

Suite 1175

Washington, DC

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

General Information Document Type: Combined Solicitation/Synopsis Solicitation Number: 36C10X22Q0269, issued as a Request for Quotes (RFQ) Posted Date: 09/01/2022 Original Response Date: 09/13/2022 Current Response Date: 09/13/2022 Product or Service Code: 7610 Pamphlets/Books Set Aside: N/A/Full and Open NAICS Code: 511120

Contracting Office Address US Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Ave, NW, Suite 1175 Washington, DC 20420

Description This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, “Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items,” as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; “quotations” are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued.

This solicitation is a "request for quotations (RFQ)." The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2022-07. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 511120, with a small business size standard of 1000 employees. The Office of General Counsel, 810 Vermont Ave, NW, Suite 1175 Washington DC 20420, is seeking to purchase multiple online law subscriptions. All responsible sources may submit a response which, if timely received, must be considered by the agency.

All interested companies shall provide quotation(s) for the following contract line items.

Period of Performance:

November 1, 2022-October 31, 2023

CLIN 0001

CLIN 0002

CLIN 0003

CLIN 0004

CLIN 0005

CLIN 0006

CLIN 0007

Period of Performance:

November 1, 2023-October 31, 2024

CLIN 1001

CLIN 1002

CLIN 1003

CLIN 1004

CLIN 1005

CLIN 1006

CLIN 1007

Period of Performance:

November 1, 2024-October 31, 2025

CLIN 2001

CLIN 2002

CLIN 2003

CLIN 2004

CLIN 2005

CLIN 2006

CLIN 2007

Period of Performance:

November 1, 2025-October 31, 2026

CLIN 3001

CLIN 3002

CLIN 3003

CLIN 3004

CLIN 3005

CLIN 3006

CLIN 3007

Period of Performance:

November 1, 2026-October 31, 2027

CLIN 4001

CLIN 4002

CLIN 4003

CLIN 4004

CLIN 4005

CLIN 4006

CLIN 4007

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

LEGAL RESEARCH SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES (LRS)

1.0 BACKGROUND

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) provides legal advice and services to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (SECVA) and all organizational components of the Department. The General Counsel is, by statute 38 U.S.C. §311, the Department’s Chief Legal Officer. OGC serves as VA’s in-house counsel and is committed to ensuring that every member of OGC is focused on how OGC’s work impacts Veterans and has an understanding and commitment to the business priorities of our VA clients many of whom directly serve Veterans. OGC’s attorneys act as business partners, providing sound legal expertise, and as needed, critical problem-solving skills and risk management advice.

To carry out its mission, the legal professionals in OGC need reliable electronic access to online legal research resources. Additionally, other segments of VA also require legal research access to carry out their missions and mandates.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this acquisition is to establish a Decentralized Multiple Award Basic Purchasing Agreements for Legal Research Subscriptions for (LRS) for an estimated number of 1,200 or more users in OGC and various users in VA. While the expected future staffing for OGC is unknown based upon the implantation of the PACT ACT the users’ numbers are subject to change. The resultant decentralized Basic Purchasing Agreements (BPA’s) shall also meet requirements for smaller specialized subscription accounts with access to specific research database repositories and tools which may also be provided for designated users.

Ordering Procedures Individual orders against this BPA will be placed in accordance with FAR 13.3. All individual orders placed incorporate all terms and conditions of the BPA.

Authorized Ordering Officials: All warranted contracting officers and Government Purchase Card holders within the Department of Veterans Affairs are authorized to place orders against this BPA within the limits of their respective authority.

Competition Requirements: Task Orders with an estimated value that exceeds the Simplified Acquisition Threshold will be further competed based on price and any evaluation criteria identified in the RFQ. Task Orders not exceeding the SAT may also be competed.

Preferred Method of Payment: The preferred method of payment under this BPA is the Government Purchase Card, when applicable.

3.0 DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

All services provided shall be inclusive into each individual subscription, accessible with one login for all items.

PRIMARY LEGAL RESEARCH:

VA requires unlimited access to the following legal content for VA users:

3.1.1 Federal, State and Territory Case Law, Court Rules, Statutes, Regulations, and Administrative Agency Materials

3.1.2 Law Reviews and Journals, Treatises, Analytical Content.

3.1.3 Citation format, and resources to assist in correct citation format.

3.1.4 Utilization and ease of identifying related cases.

3.1.5 Legislative research and history tools.

3.1.6 Federal and State bill and regulation tracking, committee reports and hearing transcripts.

3.1.7 Briefs for State and Federal Courts Briefs for State and Federal Courts

3.1.8 Jury verdict research and analysis tool

3.2 DOCKET:

3.2.1 Full searchable federal and state court dockets for all case types including complaints, briefs, motions, and orders.

3.2.2 Coverage including closed cases at least 15 years old.

3.2.3 Includes ability to set alerts.

PUBLIC RECORDS/BACKGROUND CHECKS

Criminal AND Credit Histories

3.3 LEGAL NEWS:

3.4.1 Access to news relating to the practice of law on specific legal topics.

3.5 FEDERAL CONTRACT LAW RESOURCES

3.5.1 Resources specific to contracting and procurement including training resources.

ACCESS AND USER INTERFACE

3.4 AVAILABILITY AND SUPPORT:

3.4.1 The offeror shall provide 24 hour 7 days per week online access and live customer support to VA users.

3.4.2 The offeror shall provide 24/7 telephone assistance for technical and legal research matters. The offeror shall also provide access to online training resources and to web-based training (scheduled in advance).

MENUS & STRUCTURE:

Databases not included in a user’s subscription shall not be visible to the user or the user must receive an indicator that the user is not entitled to that database. Inaccessible databases which a user does not receive an indicator or is made visible to a non-accessible user shall not be charged against the Government. Permissions for access must be received through the Contracting Officer Representative, (COR), or their authorized designee. The Vendor shall coordinate with the COR, or their authorized designees for usernames and passwords.

ACCESS METHOD:

Access shall be direct via web browser 24 hours 7 days. Provide access through the Internet using a web browser acceptable to VA (currently Microsoft Edge and Chrome are acceptable) and single sign-on to all the Vendor’s databases that are accessible online. With single sign-on the user authenticates to the Vendor’s web-based system only and has direct access to the application. The Vendor shall identify the single sign-on protocols that they support in their proposal.

3.5 MAINTAINING RELIABLE ACCESS:

3.5.1 In the event of any access issues due to security or safety of the product website the Vendor shall work with VA’s Office of Information Technology to remedy the issue. If Vendor’s website cannot meet VA’s requirement for safety and security that will be cause for termination for default.

3.5.2 Any issues preventing access to Vendor’s resource for more than 8 hours will constitute adequate basis for termination for default, even after the issue is corrected.

3.5.3 Scheduled website maintenance notification shall be provided to the Government at least seven days in advance. Maintenance shall not be scheduled between 6:00am and 8:00pm Monday through Friday (Eastern Time) excluding Federal Government holidays.

SEARCH AND RETRIEVAL CAPABILITY:

The product shall provide full text search and retrieval functionality that is appropriate for accessing court decisions, statutes, regulations, and other types of documents. The system shall provide the following minimum set of database search facilities:

3.5.4 The search function should be able to operate both in natural language and in controlled (Boolean) language. Boolean search operators equivalent to AND, OR, and AND_NOT.

3.5.5 Proximity search operators that express the nearness of two search terms.

3.5.6 Both infix (e.g., m*n is equivalent to man OR men) and postfix (e.g., litiga*** is equivalent to litigant or litigate) wildcard characters in search terms.

3.5.7 The ability to restrict a search to a specified document segment/field (e.g., court, judge, opinion date, case name, or opinion in a database of court opinion documents).

3.5.8 The ability to recall to the screen the previous search expression entered by the user, modify the expression, and execute the modified search expression, or base a search on the result of a prior search.

3.5.9 The ability to create alerts for new search responsive content for searches.

3.6 CITATORS:

The system shall provide at least two different citator formats – a case history and a general citator. At a minimum, the citatory will apply to all court decision databases. Both the case history citator and the general citator functions as described below shall be provided for all Federal court opinion databases.

3.6.1 A case history citator shall provide case history, through the various appellate levels, on a case-by-case basis. The case history citator shall be updated daily so the most recent appellate action for each active case is available.

3.6.2 A general citator shall provide a more in-depth treatment of each case/opinion than the case history citator. The general citator shall include a comprehensive list of references to each case/decision in other court opinions, law reviews, and other applicable publications. For referencing documents that are presented in a volume/page format (e.g., 315 U.S. 649), the page number on which the primary reference occurs must be presented (e.g., 315 U.S. 649 at page 656 or 315 U.S. 656).

3.6.3 For both citators, the system shall allow the user to request a citator/case history display for a single displayed court decision or to enter the citation of the desired decision. When a citator/case history is displayed, the system shall be capable of presenting the full text of a referencing document included on the display, if that document is available in a database provided by the Vendor.

3.6.4 The product will provide both citators for all non-Federal court opinion databases for which it currently provided citators to other Federal agencies. These databases shall be listed as an Exhibit in their proposal and award.

3.6.5 These products shall allow a user to visually determine the standing of any U.S. court decision with a system of flags or signs that will alert the user of unfavorable treatment.

DOWNLOADING AND EMAIL:

The system shall provide the following capabilities and facilities:

3.6.6 The ability to download in PDF or editable document format, one or more selected documents to a shared drive or the user’s workstation.

3.6.7 Unlimited downloading of retrieved documents at no additional charge, including all PDF formats and Microsoft Word.

3.6.8 The ability to e-mail the following to one or more users (subject to any limitations of the user’s and recipient’s e-mail systems): One or more selected documents, as a single operation; multiple lists of search results; links to selected documents; and citator results.

INITIAL PROVISIONING:

Vendor’s proposal will include a plan for provisioning all OGC users within 10 days of contract award.

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT:

The Vendor shall provide OGC administrators, designated by the COR, with the capability to create and terminate user access online and to manage user access to resources.

3.7 For all delivery orders under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold the method of payment shall be the Government Purchase Card, unless otherwise authorized.

4.0 DELIVERABLES

4.1 ACCESS:

Access to the resource as described above will be provided by the vendor within 10 days of award of the agreement.

4.2 TRAINING:

Initial User training will be scheduled within 10 days of award. All training will be scheduled with OGC post award.

4.3 REPORTS:

4.3.1 The Vendor shall provide monthly reports of use of the resources provided under this contract these reports shall include user’s names and Office/organization within OGC/VA.

4.3.2 The Vendor shall report all instances of downtime on the site to COR identified on each order, with report showing the number of occurrences the resource is unavailable to users. The report should also describe the databases affected and the length of downtime.

5.0 TRAVEL. Not applicable.

6.0 SPECIAL MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS. Not applicable.

7.0 OTHER UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS. Not applicable.

8.0 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE. Department of Veterans Affairs, OGC, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420.

9.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE.

The period of performance is one base period with four option periods as described below:

Base Year: November 1, 2022-October 31, 2023 Option One: November 1, 2023-October 31, 2024

The start date for the Base Period may need to be adjusted to reflect the actual contract award date.

CHANGES TO THE STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

Any changes to this SOW shall be authorized and approved only through written correspondence from the Contracting Officer (CO). A copy of each change will be kept in a project folder along with all other products of the project. Costs incurred by the offeror though the actions of parties other than the CO shall be borne by the offeror.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

The Government is not furnishing any government property to the vendor.

10.0 TERMINATION

VA has the right to terminate at any time (in whole or in part) this BPA in accordance with the termination clause(s) of the resultant award. The Offeror will be paid only for the services rendered up to the point of receiving the termination notice, and then only to the extent that services meet the requirements of the task order.

11.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

The following individuals will be the Government’s points of contact during the performance of this contract:

1. BPA Contracting Officer: Anne Hicks email: anne.hicks@va.gov

2. BPA Contract Specialist: Jennifer Mack email: jennifer.mack1@va.gov

3. BPA COR: Shannon Short email: shannon.shrt@va.gov

4. BPA Alternate COR: Sherrita Dobson email: sherrita.dobson@va.gov

The government will identify additional points of contact in task orders placed under this BPA.

Place of Delivery Address: 810 Vermont Ave, NW, Suite 1175 Washington, DC Postal Code: 20420 Country: United States

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

1. INTRODUCTION

a. All Questions and Quotes shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer via email to Jennifer.Mack2@va.gov and Anne.Hicks@va.gov

b. All questions from contractors regarding this solicitation shall be submitted via email on or before date/time specified on September 7, 2022. Only written questions will be accepted. It is requested that all questions be combined into one Microsoft Word document per contractor.

2. QUOTE FILES

a. Format:

The submission shall be clearly indexed and logically assembled. Each volume shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages of each volume shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date, and solicitation number in the header and/or footer.

Quote page limitations are applicable to this procurement. The table below indicates the maximum page count (when applicable) for each volume of the contractor’s quote. All files will be submitted as a Microsoft Excel (.xls), Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx), or Acrobat (.pdf) file or compatible as indicated in the table. Page size shall be no greater than 8 ½ in. x 11 in. The top, bottom, left and right margins shall be a minimum of 1 in. each. Font size shall be no smaller than 12 points. Times New Roman fonts are required. Characters shall be set at no less than normal spacing and 100% scale. Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size not less than 8-point and may be landscape. Line spacing shall be set at no less than single space. Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. Page numbers, company logos, and headers and footers may be within the page margins ONLY and are not bound by the 12-point font requirement. Footnotes to text shall not be used. The use of hyperlinks in quotes is prohibited.

If the contractor submits annexes, documentation, attachments, or the like, not specifically required by this solicitation, such will count against the contractor’s page limitations unless otherwise indicated in the specific Volume instructions below. Pages in violation of these instructions, either by exceeding the margin, font, or spacing restrictions or by exceeding the total page limit for a particular volume, will not be evaluated. Pages not evaluated due to violation of the margin, font, or spacing restrictions will not count against the page limitations. The page count will be determined by counting the pages in the order they appear in the print layout view.

b. File Packaging:

All the quote files shall not be compressed (zipped). All quote files shall be submitted individually.

c. Content Requirements:

All information shall be confined to the appropriate file. The contractor shall confine submissions to essential matters, sufficient to define the quote and provide an adequate basis for evaluation. Contractors are responsible for including sufficient details, in a concise manner, to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each quote. The titles and page limit requirements for each separate volume are shown in the table below:

3. VOLUME CONTENTS

Contractors shall submit volumes as indicated below.

The following factors will be used to determine technical acceptability:

a. Volume I: Technical

Contractors will be evaluated on the ability to provide a technical capability for each Contract Line item listed. Documents submitted will be used to determine technical acceptability. As a part of the evaluation, the contractor may be required to demonstrate the technical capabilities of the services offered.

b. Volume II: Past Performance

Contractors shall submit a list of 3 contracts (prime contracts, task/delivery orders, and/or major subcontracts) in performance during the past 3 years from the date of issuance of the quote request which are relevant to the efforts required by the blanket purchase agreement. Areas of relevance include all objectives addressed in the PWS. The Government will make the determination of relevance (based on size, scope, and complexity of requirement). The contractor shall provide:

c. VOLUME III: Price

The contractor shall complete and return pricing in accordance with the contract line-item description above. To be considered responsive to this requirement, contractors shall quote and be able to provide all line items.

FACTORS TO BE EVALUATED

A comparative analysis approach will be used to select the contractors to whom the BPAs will be awarded. The Contracting Officer will select the awardees based upon the following evaluation factors:

Non-Price Factors (listed in descending order of importance):

A) Technical B) Past Performance C) Price

Non-Price factors combined are significantly more important than Price.

The following factors will be used to determine technical acceptability:

Factor #1-Technical acceptability of the Item Offered

Contractors will be evaluated on the ability to provide a technical capability for each Contract Line item listed. Documents submitted will be used to determine technical acceptability. As a part of the evaluation, the contractor may be required to demonstrate the technical capabilities of the services offered. All services provided shall be inclusive into each individual subscription, accessible with one login for all items. The government will consider an offer to be non-responsive if the offeror cannot provide a subscription solution that incorporates all line items listed.

Factor #2 – Past Performance

Contractors shall submit a list of 3 contracts (prime contracts, task/delivery orders, and/or major subcontracts) in performance during the past 3 years from the date of issuance of the quote request which is relevant to the efforts required by the task order. Areas of relevance include all objectives addressed in the PWS. The Government will make the determination of relevance (based on size, scope, and complexity of requirement).

The Government is not required to contact all references provided by the contractor. The Government may consider past performance information obtained through other sources that are reasonably available and determined to be relevant.

Factor #3 – Price An evaluative comparison of quoted prices will be conducted.

BASIS FOR BPA ESTABLISHMENT

These BPAs are being competed in accordance with FAR Part 13. The Government intends to establish a minimum of two BPAs because of this solicitation. The actual number of BPAs that will be established will be at the sole discretion of VA.

The VA will establish BPAs with the contractors whose quotes reflect the best value to the Government. In reaching its award selection decision, the VA will conduct a trade-off analysis between Price and non-Price factors (Technical, Past Performance and Price Considerations). Non-Price factors combined are significantly more important than Price. Award may be made to other than the lowest priced contractor(s), if the Government determines that a price premium is warranted due to the merits of one or more of the non-Price factors.

Contents of the written quotes will be evaluated to determine the degree and extent to which the requirements set forth below are satisfied. Each evaluation criterion is critical to the effective accomplishment of the task orders. Therefore, failure to fully meet any material requirement listed below may render a quotation ineligible for BPA establishment.

The award shall be made to the quoter, whose quotation, is determined to represent the best value to the government using comparative analysis. The government will evaluate information based on the following evaluation criteria: (1) technical capability factor meeting or exceeding the requirement listed in Attachment 1, (2) past performance, and (3) price. The government will evaluate information based on the following evaluation criteria:

INITIAL TASK ORDER AWARD

The Government intends to award the initial task with concurrent with BPA establishment.

The Government intends that each BPA holder will receive an initial task order. Contractors are cautioned that if the Government cannot determine an anticipated BPA holder (based on the BPA evaluation) to be the best value awardee under the initial task order (based on the task order evaluation), the Government will not establish a BPA with that contractor.

The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition:

1. FAR 52.212-1, “Instructions to Offerors–Commercial Items” (OCT 2015). See evaluation criteria established above.

2. FAR 52.212-3, “Offerors Representations and Certifications–Commercial Items” (APR 2016)

3. FAR 52.212-4 “Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items”

Offerors must complete annual representations and certifications online at https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1, in accordance with FAR 52.212-3, “Offerors Representations and Certifications–Commercial Items.” If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required.

The following contract clauses apply to this acquisition:

CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

52.203-19 PROHIBITION ON REQUIRING CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS OR STATEMENTS (JAN 2017)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause— Internal confidentiality agreement or statement means a confidentiality agreement or any other written statement that the contractor requires any of its employees or subcontractors to sign regarding nondisclosure of contractor information, except that it does not include confidentiality agreements arising out of civil litigation or confidentiality agreements that contractor employees or subcontractors sign at the behest of a federal agency.

Subcontract means any contract as defined in subpart 2.1 entered by a subcontractor to furnish supplies or services for performance of a prime contract or a subcontract. It includes but is not limited to purchase orders, and changes and modifications to purchase orders.

Subcontractor means any supplier, distributor, vendor, or firm (including a consultant) that furnishes supplies or services to or for a prime contractor or another subcontractor.

(b) The Contractor shall not require its employees or subcontractors to sign or comply with internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting waste, fraud, or abuse related to the performance of a Government contract to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information (e.g., agency Office of the Inspector General).

(c) The Contractor shall notify current employees and subcontractors that prohibitions and restrictions of any preexisting internal confidentiality agreements or statements covered by this clause, to the extent that such prohibitions and restrictions are inconsistent with the prohibitions of this clause, are no longer in effect.

(d) The prohibition in paragraph (b) of this clause does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312 (Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement), Form 4414 (Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement), or any other form issued by a federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.

(e) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, (Pub. L. 113-235), and its successor provisions in subsequent appropriations acts (and as extended in continuing resolutions) use of funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) is prohibited, if the Government determines that the Contractor is not in compliance with the provisions of this clause.

(f) The Contractor shall include the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (f), in subcontracts under such contracts.

52.224-1 PRIVACY ACT NOTIFICATION (APR 1984)

The Contractor will be required to design, develop, or operate a system of records on individuals, to accomplish an agency function subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93-579, December 31, 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and applicable agency regulations. Violation of the Act may involve the imposition of criminal penalties.

(End of Clause)

52.224-2 PRIVACY ACT (APR 1984)

(a) The Contractor agrees to—

(1) Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies—

(i) The systems of records; and

(ii) The design, development, or operation work that the contractor is to perform;

(2) Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals that is subject to the Act; and

(3) Include this clause, including this subparagraph (3), in all subcontracts awarded under this contract which requires the design, development, or operation of such a system of records.

(b) In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the Contractor and any employee of the Contractor is an employee of the agency.

(c) (1) "Operation of a system of records," as used in this clause, means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the system of records, including the collection, use, and dissemination of records.

(2) "Record," as used in this clause, means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains the person's name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint or a photograph.

(3) "System of records on individuals," as used in this clause, means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying assigned to the individual.

(End of Clause)

52.232-18 AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS (APR 1984)

Funds are not presently available for this contract. The Government's obligation under this contract is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this contract and until the Contractor receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.

(End of Clause)

VAAR 852.203-70 COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING (MAY 2018)

The Contractor shall not refer in its commercial advertising to Department of Veterans Affairs contracts in a manner that states or implies the Department of Veterans Affairs approves or endorses the Contractor’s products or services or considers the Contractor’s products or services superior to other products or services.

(End of Clause)

VAAR 852.215-71 EVALUATION FACTOR COMMITMENTS (OCT 2019)

(a) The offeror agrees, if awarded a contract, to use the service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) or veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) proposed as subcontractors in accordance with 852.215–70, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business Evaluation Factors, or to substitute one or more SDVOSBs or VOSBs for subcontract work of the same or similar value.

(b) Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 8127(g), any business concern that is determined by VA to have willfully and intentionally misrepresented a company’s SDVOSB/VOSB status is subject to debarment for a period of not less than five years. This includes the debarment of all principals in the business.

(End of Clause)

VAAR 852.232-72 ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PAYMENT REQUESTS (NOV 2018)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause—

(1) Contract financing payment has the meaning given in FAR 32.001;

(2) Designated agency office means the office designated by the purchase order, agreement, or contract to first receive and review invoices. This office can be contractually designated as the receiving entity. This office may be different from the office issuing the payment;

(3) Electronic form means an automated system transmitting information electronically according to the accepted electronic data transmission methods and formats identified in paragraph (c) of this clause. Facsimile, email, and scanned documents are not acceptable electronic forms for submission of payment requests;

(4) Invoice payment has the meaning given in FAR 32.001; and

(5) Payment request means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment submitted by the contractor under this contract.

(b) Electronic payment requests. Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this clause, the contractor shall submit payment requests in electronic form. Purchases paid with a Government-wide commercial purchase card are an electronic transaction for purposes of this rule, and therefore no additional electronic invoice submission is required.

(c) Data transmission. A contractor must ensure that the data transmission method and format are through one of the following:

(1) VA’s Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment System at the current website address provided in the contract.

(2) Any system that conforms to the X12 electronic data interchange (EDI) formats established by the Accredited Standards Center (ASC) and chartered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

(d) Invoice requirements. Invoices shall comply with FAR 32.905.

(e) Exceptions. If, based on one of the circumstances in this paragraph (e), the Contracting Officer directs that payment requests be made by mail, the Contractor shall submit payment requests by mail through the United States Postal Service to the designated agency office. Submission of payment requests by mail may be required for—

(1) Awards made to foreign vendors for work performed outside the United States;

(2) Classified contracts or purchases when electronic submission and processing of payment requests could compromise the safeguarding of classified or privacy information;

(3) Contracts awarded by contracting officers in the conduct of emergency operations, such as responses to national emergencies;

(4) Solicitations or contracts in which the designated agency office is a VA entity other than the VA Financial Services Center in Austin, Texas; or

(5) Solicitations or contracts in which the VA designated agency office does not have electronic invoicing capability as described above.

(End of Clause)

VAAR 852.270-1 REPRESENTATIVES OF CONTRACTING OFFICERS (JAN 2008)

The contracting officer reserves the right to designate representatives to act for him/her in furnishing technical guidance and advice or generally monitor the work to be performed under this contract. Such designation will be in writing and will define the scope and limitation of the designee's authority. A copy of the designation shall be furnished to the contractor.

(End of Clause)

52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far

(End of Clause)

MANDATORY WRITTEN DISCLOSURES

Mandatory written disclosures required by FAR clause 52.203-13 to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (OIG) must be made electronically through the VA OIG Hotline at http://www.va.gov/oig/contacts/hotline.asp and clicking on "FAR clause 52.203-13 Reporting." If you have trouble accessing the website, call the Hotline at 1-800-488-8244 for further instructions.

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice