36C24219R0041.docx

FedBizOpps Sources Sought Notice

CLASSIFICATION CODE

SUBJECT

CONTRACTING OFFICE'S

ZIP-CODE

SOLICITATION NUMBER

RESPONSE DATE (MM-DD-YYYY)

ARCHIVE

DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE

RECOVERY ACT FUNDS

SET-ASIDE

NAICS CODE

CONTRACTING OFFICE

ADDRESS

POINT OF CONTACT

(POC Information Automatically Filled from User Profile Unless Entered)

DESCRIPTION

See Attachment

AGENCY'S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT'S EMAIL

ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

GENERAL INFORMATION

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

* = Required Field FedBizOpps Sources Sought Notice Rev. March 2010 C Renovation of Bldg. 15 CD for Residential Programs at FDR Project Number: 620-18-207 10548-1454 36C24219R0041 02-15-2019 N 541330 Daniel Barone Franklin D. Roosevelt VA Medical Center 2094 Albany Post Road Bldg. 29 Montrose NY 10548-1454 Daniel Barone Daniel.Barone@va.gov Franklin D. Roosevelt VA Medical Center 2094 Albany Post Road Montrose, New York 10548 10548 United States Daniel.Barone@va.gov Daniel Barone - Contract Specialist THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY NOR REIMBURSE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH RESPONDING TO THIS REQUEST. THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a qualified Architect-Engineering (AE) firm to provide Schematics, Design Development, Construction Documents, Technical Specifications, Construction Period Services, Site Visits, Cost Estimates, As-Built Documentation, and all other related information for Project 620-18-207 Renovate Building 15 Second Floor. This Project will provide for a renovation of the second floor to address the increase in demand for residential-centered type living accommodations in Building 15 CD location at the Hudson Valley Health Care System, Montrose Campus, 2094 Albany Post Road, Montrose, NY 10548.

This requirement is being procured in accordance with the Brooks Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. Applicable NAICS code is 541310 and small business size standard of $7.5 Million. Magnitude of Construction is between $1,000,000.00 and $5,000,000.00. This is a 100% Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set Aside. The anticipated award date of the proposed A-E Contract is on or before April 30, 2019. Potential contractors must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov) and visible/certified in Vet Biz (www.vetbiz.gov) at time of submission of their qualifications in order to be considered for an award. As a prospective offeror or bidder for this Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set aside, you are verifying your company meets the status requirements of a VOSB concern as established by 38 CFR Part 74. NOTE - Offerors are referred to 48 CFR 852.219-10(c) (1): “Services (except construction) at least 50 percent of personnel for contract performance will be spent for employees of the concern or employees of other eligible service disabled veteran-owned small business concerns”. In order to assure compliance with this clause, all firms submitting a SF 330 for this Sources Sought Notice are required to indicate what percentage of the cost of contract performance will be expended by the concerns employees and in which discipline(s) and percentage of cost of contract performance to be expended (and in what disciplines) by any other subcontracted or otherwise used small or large business entity(s). Any subcontracted or otherwise business entity(s) used must be identified by name, office location and size/type of business (i.e. SDVOSB, VOSB, 8(a), large, etc).

SCOPE OF SERVICE REQUIRED

PROJECT NO. 620-18-207 Building 15 Renovation.

Provide all Contract Drawings, Specifications and Estimates in accordance with the design submission phases of the renovation of Building 15 CD for Residential programs. The construction documents shall provide sufficient information and detail to illustrate, describe and clearly delineate the design intent of the AE Firm and enable all Contractors to uniformly bid the project.

Provide all construction period services including the review and approval all of product and shop drawing submittals for the project, change orders, and all field site visits & reports. .

This Scope of Work is intended as a guide for the AE to understand the overall basic design requirements of the project and is not intended to identify each specific design component related to code and construction items. The AE shall provide those details during the design phase of the project ensuring that they are in compliance with all applicable codes, regulating authorities, and the guidelines.

Codes required for compliance in this project include but are not limited to:

1. NFPA

2. New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code

3. ADAAG

4. ASHREA

5. NEC

6. AISC

7. ACI

The latest edition of code as of the time of contract being signed shall be used. In addition, any governing requirements that are scheduled to take effect on or before April 30th, 2019 are to be included in the design.

The Architect-Engineering (AE) firm shall be responsible for communication with, submission to, review with, and satisfaction of all necessary reviews with regulatory bodies. There shall be a preliminary engineering report supplied to all governing regulatory agencies with the 95% preliminary submission, and approval of this preliminary report must be received before the 100% preliminary design is considered complete. There shall also be a final engineering report supplied to all governing regulatory agencies with the 65% contract drawing submission, and approval of this preliminary report must be received before the 95% contract drawing design is considered complete. 100% complete contract submission package shall be submitted to the VA 14 days after 95% contract drawing design is approved. The AE firm is responsible for all other submissions required by these agencies for review, and for any corrections or adjustments required as a result of these reviews.

X. LOCATION

This Project will renovate the building 15 CD at the Hudson Valley Health Care System, Montrose Campus, 2094 Albany Post Road, Montrose, NY 10548.

COST RANGE

Estimated Construction Cost Range: Between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000.

TYPE OF CONTRACT CONTEMPLATED

The Department of Veterans Affairs is contemplating awarding a firm fixed price contract.

ESTIMATED START AND COMPLETION DATES

The Department of Veterans Affairs requires design and contract support services. The estimated start and end dates for the design and start and end dates for the construction are as follows:

ITEM DATE

Receive Notice to Proceed from (NTP) TBD

Deliver 100% Preliminary Design 30 calendar days from NTP

100% Preliminary Design Review 40 calendar days from NTP

Deliver 65% Working Drawings 75 calendar days from NTP

65% Design Review 85 calendar days from NTP

Deliver 95% Working Drawings 115 calendar days from NTP

95% Design Review 125 calendar days from NTP

Deliver 100% Working Drawings 160 calendar days from NTP

100% Design Review 180 calendar days from NTP

(a) The A/E shall perform the work required within the limits of the following schedule. Professional architects, engineers and related design disciplines familiar with the work shall be provided, as directed by the Contracting Officer, to attend the VA reviews.

Construction:

Number of calendar days to complete construction is to be determined by the AE firm after the design is complete.

SELECTION CRITERIA/DESCRIPTIONS

The selection criteria descriptions are provided below.

(1) PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS NECESSARY FOR SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE OF REQUIRED SERVICES.

Provide brief resumes of proposed team members who will specifically serve as the Project Managers and Designers of Record. The Designers of Record shall perform and direct the design within their respective discipline and shall sign and seal the drawings. All Designers of Record must be professionally registered in their discipline. Each resume shall include a minimum of two (2) specific completed projects that best illustrate the individual team members experience relevant to this contract scope;

(2) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCE

Specialized experience and technical competence required for this specific project, including, where appropriate, experience in energy conservation, pollution prevention, waste reduction, and the use of recovered materials.

(3) CAPACITY

This factor evaluates the ability of the firm, given their current projected workload and the availability of their key personnel, to accomplish the possible myriad of design projects in the required time.

The general workload and staffing capacity of the design office will be evaluated.

i. List current projects with a design fee of greater than $20,000 being designed in the firms’ office.

ii. Indicate the firms’ present workload and the availability of the project team (including sub-consultants) for the specified contract performance period;

iii. Describe experience in successfully delivering projects per performance schedule, providing timely construction support, and successfully completing multiple projects with similar delivery dates

(4) PAST PERFORMANCE: VISN2 will evaluate past performance on recent and relevant contracts with government agencies (emphasis on VA work) and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, compliance with performance schedules and a record of significant claims against the firm due to improper or incomplete engineering services (references required).

i. Recent is defined as performance occurring within 5 years of the date of this Sources Sought, except that ongoing projects must have begun no less than one (1) year prior to the issuance of this Sources Sought.

ii. Relevancy is defined as performance of work on projects that are similar in scope to the types of projects anticipated under the resultant contracts.

iii. Respondents with no previous past performance shall state this when addressing the selection criteria. Where there is no record of past performance, the proposal will be evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably. Superior performance ratings on relevant projects may be considered more favorably in the evaluation.

Submission Requirements:

i. Submit a minimal of three (3) references; any of the following evaluations are acceptable:

a. Contractor Performance Assessment Report System (CPARS), or

b. Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) evaluation for each project submitted under Criterion 2.

ii. If a completed CPARS evaluation is available, it shall be submitted with the completed SF330 package. If there is not a completed CPARS evaluation, the PPQ included with this notice is provided for the Offeror or its team members to submit for each project included in criterion (2). If a PPQ is submitted, but an official CPARS evaluation is found for that project in government databases, the official evaluation will take precedence. If a CPARS evaluation is not available, ensure correct phone numbers and email addresses are provided for each contract customer/reference. Completed PPQs should be submitted with your SF330. If the A-E is unable to obtain a completed PPQ from a contract customer/reference for a project before the response date set forth in this notice, the A-E should complete and submit with their response the first page of the PPQ (Attachment #1), including contract and point of contact information for the respective projects.

iii. A-Es should follow-up with references to ensure timely submittal of questionnaires. At the reference’s request, questionnaires may be submitted directly to the Governments point of contact, Attn: Daniel Barone, via email at Daniel.Barone@va.gov, prior to the response date. A-Es shall not incorporate by references into their response CPARS or PPQ evaluations previously submitted in response to other A-E services procurements. However, this does not preclude the Government from utilizing previously submitted PPQ information in the past performance evaluation. Submitted CPARS and PPQ evaluations will not be counted as part of the 30 page limitation and shall be attached to the SF330, behind the SF330 Part II document

(5) LOCATION

iv. The A/E Firm proximity to the Franklin D. Roosevelt VA Medical Center, Montrose, New York 10548 is an evaluation criteria.

v. This distance is determined according to http://maps.google.com/

vi. This factor evaluates the distance the AE firm's design office or offices lies from the location of work. Please provide the address (es) and distance of your closest office to the address listed below.

(6) Reputation and standing of the firm and its principal officials with respect to professional performance, General Management, and cooperativeness.

(7) Record of significant claims against the firm because of improper or incomplete architectural and engineering services.

(8) Specific Experience and Qualifications of personnel proposed assignment to the project and their record of working together as a team.

PLEASE NOTE: The AE Evaluation Board must be provided with complete and accurate information for ALL eight (8) evaluation factors above in order to rank as qualified and eligible firms. Therefore, the AE firm must expand upon, as it deems necessary, on any evaluation factor not well demonstrated or addressed with Part 1A to Part IG and Part II of the SF330. The AE firm shall use Part IH and/or use additional sheets to supplement/address all evaluation factors to clearly demonstrate its qualifications.

LIMITATIONS

VA NOTICE OF TOTAL SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE (JUL 2016) (DEVIATION)(a) Definition. For the Department of Veterans Affairs, “Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern or SDVSOB”:(1) Means a small business concern: (i) Not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans or eligible surviving spouses (see VAAR 802.201 Surviving Spouse definition); (ii) The management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans (or eligible surviving spouses) or, in the case of a service-disabled veteran with permanent and severe disability, the spouse or permanent caregiver of such veteran; (i) The business meets Federal small business size standards for the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code identified in the solicitation document; (iv) The business has been verified for ownership and control pursuant to 38 CFR 74 and is so listed in the Vendor Information Pages database, (https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov); and (v) The business will comply with subcontracting limitations in 13 CFR 125.6, as applicable (2) “Service-disabled veteran” means a veteran, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(2), with a disability that is service-connected, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(16). (b) General. (1) Offers are solicited only from verified service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns. Offers received from concerns that are not verified service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns shall not be considered. (2) Any award resulting from this solicitation shall be made to a verified service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern. (c) Agreement. A service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern agrees that in the performance of the contract, the concern will comply with the limitation on subcontracting requirements in 13 CFR §125.6. (d) A joint venture may be considered a service-disabled veteran owned small business concern if the joint venture complies with the requirements in 13 CFR 125.15, provided that any reference therein to SDVO SBC is to be construed to apply to a VA verified SDVOSB as appropriate. (e) Any service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern (non-manufacturer) must meet the requirements in FAR 19.102(f) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation to receive a benefit under this program.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Qualified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms are required to submit two (3) hard copies of the SF 330 (which can be downloaded from www.gsa.gov/forms ) and one (1) Compact Disc (CD) which contains digital copies of the SF 330. All packages shall be submitted no later than February 15, 2019 including Past Performance (CPARS) evaluations or Questionnaires (attachment 1). All submittals must be sent to the attention of Daniel Barone, 2094 Albany Post Road, Building 29, Montrose, New York 10548.

The submission must include an insert detailing the following information:

The Contracting Officer is not responsible for not receiving submissions due to the offeror misaddressing the package or illegibility of the information. NOTE: Any request for assistance with submission or other procedural matters shall be submitted via email only to Daniel Barone telephone inquiries will not be honored.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY NOR REIMBURSE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH RESPONDING TO THIS REQUEST. THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

A/E SERVICES FOR RENOVATION OF

BUILDING 15 CD FOR RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS

AT FDR

PROJECT 620-18-207

STATEMENT OF WORK

Background

The current trend for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) is to provide “Patient-Centered Healthcare” and this transition includes the design and planning of on-site housing facilities for Veterans. To accomplish this, the Small House Model was developed to address the predicted increase in demand for additional facilities, and to reflect the VA’s goal to improve healthcare for Veterans. The FDR Campus has been identified as a facility for the construction of this Residential-Centered type of living accommodations, and Building 15 CD will be renovated to accomplish this.

Objectives

Objective of the acquisition is for the planning, design and construction management for the renovation of Building 15 to provide living accommodations for Veterans. Supplementary to current technical manuals, codes, and other VA criteria, The Small House Model Design Guide is intended to provide the standards to the AE for the baseline of this renovation.

Period of Performance

The period of performance for design shall be 180 days from Notice to Proceed. The period of performance for construction phase services shall be 450 days from the Construction Contractor’s Notice to Proceed.

Place of Performance / Place of Delivery

The place of performance for this contract is VA Hudson Valley Healthcare Montrose, NY.

Scope or Tasks (for services)

Provide A/E Services which outlines the Design submission phase services and Construction phase services requirements for the renovation of Building 15 CD for Residential Programs at FDR.

Design Submission Phase Services:

This project includes the review and field verification for completeness of existing record drawings and other contract documents for preparation of new As-built drawings. The AE shall then utilize the new As-built drawings to develop a new set of Contract documents (Drawings and Specifications), meet with client for any equipment layout modifications in order to complete the project design.

Perform work specified herein and comply with the VA’s Small House Model Design Guide, applicable design guides, regulations, procedures and conditions for work at the medical center and any applicable codes as per requirements of all governing agencies within and outside of the VA requirements.

Work shall include:

Design Submission Phase Services (including but not limited to):

a.) Review and verify the completeness of the GVA supplied existing As-Built drawings and construction documents associated with Building 15 CD.

b.) Prepare As-Built drawings based on the existing VA supplied information along with the field verification process as identified in VA guidance documents.

c.) Provide a design narrative/analysis for each technical discipline (e.g. architectural, mechanical, fire protection, etc.) which describes the intent of each discipline with schematic and/or design development submission.

d.) Prepare contract drawings and specifications to address but not limited to anticipated Asbestos, Lead, PCB’s or other Environmental hazardous abatement within the renovation work areas.

e.) Provide computations and sizing calculations for electrical, mechanical (HVAC, plumbing and steam), sanitary, structural and fire protection designs in accordance with VA guidance documents. For computerized calculations, submit complete and clear documentation of computer programs, interpretation of input/output and description of program procedures.

f.) Provide individually packaged drawings for each submission to each unit specified in the “Distribution of A/E Materials” in PG-18-15 Volume C.

g.) Prepare contract drawings and specifications to address the design requirements for the latest VA guidance documents for Community Living Center/Small House Model Design Guide.

h.) Provide Commissioning services for Electrical, Fire Protection and HVAC systems. The Commissioning agent (CA) shall be a third party entity, shall be a Professional Engineer (PE) experienced, certified and approved by the VA COR.

i.) Provide design services of a CIH for Asbestos, Lead, PCB’s or other hazardous environmental tasks as outlined in the Supplement B.

Construction Phase Services (including but not limited to):

a.) Provide contractor construction shop drawings, specifications, review requirements and other items is accordance with VA guidance documents.

b.) Answer questions from prospective bidders about the project design.

c.) Review contractor’s submittals to ensure items are in accordance with VA construction documents.

d.) Conduct periodic construction site inspection services as defined in construction documents. The A/E will submit a survey report summarizing the conditions found at the construction site to the VA as a result of the site visit.

e.) Review change orders/contract modifications as needed to assist in remedy, for appropriateness, feasibility, etc.; provide detailed itemized cost estimates for the increase/decrease of amounts.

f.) Develop and perform punch list items in accordance with contract documents for project close out.

g.) Develop and provide final As-Built drawings, specifications and construction documents in accordance with relevant VA construction criteria, guidance manuals and procedures.

h.) Provide services of a Project Monitor for Asbestos and Lead which shall include Air monitoring during Construction Period services. The Project Monitor shall be independent of the CIH firm that was involved in the design phase and have no affiliations with each other.

Government-Furnished Property, Material, Equipment, or Information (GFP, GFM, GFE, or GFI)

The A/E firm will be furnished with paper copies of any available utility drawings for the areas included in the area of work.

Security Requirements

The AE firm shall obtain day passes for any site visits from the police station. If personnel from the AE firm are expected to be on site more than five (5) days (cumulative) during the design, they shall file paperwork to obtain a permanent ID for the station. Necessary paperwork can be obtained from the COR.

Contractor’s staff is required to conform to VHA’s security and privacy requirements as described below.

All contractor personnel must have in their possession for inspection by VA Police Department a valid state or government issued identification such as drivers’ license or passport.

Personnel may be required to surrender their ID to the VA Police to obtain a temporary day pass at the discretion of VA Police. ID will be returned upon leaving US Government property.

The C&A requirements do not apply and that the Security Accreditation Package is not required.

The AE personnel who intend to take photos must inform the COR, at least 48 hours ahead to time, of such intentions.

Safety Codes / Certification / Licensing

The AE firm shall comply with all codes as described above, as well as codes customarily applied in VA construction jobs such as NFPA fire code, OSHA, VA Design Guides, etc. Labs used by the AE firm shall be licensed as required by any applicable governing agencies, and their certifications and licenses shall be included in the engineering reports.

Travel

No travel as a result of this project is anticipated.

Special Material Requirements

No special materials are anticipated for this contract.

Any Other Requirements unique to the solicitation.

None

VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY LANGUAGE FOR INCLUSION INTO CONTRACTS, AS APPROPRIATE

1. GENERAL

Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

2. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

b. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness.

d. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor.

e. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor’s employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

3. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

b. The C&A requirements do not apply, and that a Security Accreditation Package is not required.

c. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

d. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

e. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

f. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

h. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

i. The contractor/subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA’s prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response.

l. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COTR.

5. INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, OR USE

h. Bio-Medical devices and other equipment or systems containing media (hard drives, optical disks, etc.) with VA sensitive information must not be returned to the vendor at the end of lease, for trade-in, or other purposes. The options are:

(1) Vendor must accept the system without the drive;

(2) VA’s initial medical device purchase includes a spare drive which must be installed in place of the original drive at time of turn-in; or

(3) VA must reimburse the company for media at a reasonable open market replacement cost at time of purchase.

(4) Due to the highly specialized and sometimes proprietary hardware and software associated with medical equipment/systems, if it is not possible for the VA to retain the hard drive, then;

(a) The equipment vendor must have an existing BAA if the device being traded in has sensitive information stored on it and hard drive(s) from the system are being returned physically intact; and

(b) Any fixed hard drive on the device must be non-destructively sanitized to the greatest extent possible without negatively impacting system operation. Selective clearing down to patient data folder level is recommended using VA approved and validated overwriting technologies/methods/tools. Applicable media sanitization specifications need to be pre- approved and described in the purchase order or contract.

(c) A statement needs to be signed by the Director (System Owner) that states that the drive could not be removed and that (a) and (b) controls above are in place and completed. The ISO needs to maintain the documentation.

6. SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

a. The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access.

b. To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/subcontractor’s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the contractor/subcontractor considers relevant.

c. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement.

d. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

7. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH

a. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract.

b. The contractor/subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a “security incident” as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

c. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following:

(1) Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access);

(2) Description of the event, including:

(a) Date of occurrence;

(b) data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code;

(3) Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;

(4) Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

(5) Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text;

(6) Amount of time the data has been out of VA control;

(7) The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons);

(8) Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any;

(9) Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals;

(10) Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy Incidents, as appropriate; and

(11) Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised.

d. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

(1) Notification;

(2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

(3) Data breach analysis;

(4) Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;

(5) One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and

(6) Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs.

8. SECURITY CONTROLS COMPLIANCE TESTING

On a periodic basis, VA, including the Office of Inspector General, reserves the right to evaluate any or all of the security controls and privacy practices implemented by the contractor under the clauses contained within the contract. With 10 working-day’s notice, at the request of the government, the contractor must fully cooperate and assist in a government-sponsored security controls assessment at each location wherein VA information is processed or stored, or information systems are developed, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA, including those initiated by the Office of Inspector General. The government may conduct a security control assessment on shorter notice (to include unannounced assessments) as determined by VA in the event of a security incident or at any other time.

9. TRAINING

a. All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

(1) Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

(2) Successfully complete the “VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior FY12 – Print” training and annually complete required security training. The training is accessible on https://www.tms.va.gov/plateau/user/login.jsp

(3) Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the contracting officer for inclusion in the solicitation document – e.g., any role-based information security training required in accordance with NIST Special Publication 800-16, Information Technology Security Training Requirements.]

b. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COTR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

c. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.

CONTRACTOR RULES OF BEHAVIOR

This User Agreement contains rights and authorizations regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This User Agreement covers my access to all VA data whether electronic or hard copy ("Data"), VA information systems and resources ("Systems"), and VA sites ("Sites"). This User Agreement incorporates Rules of Behavior for using VA, and other information systems and resources under the contract.

1. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ALL ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES UNDER THE CONTRACT:

a. I understand and agree that I have no reasonable expectation of privacy in accessing or using any VA, or other Federal Government information systems.

b. I consent to reviews and actions by the Office of Information & Technology (OI&T) staff designated and authorized by the VA Chief Information Officer (CIO) and to the VA OIG regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the VA. These actions may include monitoring, recording, copying, inspecting, restricting access, blocking, tracking, and disclosing to all authorized OI&T, VA, and law enforcement personnel as directed by the VA CIO without my prior consent or notification.

c. I consent to reviews and actions by authorized VA systems administrators and Information Security Officers solely for protection of the VA infrastructure, including, but not limited to monitoring, recording, auditing, inspecting, investigating, restricting access, blocking, tracking, disclosing to authorized personnel, or any other authorized actions by all authorized OI&T, VA, and law enforcement personnel.

d. I understand and accept that unauthorized attempts or acts to access, upload, change, or delete information on Federal Government systems; modify Federal government systems; deny access to Federal government systems; accrue resources for unauthorized use on Federal government systems; or otherwise misuse Federal government systems or resources are prohibited.

e. I understand that such unauthorized attempts or acts are subject to action that may result in criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. This includes penalties for violations of Federal laws including, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. §1030 (fraud and related activity in connection with computers) and 18 U.S.C. §2701 (unlawful access to stored communications).

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f. I agree that OI&T staff, in the course of obtaining access to information or systems on my behalf for performance under the contract, may provide information about me including, but not limited to, appropriate unique personal identifiers such as date of birth and social security number to other system administrators, Information Security Officers (ISOs), or other authorized staff without further notifying me or obtaining additional written or verbal permission from me.

g. I understand I must comply with VA’s security and data privacy directives and handbooks. I understand that copies of those directives and handbooks can be obtained from the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR). If the contractor believes the policies and guidance provided by the COTR is a material unilateral change to the contract, the contractor must elevate such concerns to the Contracting Officer for resolution.

h. I will report suspected or identified information security/privacy incidents to the COTR and to the local ISO or Privacy Officer as appropriate.

2. GENERAL RULES OF BEHAVIOR

a. Rules of Behavior are part of a comprehensive program to provide complete information security. These rules establish standards of behavior in recognition of the fact that knowledgeable users are the foundation of a successful security program. Users must understand that taking personal responsibility for the security of their computer and the information it contains is an essential part of their job.

b. The following rules apply to all VA contractors. I agree to:

(1) Follow established procedures for requesting, accessing, and closing user accounts and access. I will not request or obtain access beyond what is normally granted to users or by what is outlined in the contract.

(2) Use only systems, software, databases, and data which I am authorized to use, including any copyright restrictions.

(3) I will not use other equipment (OE) (non-contractor owned) for the storage, transfer, or processing of VA sensitive information without a VA CIO approved waiver, unless it has been reviewed and approved by local management and is included in the language of the contract. If authorized to use OE IT equipment, I must ensure that the system meets all applicable 6500 Handbook requirements for OE.

(4) Not use my position of trust and access rights to exploit system controls or access information for any reason other than in the performance of the contract.

(5) Not attempt to override or disable security, technical, or management controls unless expressly permitted to do so as an explicit requirement under the contract or at the direction of the COTR or ISO. If I am allowed or required to have a local administrator account on a government-owned computer, that local administrative account does not

VA HANDBOOK 6500.6

MARCH 12, 2010

APPENDIX D

VA HANDBOOK 6500.6

MARCH 12, 2010

APPENDIX D

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Page 1 of D- Page 1 of confer me unrestricted access or use, nor the authority to bypass security or other controls except as expressly permitted by the VA CIO or CIO's designee.

(6) Contractors’ use of systems, information, or sites is strictly limited to fulfill the terms of the contract. I understand no personal use is authorized. I will only use other Federal government information systems as expressly authorized by the terms of those systems. I accept that the restrictions under ethics regulations and criminal law still apply.

(7) Grant access to systems and information only to those who have an official need to know.

(8) Protect passwords from access by other individuals.

(9) Create and change passwords in accordance with VA Handbook 6500 on systems and any devices protecting VA information as well as the rules of behavior and security settings for the particular system in question.

(10) Protect information and systems from unauthorized disclosure, use, modification, or destruction. I will only use encryption that is FIPS 140-2 validated to safeguard VA sensitive information, both safeguarding VA sensitive information in storage and in transit regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the VA.

(11) Follow VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization to protect VA information. I will contact the COTR for policies and guidance on complying with this requirement and will follow the COTR's orders.

(12) Ensure that the COTR has previously approved VA information for public dissemination, including e-mail communications outside of the VA as appropriate. I will not make any unauthorized disclosure of any VA sensitive information through the use of any means of communication including but not limited to e-mail, instant messaging, online chat, and web bulletin boards or logs.

(13) Not host, set up, administer, or run an Internet server related to my access to and use of any…