36C24923Q0446_1.docx

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1. REQUISITION NO.

2. CONTRACT NO.

3. AWARD/EFFECTIVE DATE

4. ORDER NO.

5. SOLICITATION NUMBER

6. SOLICITATION ISSUE DATE

a. NAME

b. TELEPHONE NO. (No Collect Calls)

8. OFFER DUE DATE/LOCAL

TIME

9. ISSUED BY

CODE

10. THIS ACQUISITION IS

UNRESTRICTED OR

SET ASIDE:

% FOR:

SMALL BUSINESS

HUBZONE SMALL

BUSINESS

SERVICE-DISABLED

VETERAN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS

(WOSB) ELIGIBLE UNDER THE WOMEN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM

EDWOSB

8(A)

NAICS:

SIZE STANDARD:

11. DELIVERY FOR FOB DESTINA-

TION UNLESS BLOCK IS

MARKED

SEE SCHEDULE

12. DISCOUNT TERMS

13a. THIS CONTRACT IS A

RATED ORDER UNDER

DPAS (15 CFR 700)

13b. RATING

14. METHOD OF SOLICITATION

RFQ

IFB

RFP

15. DELIVER TO

CODE

16. ADMINISTERED BY

CODE

17a. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

CODE

FACILITY CODE

18a. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

CODE

TELEPHONE NO.

UEI:

EFT:

PHONE:

FAX:

17b. CHECK IF REMITTANCE IS DIFFERENT AND PUT SUCH ADDRESS IN OFFER 18b. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN BLOCK 18a UNLESS BLOCK BELOW IS CHECKED

SEE ADDENDUM

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

ITEM NO.

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QUANTITY

UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

(Use Reverse and/or Attach Additional Sheets as Necessary)

25. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

26. TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT (For Govt. Use Only) 27a. SOLICITATION INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-3 AND 52.212-5 ARE ATTACHED. ADDENDA

ARE

ARE NOT ATTACHED.

27b. CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-5 IS ATTACHED. ADDENDA

ARE

ARE NOT ATTACHED

28. CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO SIGN THIS DOCUMENT AND RETURN _______________

29. AWARD OF CONTRACT: REF. ___________________________________ OFFER

COPIES TO ISSUING OFFICE. CONTRACTOR AGREES TO FURNISH AND

DATED ________________________________. YOUR OFFER ON SOLICITATION

DELIVER ALL ITEMS SET FORTH OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFIED ABOVE AND ON ANY

(BLOCK 5), INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES WHICH ARE

ADDITIONAL SHEETS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIED

SET FORTH HEREIN IS ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS:

30a. SIGNATURE OF OFFEROR/CONTRACTOR 31a. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER) 30b. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (TYPE OR PRINT) 30c. DATE SIGNED 31b. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (TYPE OR PRINT) 31c. DATE SIGNED

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

(REV. NOV 2021)

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

7. FOR SOLICITATION

INFORMATION CALL:

STANDARD FORM 1449

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES

OFFEROR TO COMPLETE BLOCKS 12, 17, 23, 24, & 30

36C24923Q0446 07-06-2023 Martha Warren 316-225-6404 07-27-2023 16:00

CDT

90C Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 9 (90C)

NCO 9

1639 Medical Center Parkway, Suite 400 Murfreesboro

TN

37129 X 325412 1300 Employees Net 30 Days N/A X Department of Veterans Affairs Memphis VA Medical Center Nuclear Medicine Services 1030 Jefferson Ave Memphis

TN

38104 90C Network Contracting Office 9 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office (90C) 1639 Medical Center Parkway Suite 400 Murfreesboro

TN

37129

90C FSC e-Invoicing Payment http://www.fsc.va.gov/fsc/einvoice.asp Invoice Setup Information 1-877-489-6135 Invoice must be submitted electronically

Setup 1-877-489-6135 See CONTINUATION Page This is a solicitation for the procurement of various radiopharmaceuticals, Base plus 4 Options, IDIQ, to provide radiopharmaceuticals on demand for the Memphis VA Medical Center, Nuclear Medicine Service, Memphis, TN 38104 Quotes are due no later than 4:00 pm CDT on July 27, 2023.

Questions are due not later than 4:00 pm CDT, July 20, 2023.

Questions and quotes must be delivered to Martha Warren, martha.warren1@va.gov.

Vendor must be able to provide ALL items in order to be determined responsive. All quamtities are ESTIMATED.

Award will be made to best value to the Federal Government.

COR: Reginald Penny, (901) 523-8990 ext. 5382, reginald.penny@va.gov Contract Admin: Martha Warren, Contract Specialist martha.warren1@va.gov Contracting Officer: Phon Phasavath, phon.phasavath@va.gov.

See CONTINUATION Page X X Phon Phasavath Contracting Officer Description This is a solicitation for commercial products and commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, “Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Products and Commercial Services,” as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued.

This solicitation is issued as an RFQ. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2023-01, effective December 30, 2022.

This solicitation is for Full and Open competition.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 325412, with a small business size standard of 1,300 employees.

The FSC/PSC is 6505.

The Memphis VA Medical Center is seeking to purchase various radiopharmaceuticals for a Base period of 12 months plus four (4) 12-month options.

All interested companies shall provide quotations for the following:

Vendor MUST be able to provide ALL items in order to be determined responsive. All quantities are ESTIMATED.

Supplies/Services

BASE YEAR:

Option Year One:

Option Year Two:

Option Year Three:

Option Year Four:

All quoters shall submit the following:

1. Technical or Quality: The extent to which the proposed item(s) can meet and/or exceed the Government’s requirements as outlined in the solicitation and based on the information requested in the instructions to quoters section of the solicitation.

1. Price: the price by adding the total of all line item prices.

1. RFQ 36C24923Q0446 Line Item Spreadsheet (attached) with all columns highlighted in yellow completed.

All quotes shall be sent to Martha.Warren1@va.gov.

Award will be based upon a comparative evaluation of quotes in accordance with the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR 13. Comparative evaluation is the side by side pairwise comparison of quotes based on factors resulting in a Contracting Officer decision for the quote most favorable to the Government.

The award will be made to the response most advantageous to the Government.

Responses should contain your best terms, conditions.

Additional Solicitation Terms and Conditions.

This is a Full and Open Competition solicitation.

This RFQ closes July 27, 2023, at 16:00 CDT. Submit all quotes and applicable attachments by e-mail to martha.warren1@va.gov with subject line “RFQ 36C24923Q0446 – Various Radiopharmaceuticals” by Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 16:00 hours (CDT).

Final Offer package will be put into one .pdf-formatted attachment and emailed to martha.warren1@va.gov.

Multiple emails will not be accepted.

Our email server has a size limitation of 30 GB. Zip files will be removed and therefore, will not be considered.

Email attachment must be in .pdf format and in the English language. Font type & size must be appropriate for easy and quick viewing, 10 point or greater. Only acceptable font types are Calibri, Times New Roman, Courier, or Arial. Documents must only be 8 ½ x 10 inches in size, with one-inch margins all around.

Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f).

Must include offer’s UEI – Unique Entity Identification To facilitate the award process, all quotes must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows:

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition."

OR

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:"

Quoter shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s).

Phone calls and fax will not be accepted, all questions or concerns must be submitted via email to martha.warren1@va.gov, with subject line “Questions- RFQ 36C24923Q0446 – Various Radiopharmaceuticals” by Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 16:00 hours (CDT).

The Government reserves the right to make no award at all.

Table of Contents

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

1. Contract Administration: All contract administration matters will be handled by the following individuals:

a. CONTRACTOR: _________________________

b. GOVERNMENT: Contracting Officer 36C249 Phon Phasavath Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 9 (90C)

NCO 9

1639 Medical Center Parkway, Suite 400 Murfreesboro TN 37129

2. CONTRACTOR REMITTANCE ADDRESS: All payments by the Government to the contractor will be made in accordance with:

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

4. GOVERNMENT INVOICE ADDRESS: All Invoices from the contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS: The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the Solicitation numbered and dated as follows:

STATEMENT OF WORK

RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS – VAMC – MEMPHIS / NUCLEAR MEDICINE

1. SCOPE/DELIVERY:

· Request Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract.

· All orders will be agreed upon between the offeror and the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to shipment.

· Provide Non-HEU products when available

· No delivery charge shall be made for additional deliveries during normal working hours, 6:30a.m. -4:30p.m.

· Offeror will provide the VAMC - Memphis with four scheduled deliveries per day at no charge.

· Requests for emergency doses shall be delivered within 45 minutes of placing the order. Emergency and priority studies consist of 20% -30% of the daily schedule. Radioactive shipments prepared in advance to anticipate emergency or routine studies are not acceptable.

· The contractor must be able to provide emergent radiopharmaceuticals within one hour.

· The contractor must be able to provide bar coding compatible to the Biodose system; so that, incoming radioactive material can be tracked accurately.

· Any substitutions of product shall have the written approval of the VA Nuclear Medicine Service and the Contracting Officer or his/her designee.

· All defective or inferior products shall be replaced within 2 hours at no costs to the VA.

· It is the Contractor’s responsibility to provide the VA with recall notices on any product that has been delivered to the VA that may be defective. Notification shall be made to the Contracting Officer via the most expedient method.

· The first daily delivery shall be made to Nuclear Medicine (Room G111) by 6:30 a.m., unless prior authorization arrangements have been made. Subsequent deliveries will likewise be made as described above, as needed.

· Weekend (Saturday/Sunday) and all Federal Holiday (or any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday) deliveries shall be made by contacting the Veterans Medical Center Police to unlock the Nuclear Medicine Department (Room G 111) for placement of the packages.

· All delivered unit dose radiopharmaceuticals must have a bar code with it; so that, the dose can be scanned into the department’s dose tracking system that it owns.

· All radiopharmaceuticals shall be delivered in unit dose form in lead-shielded containers. Plastic shrink wrap fitted at union of container cap and base to ensure proper seal.

Federal Holidays:

· New Year’s Day

· Martin Luther King’s Birthday

· President’s Day

· Memorial Day

· Juneteenth Day

· Independence Day

· Labor Day

· Columbus Day

· Veterans Day

· Thanksgiving Day

· Christmas Day

2. PERFORMANCE/QUALITY:

· Contractor shall provide evidence of special driver’s licenses (competency) due to transporting hazardous materials. Contractor shall meet all Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Transportation, F.D.A., OSHA and all other agency rules and regulations (Federal and State).

· Contractor shall test all products for Quality Control periodically, and only those products that pass quality control may be sent to the VA. This testing shall be performed at no cost to the VA. The contractor will provide a detailed description of the test upon request.

· All products are purchased subject to acceptance by the VA, Nuclear Medicine Service. Products that fail to meet Quality Control criteria of Nuclear Medicine will not be accepted. Products will be rejected and may be discarded if found unsatisfactory by the Nuclear Medicine’s Quality Control when they are received, or later, if deterioration of the product occurs before the expiration date. The VA will not be financially liable for unacceptable materials.

· All products shall be tested for Quality Control by the supplier, and only those products that pass Quality Control may be sent to the VA Nuclear Medicine Service. The supplier will demonstrate documentation of Quality Control performance of any item upon request of the VA Nuclear Medicine Service.

· Contractor shall pick up scheduled items, used and unused, for proper disposal.

· The contractor will provide a quarterly linearity source at no charge. The activity requested can range from 25 to 300 mCi.

· Contractor will perform quality control on each agent dispensed. Contractor shall perform all quality control procedures as required by Federal and State regulatory agencies.

· Contractor shall provide leukocyte and platelet labeling services, including weekends. If the volume warrants, leukocyte and platelet labeling will be available as a same day service.

· All radiopharmaceuticals shall be calibrated and labeled with concentration, calibration, time, total volume, total activity, lot number and prescription number.

· All technetium products shall be tested for molybdenum contamination and the amount of molybdenum present shall be stated.

· Product information including supplier's source of radiopharmaceuticals, package inserts, results of quality control testing performed by supplier and copies of supplier's license and procedures shall be provided at no additional charge.

· The list of VA Staff of Nuclear Medicine Technologists, who will be authorized to place telephone orders, will be provided under the resultant contract.

· Contractor/supplier shall abide by (CFR 10) Title Code of Federal Regulations, which states: a Licensee may use for medical use only:

a) By-product material manufactured, labeled, packaged and distributed in accordance with a license issued pursuant to the regulations in Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 35 and the equivalent regulations of an Agreement State.

b) Reagent kits that have been manufactured, labeled, packed and distributed in accordance with the approval by the Commission pursuant to S32.73 or an Agreement State under equivalent regulations for the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals for medical use.

· Contractor shall meet all Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Department of Transportation, F.D.A., OSHA and all other agency rules and regulations (Federal and State). Contractor must be NRC certified.

3. ADVISORY CONSULTATION AND INVOICING:

· Contractor shall be paid monthly, in arrears, upon monthly submission of a properly prepared invoice for services/supplies during the period. Said invoices will be reviewed by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for accuracy and any discrepancies corrected and a new invoice issued before payment is issued. All invoices will include the contract number, purchase order number, date of services, name of patient, and an itemized listing of charges.

· Nuclear Medicine shall be provided with copies of invoices.

· Contractor shall not add to the invoice the cost of overages. Any cost to replace damaged or incorrect products will be at the cost of the contractor. Replacements shall be received within 2 hours of notification by the VA.

· Consultation service regarding radiopharmaceutical applications, problems, controls, etc., shall be provided upon request at no charge.

4. SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

a) The contractor will be required to attend a Post Award Orientation Conference prior to start of work. The purpose of the conference is to aid both Government and contractor personnel to (1) achieve a clear and mutual understanding of all contract requirements, and (2) identify and resolve potential problems. It is not a substitute for the contractor's fully understanding the work requirements at the time offers are submitted, nor is it to be used to alter the final agreement arrived at in any negotiations leading to contract award. The date, time, and location of the conference shall be schedule by the Contracting Officer. The conference may be conducted via teleconference if deemed appropriate.

b) QUALIFICATIONS: Personnel assigned by the contractor to perform the services covered by this contract shall be licensed in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia. The qualifications of such personnel shall also be subject to review by the VA Chief of Staff and approval by VA Facility Director.

c) PERSONNEL POLICY: The contractor shall be responsible for protecting the personnel furnishing services under this contract. To carry out this responsibility, the contractor shall provide the following for these personnel. Worker's compensation Professional liability insurance Health examinations: Income tax withholding, and Social Security payments. The parties that such personnel shall not be considered VA employees for any purpose and shall be considered employees of the contractor.

All radiopharmaceutical items on contract will be shipped.

Contractor will be on-site for drop off deliveries.

Incidental exposure to PHI is possible, but not required for contractor to perform duties.

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

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. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on-site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

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.

The following standard Items relate to records generated in executing this contract:

1. Citations to pertinent laws, codes and regulations such as 44 U.S.C. Chapter 21, 29, 31 and 33; Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a); 36 CFR Part 1222 and Part 1228.

2. Contractor shall treat all deliverables under the contract as the property of the U.S. Government for which the Government Agency shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest.

3. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract using Government ‘IT’ equipment and/or Government records.

4. Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected by the Freedom of Information Act.

5. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any Government Agency records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract.

6. The Government Agency owns the rights to all data/records produced as part of this contract.

7. The Government Agency owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data, electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting documentation created as part of this contract. Contractor must deliver sufficient technical documentation with all data deliverables to permit the agency to use the data.

8. Contractor agrees to comply with Federal and Agency records management policies, including those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974. These policies include the preservation of all records created or received regardless of format [paper, electronic, etc.] or mode of transmission [e-mail, fax, etc.] or state of completion [draft, final, etc.].

9. No disposition of documents will be allowed without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. The Agency and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of the Agency or destroyed without regard to the provisions of the agency records schedules

10. Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under or relating to this contract. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and Agency guidance for protecting sensitive and proprietary information.

4. 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.

5. 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. However, it is the policy of VA to forgo collection of liquidated damages in the event the contractor provides payment of actual damages in an amount determined to be adequate by the agency.

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.

APPENDIX C

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…