UCTL_JOFOC_Final_2024-02-15.pdf

Justification for other than full and open competition

Project Title: HHS Unaccompanied Children Transportation and Logistics (UCTL) - Bridge Contract

Date : February 6, 2024

(1) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2(b)(1) and (2), the General Services Administration (GSA), Office of Acquisition Operations (QMA), Office of Travel, Transportation and Logistics (QM), 47QMCH, has determined this requirement meets the criteria established for other than full and open competition. This limitation of competition is justified in accordance with FAR 6.303-2.

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

DESCRIPTION: Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Congress transferred the care and custody of unaccompanied children (UC) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). ORR has provided care for and found suitable sponsors for more than 450,000 UC and has seen dramatic increases in the number of UC year over year, requiring contractor support to transport UC from approximately 200 state-licensed facilities in 22 states to family or sponsors as quickly as possible.

In February 2021, ORR sought transportation services at a national level to support UC in HHS facilities with plans to issue a solicitation in the 3rd quarter of calendar year 2021. HHS initially reached out to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in March 2021 to provide support as well as to GSA--initially for UC lodging, then for travel arrangement services, and finally transportation. Between March and June 2021, ORR sought different solutions for moving UC from facilities to family/sponsors including use of GSA’s travel management and travel service contracts to make arrangements for air, rail, and ground transportation. In the meantime, ORR planned to issue a short-term contract with MVM Inc. to provide UC transportation services that would provide needed services through March of 2022.

In July 2021, GSA presented several options for ORR’s consideration, including the option to provide assisted acquisition services for the effort. In August 2021, HHS elected to have GSA provide UC transportation support through an assisted service, and GSA/QMA began drafting the Interagency Agreement (IAA) necessary to formalize the agreement. GSA issued a Request for Information (RFI) notice through SAM.gov (RFQ1517802) on August 26, 2021 to identify potential interested parties for the future competitive acquisition and worked with ORR to review responses to the RFI. GSA continued to follow up with ORR on getting an executed IAA from August 2021 through January 2022--ORR and HHS had significant resource challenges given the border crisis to support the crush of UC that hit the system at once, and they triaged as best they could. On January 13, 2022, GSA finally had a signed, funded IAA to provide assisted

DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E99D964-48A4-4B7C-8255-58EDF43C8F24DocuSign Envelope ID: 0718C39E-C203-4A52-8150-09B49280DE73DocuSign Envelope ID: B122EC39-B767-4DAF-816A-19EA0A2EE83C acquisition support for UCTL which includes booking itineraries for all UC transportation requirements; providing escort services for UC movement to sponsors or between ORR facilities (as needed); and providing transportation services (for example, drivers and vans for ground transport) for UCTL movement (as needed).

Should GSA have chosen to pursue a competitive acquisition process at that time, below represents the most rapid timeline GSA could have achieved an award (assuming all reviews waived):

● Issue Solicitation / Receive Offers: 45 Days (15 pre-solicitation notice & 30-day response time) - January 13, 2022 to March 1, 2022

● Evaluate Proposals and Make Award: 14 business/working days to contract expiration date of March 18, 2022

This timeline left little to no time for acquisition planning, reviews, negotiations, or contractor onboarding/transition. It would have also severely limited GSA’s ability to engage with industry to refine the requirement and leverage industry expertise to achieve a successful acquisition outcome.

A 12-month bridge contract (47QMCH22C0001) was awarded on March 18, 2022, with a Period of Performance (PoP) of March 19, 2022 through March 18, 2023 in order to allow QMA adequate time to execute a competitive, long term contract for this UCTL requirement. Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and GSA QMA entered into an IAA which allowed GSA to provide contracting support in establishing multiple separate contract actions. The first of those actions was the bridge contract discussed above, which was a sole source contract issued to the incumbent who was currently performing the services. This provided GSA additional time to perform the entire array of acquisition lifecycle activities in establishing a competitively awarded multiple year contract for UCTL services.

GSA worked with ORR to revise their work statement to account for changing policies and fluctuations in the number of UC entering the United States, develop an acquisition strategy, and to determine the appropriate contract type throughout 2022. GSA issued Request for Proposal (RFP) 47QMCH23R0001 on November 22, 2022 and responses were initially due on January 27, 2023. Multiple amendments were published to address industry questions and further refine the Performance Work Statement (PWS) based on industry feedback and changing government policies. Ultimately, the RFP closing date was extended to February 21, 2023, and GSA executed a second bridge contract, 47QMCH23C0001, pursuant to FAR 6.302-2 on March 17, 2023 with a potential period of performance through March 18, 2024. This bridge contract sought to ensure the government would have adequate time to complete its source selection for the competitive, long-term contract, resolve any protests received, and complete transition to a new company should the incumbent not receive the long-term contract.

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The government announced its competitive award decision on June 15, 2023, and Protest B-421788.1 was filed with GAO on July 5, 2023 challenging the award decision and triggering a CICA Stay. GSA elected to take corrective action in September of 2023, and GAO dismissed the protest. GSA completed corrective action and announced its new award decision on November 16, 2023. Protest B-421788.3 was filed with GAO on December 5, 2023 challenging the award decision and triggering another CICA Stay pursuant to 31 U.S. Code § 3553(c) and (d). The GAO Decision is due on March 14, 2024, which is just four (4) days prior to the current contract’s expiration.

In an effort to ensure these essential services continue - regardless of protest outcome or any transition time needed for a new contractor to potentially take over this work should the incumbent not be selected for award – GSA intends to award a non-competitive bridge contract to the incumbent to continue performing the same services for an initial period of 120 days. This bridge contract will also contain two additional, 4-month option periods which, if exercised, would extend services for a maximum of 12 months.

NATURE: ORR is responsible for providing UC that are in the custody of HHS with a safe and appropriate environment until they are released to sponsors while their immigration cases proceed. ORR accomplishes this mission with the assistance of a contractor that is responsible for purchasing transportation and providing escorts for the UC during their travel, as well as ensuring the UC’s health and welfare needs are provided for while managing a system that accounts for their status and location. This is a critical contract, humanitarian in nature, involving the care and transportation of children that are in the custody of the United States Government.

The contemplated bridge contract, if awarded, will continue for 4 months (March 19, 2024 through July 17, 2024), the services currently being performed under contract 47QMCH23C0001 held by MVM, Inc. Two additional, 4-month option periods will be included in the bridge contract allowing services to be extended for a maximum of 12 months.

The current UCTL contract will expire on March 18, 2024, and no extension to this PoP is available using FAR 52.217-8 - Option to Extend Services or a substantially similar agency clause. Any delays at this point with awarding the long-term competitive contract, time needed to resolve any protests received, or time needed for a new contractor to begin full performance under the new contract should the incumbent not be selected, could result in ORR not being able to execute their mission.

(3) A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

This contract action will provide transportation and logistics services for UC which includes:

booking itineraries for all UC transportation requirements; providing escort services for UC movement to sponsors or between ORR facilities (as needed); and providing transportation services (for example drivers and vans for ground transport). The Performance Work Statement (PWS) for the current UCTL contract is provided as attachment 1 to this J&A. The anticipated bridge contract will be a continuation of the services currently being provided by MVM, Inc under the current contract.

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Estimated value . The current contract consists of 3 fixed price elements, one that is constant and two that are variable with respect to the number of UC transported. A tabular summary of current pricing is shown below.

Price Description Current Contract Price

Unit QTY Total Price

Operations & Infrastructure

$3,705,256.00 MO 12 $44,463,072.00

Escorted UC Transportation (price per 1,000 UC)

$6,315,000.00 EA 20 $126,300,000.00

Unescorted UC Transport

$4,736.25 EA 20 $94,725.00

Total Price: $170,857,797.00

The constant fixed price for the contemplated 4-month bridge contract is estimated to be $3,705,256.00 monthly, and ORR estimates the need for approximately 16,000 UC transports over this 4-month period. This estimate assumes the frequency of UC requiring transport will remain at about 4,000 (the monthly average over the past several months) instead of the 8,000 UC per month requiring transportation as estimated in RFP 47QMCH23R0001. It also assumes contract pricing will remain the same. Should the latest award decision stand, and transition to a new contractor not take longer than the 4-month base period, this bridge contract’s option periods would not be exercised. A tabular summary of the contemplated bridge contract’s pricing is provided below:

Price Description Current Contract Price

Unit QTY Total Price

Operations & Infrastructure

$3,705,256.00 MO 4 $14,821,024.00

Escorted UC Transportation (price per 1,000 UC)

$6,315,000.00 EA 16 $101,040,000.00

Unescorted UC Transport

$4,736.00 EA 20 $94,720.00

Total Price: $115,955,744.00

Should an increase occur in pricing, the government expects that increase to be no more than 4.9% based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Cost Index (ECI), which provides a quarterly measure of the change in the cost for various industries, free from

DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E99D964-48A4-4B7C-8255-58EDF43C8F24DocuSign Envelope ID: 0718C39E-C203-4A52-8150-09B49280DE73DocuSign Envelope ID: B122EC39-B767-4DAF-816A-19EA0A2EE83C any influence of employment shifts. Current ECI data supports an average change over the past twelve months (September 2022 to September 2023 being the latest report) ranging from 3.9% for transportation to 4.9% for other services, therefore the anticipated maximum increase is 4.9%.

Price Description Current Contract Price (+4.9%)

Unit QTY Total Price

Operations & Infrastructure

$3,886,813.54 MO 4 $15,547,254.18

Escorted UC Transportation (price per 1,000 UC)

$6,624,435.00 EA 16 $105,990,960.00

Unescorted UC Transport

$4,968.06 EA 20 $99,361.28

Total Price: $121,637,575.46

The two option periods (4 months each) are estimated to include the same overall values as those shown above.

Current pricing: $115,955,744.00 per period or $347,867,232.00 should all options be exercised .

Escalated pricing: $121,637,575.46 per period or $364,912,726.37 should all options be exercised.

(4) An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

Citation: 41 U.S.C.3304(a)(2)

(5) A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

MVM, Inc. (MVM) is the current incumbent performing these services for ORR. Pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(2), the services that MVM provides are of such a compelling urgency that continuation is vital, and failure to execute a bridge contract to allow GSA sufficient time to stand up a quality long term contract to provide these services will have catastrophic consequences with respect to ORR’s mission in transporting UC and connecting them with their sponsors. The U.S. Government would have no choice but to either house UC in suboptimal living conditions for indefinite periods of time or turn UC away due to lack of adequate sheltering and resources should these services not be continued.

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The incumbent contractor employs several hundred individuals that have undergone background checks and training, and they have also been satisfactorily performing these services under short term contracts since March of 2021, during the competitive acquisition process. The government’s requirement is unique in that it far exceeds any transportation and guardianship type requirement one would find in the private sector or at lower levels of government in terms of volume of children to be transported, broad variability in destinations and types of care required, and the added responsibilities endowed to track and care of these UC for unknown periods of time.

Regardless of the present protest’s outcome, the government will require at least 3 to 4 months to either allow a new contractor time to transition in, or for the government to take any necessary corrective action. Onboarding and background checks of a new contractor and its employees/subcontractors in addition to the time needed for onboarding and vetting a new software system for tracking UC may take an estimated 3 to 4 months alone resulting in a gap in services and catastrophic consequences to ORR’s ability to execute its mission. No other company is presently situated to perform this work on such short notice, and Congress intended the CICA stay to preserve the status quo during the pendency of a GAO bid protest.

Maintaining the current contract whilst the protest is resolved with GAO also ensures no lapse in service occurs.

(6) A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

The bridge contract will not be awarded competitively, and no synopsis will be posted. In accordance with FAR 5.202(a)(2), the Contracting Officer (CO) need not submit the notice required by FAR 5.201 when the proposed contract action is made under the conditions described in FAR 6.302-2. This Justification and Approval will be posted to the Governmentwide point of entry in accordance with FAR 6.305(b) within 30 days of contract award and will remain available for a minimum of 30 days.

As stated above, the competitive long-term contract award, which was solicited as full and open competition in November of 2022, is currently under protest with GAO. This bridge contract shall only be utilized for the shortest amount of time necessary, i.e., 4 months, 8 months, or 12 months, in order to allow the government time to transition to a new vendor or take appropriate corrective action upon resolution of the protest. Should additional time be needed, 120-day option periods will be exercised accordingly.

(7) A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The current incumbent, MVM Inc., has been performing these services under an existing contract since March of 2022 and was the incumbent before that since March of 2021. Their prices may increase–possibly dramatically as a result of inflation over the past three years–but likely only in response to current market conditions. Pricing on the current contract has already

DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E99D964-48A4-4B7C-8255-58EDF43C8F24DocuSign Envelope ID: 0718C39E-C203-4A52-8150-09B49280DE73DocuSign Envelope ID: B122EC39-B767-4DAF-816A-19EA0A2EE83C been determined fair and reasonable by the CO, and the GSA CO has no reason to expect unreasonable pricing on this subsequent contract considering pricing has remained static for nearly three years. The GSA CO will evaluate pricing to ensure the proposed contract pricing is fair and reasonable based on current market conditions.

(8) A description of the market research conducted (see part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

To comply with the statutory preference for commercial services/products as provided at 41 U.S.C. 3307, the Government performed a survey of the market and determined that the government’s needs can be met with services/products customarily available in the commercial marketplace.

Current market research has shown that there are numerous vendors in the commercial marketplace that possess some capability to provide the required services however, at this time, only the incumbent, MVM Inc., is readily available to perform these services at the required scale. The number of UC requiring transportation under this effort can fluctuate considerably from month-to-month and the contractor must possess the ability to simultaneously transport anywhere from a few dozen to thousands of children at a given time. In order to successfully perform these requirements, the contractor must have quick access to numerous escorts and support staff in addition to vehicles. All prior contract actions were issued on a sole source basis to the incumbent, MVM Inc. As a result, MVM Inc. is the only contractor that currently possesses the required footprint to rapidly provide the required UC transportation services on a nation-wide basis.

QMA will continue working the competitive contract action for these services which will include a transition period to allow time for a new contractor to establish their footprint before taking over the program.

(9) Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition, such a s:

(i) Explanation of why technical data packages, specifications, engineering descriptions, statements of work, or purchase descriptions suitable for full and open competition have not been developed or are not available.

Not applicable

(ii) When 6.302-1 is cited for follow-on acquisitions as described in 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii), an estimate of the cost to the Government that would be duplicated and how the estimate was derived.

Not applicable

(iii) When 6.302-2 is cited, data, estimated cost, or other rationale as to the extent and nature of the harm to the Government.

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The authority described in FAR 6.302-2 is cited for this bridge contract, and more specifically FAR 6.302-2(a)(2), which states “When the agency’s need for the supplies or services is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured unless the agency is permitted to limit the number of sources from which it solicits bids or proposals, full and open competition need not be provided for.” In this instance, the government could be harmed in a number of ways. Most immediately, UC are continuing to arrive in the United States without their parents, and the US government is assuming responsibility for their wellbeing, and for matching them with sponsors who will take custody of them once their initial screening is completed and they can be transported via contractor support. ORR, the agency tasked with this mission, cannot accomplish it without contractor support, and a lapse in this service contract will disrupt–potentially devastate–this essential function with respect to the UC.

FAR 6.301(c) indicates that contracting without providing for full and open competition, which is what this bridge contract represents, shall not be justified on the basis of a failure to adequately plan sufficiently in advance of a requirement, nor based on concerns regarding the availability of funding. In this case, a competitive solicitation was published and two separate award decisions have been made. Multiple protests filed with GAO prevent the government from proceeding with the competitively awarded, long-term contract. The work that is accomplished under this contract is essential, and allowing the current contract to expire in March 2024 is simply not an option that is allowable for ORR to continue to place UC with sponsors. The purpose of this bridge contract is to allow ORR and GSA sufficient time to resolve the pending protest and award the long term contract to provide these services moving forward, not to enter into a long term contract on a non-competitive basis due to poor planning. This bridge contract merely mitigates the risk of a lapse in services from occurring whilst the government resolves this protest for the competitive, long-term contract resulting from RFP 47QMCH23R0001.

(10) A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

Not applicable. The government is in the middle of a protest for the long-term, competitive contract and cannot disclose the offeror identities at this time.

(11) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

Not applicable. In this case, the barrier to competition is simply the time available to resolve a protest for the multiple year contract for the UCTL services, and the bridge contract itself is the mechanism to allow for a competitive award of the long term UCTL contract that will replace it.

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(12) Contracting officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief.

The undersigned certifies that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief.

Reagan Criddle Contracting Officer Office of Acquisition Operations (QMA)

Michael Evans Assistant General Counsel Office of General Counsel (LP)

Rebecca Koses Contracting Director and Competition Advocate Office of Travel, Transportation, & Logistics Category (TT&L)

Crystal Philcox Head of Contracting Activity (HCA) Office of Travel, Transportation, & Logistics Category (TT&L)

Concurrence:

I have reviewed this contract action and I have determined to the best of my knowledge and belief, based on the information contained herein, that it complies with all applicable policies and regulations.

Mark J. Lee Assistant Commissioner Office of Policy and Compliance (OPC) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS)

Approval:

Nicholas West Senior Procurement Executive (SPE) (Delegated) General Services Administration (GSA)

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