Att_4-LSJ_Exceeding_SAT_FAR_8_Redacted.pdf

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Limited-Sources Justification (LSJ) - FAR 8.405-6

For orders or BPAs exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)

Version 2.3 May 9, 2025

Date: May 22, 2025 PR Number: 0020151615

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple-Award Schedule Program, 41 U.S.C. 152(3), Competitive Procedures, and 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies.

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition.

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

CBP intends to limit the number of sources solicited pursuant to FAR Part 8.405- 6(a)(1)(i)(B) by awarding a sole source task order for medical screening services because only one source is capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required, because the services are unique or highly specialized. The award will fall under the Veterans Affairs (VA) Federal Supply Schedule 621-I , Professional & Allied healthcare Staffing Services, to the incumbent contractor, Loyal Source Government Services, LLC (Loyal Source), 12612 Challenger Parkway, Suite 365, Orlando, FL 32826.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

CBP requires healthcare practitioners to work out of Medical Priority Facilities (MPFs), Office of Field Operations (OFO) Ports of Entry (POEs), and potentially other forward deployed locations within the United States, to address medical and public health concerns for individuals in CBP custody.

Along the southwest border, DHS/CBP has established enhanced medical provisions for individuals in custody at the southwest border crossings and OFO POEs. Contracted medical personnel deliver medical support at approximately 50 locations.

Efforts include, but are not limited to:

• Maintain 24/7/365 hours of operation at most locations

• Provide supervisory physician oversight, patient safety risk monitoring, medical quality management, and regional pediatric advisory services

• Ensure 100% health intake interviews of children under age 17

• Ensure individuals that receive an Elevated In-Custody Medical Risk (ECMR) diagnosis are identified and equipped with the proper color-coded arm band

• Document medical assessments for all individuals in custody in the Electronic

Medical Record (EMR) System Provide follow-up care after referral to a local health system and/or hospitalization locations within the United States, including areas such as along the northern border of the United States or at airports within the United States.

DHS is actively solicitating for the recompete of these services. This sole source award is necessary due to several protest filings of the agency’s prior award and the ongoing solicitation. The agency initially made award on September 28, 2022, and that award was protested to the U.S. Government Accountability Office by several vendors in B-420959.2 and subsequent protest. These protests were variously dismissed or denied, but further protest remain on going at the Court of Federal Claims.

Due to pending litigation in the Court of Federal Claims, DHS has not been able to award the competitive recompete acquisition. Therefore, CBP must issue a sole source action to prevent a gap in services. This will ensure CBP is able to provide medical screening to individuals in its custody as ordered by federal courts and in accordance with congressionally mandated requirements. If the recompete results in an award to a new contractor, CBP must maintain these critical services during any transition period.

For the reasons described herein, this action is required to preserve the life, safety, and health of aliens, agents, officers, and the general public by continuing to provide medical screening services. With a medical personnel shortage and the lack of qualified medical professionals at the southwest border of the United States and remote locations in the region, Loyal Source is the only contractor that can provide these services in the near term. As the current contractor on this effort, Loyal Source has the cleared personnel in place to fulfill continued requirements immediately. Loyal Source currently staffs a CBP task order with over background-cleared medical personnel. Additionally, Loyal Source’s staffing model provides them with the ability to recruit, hire, and staff for remote areas.

Loyal Source is uniquely qualified to provide the required services until the follow-on procurement is awarded. As the incumbent contractor, Loyal Source possesses the expertise and understanding of the requirements as well as the immediate capability and capacity to perform the required services. Without background-cleared personnel, training, and experience, another contractor would not be able to implement the immediate medical requirements of OCMO as required by DHS and CBP medical directives.

A new contractor would need to be educated on the CBP medical protocols, medical directives, medical quality management standards and methodologies performed to date.

There could be a minimum of 120 days of lost productivity and service gaps due to the CBP background process. The market research conducted December 2024 concluded that no other contractor would be capable of successfully providing the needed services in the relevant timeframe due to the time necessary to obtain a CBP background investigation.

In sum transitioning to a new contractor for medical screening services would likely result in a significant loss of medical services until all new contractor employees had cleared CBP background investigations. For the reasons described above, CBP intends to award a sole source hybrid time and materials task order with firm fixed price elements pursuant to FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) to continue the mission critical medical screening services until the competitively recompeted task order can be awarded.

5. Determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the anticipated order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

A fair and reasonable price determination will be made by all of the methods below:

A. Comparing the quoted labor rates to the Loyal Source VA FSS rates. The prices in the VA FSS IDIQ will be analyzed to ensure the quoted rates do not exceed the prices in the VA FSS Contract 36F79722D0185, which were deemed fair and reasonable by a VA Contracting Officer at the time the VA FSS Contract was awarded.

B. Comparison of proposed prices with independent Government cost estimate.

C. The Contracting Office will use current and historical pricing data from other task orders for the same or similar services: 70B03C18F00000390, 70B03C20F00001383, 70B03C23F00000272 and 70B03C24F00000046 to compare quoted rates to ensure pricing is reasonable.

D. The Contracting Officer will use the GSA Calc Tool to compare and analyze published market prices for services of this nature/kind.

E. The Contracting Officer will compare the quoted prices to other VA FSS contractor’s price lists.

F. The Contracting Officer will seek additional discounts when requesting the contractor’s quote.

6. A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results, or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

The market research conducted in December 2024 shows that, in the near term, no other contractor is capable of successfully staffing the work identified in the SOW. This is due to the time it takes a contractor to recruit, train, obtain a CBP BI and staff the requirement.

7. Any other facts supporting the limited-sources justification.

Not Applicable.

8. A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to restricted consideration (i.e., limited sources) before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.