ASDVO II JEFO_Redacted.pdf

JEFO, Exceeding the SAT, Agile, Secure Development, and Operations for Verification (ASDOV) II Justification Log Number: FY24-084

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B). Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

Rationale:

E-Verify, SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements), the main VIS components, are a nationally accessible resource of selected immigration status information containing more than 100 million records and serves as the single database that stores records and captures statistical information associated with the verification process. The verification process allows federal, state, and local benefit-granting agencies to verify a benefit applicant’s immigration status or naturalized/derived citizenship and employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United State. SAVE is accessed over 370,000 times a week by government agencies. Without providing the necessary performance needed during the re-competition, the Verification program could experience severe outages and degraded services, due to upgrades and required maintenance need to keep the system and its interoperability working with other agencies as they make updates to their systems. The VIS system must be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week by federal, state, and local benefit-granting agencies who would not be able to verify a benefit applicant’s immigration status or naturalized/derived citizenship. Any outage to the SAVE or E-Verify systems would impact the issuing of state driver’s licenses, state and federal food assistance, state and federal education assistance, state and federal housing assistance and state and federal healthcare assistance to hundreds of thousands of applicants daily. E-Verify, an internet-based system in partnership with the Social Security Administration, provides companies and federal contractors a way to verify the legal status and employment eligibility of an individual. E-Verify is accessed over a million times a week for employment verification. If E-Verify is inaccessible, companies would not be able to verify employment status and run the risk of hiring someone illegally, effecting US citizens employment, or not employing someone who is eligible for work within the United States. Executive Order 12989 directs all federal departments and agencies to require contractors to use an electronic employment eligibility verification system to verify the employment eligibility of employees performing work under a covered federal contract. FAR Subpart 22.1802 requires that Federal contractors must enroll and use E-Verify to verify employment eligibility of all new hires.

There is an urgent need for continued VIS support from a vendor with the knowledge and cleared staff to perform the work.

In September 2022, the Agency competitively awarded, through a fair opportunity competition, the VIPER task order (70SBUR22F00000166) to small business, ASG based on its NIH CIO-SP3 Small Business contract 75N98120D00007.

Due to transition delays ASG was provided time to correct performance and transition issues and was expected to take over all aspects of the VIPER contract after the transition period, in May 2023, it became apparent that correction could not occur, and the Agency determined not to exercise the first option on the VIPER contract. Instead, the Agency determined it would re-compete the requirement for VIS services. As part of a Court of Federal Claims settlement agreement a sole source bridge task order, 70SBUR23F00000186, was awarded to ASG to provide specific VIS

JEFO, Exceeding the SAT, Agile, Secure Development, and Operations for Verification (ASDOV) II Justification Log Number: FY24-084 services to include E-Verify, Save, VDIS, VIS Data, SVS, Core Services, E-Verify NextGen, PCS Core, Fraud Detection, EV-Star, JASPer/Reporting, MyE-Verify, PET, and Helpdesk. During the VIPER task order and the ASDOV task order, ASG performed, on its own, the services of PCS Core, Fraud Detection, EV-Star, Jasper/Reporting, MyE-Verify, Platform Engineering Team (PET), and Helpdesk. The period of performance was August 12, 2023, to July 11, 2024. The re-compete, Enhanced Yield Assistance and Support (EYAS), is expected to be awarded early July 2024, and the Agency needs services to ensure transition from ASG to the new contractor.

VIS work during the re-compete has continued to be divided between ASG and another contractor.

The award will be made to ASG against its NIH CIO-SP3 Small Business Contract 75N98120D00007 to ensure continued VIS support to USCIS’s Verification Division.

The intended period of performance of the ASG task order is a 6-month base period and three 1-month option periods to ensure adequate time to facilitate transition to EYAS. This option structure was selected to provide sufficient time for a transition period. VIS involves a complex array of systems that require a detailed transition. The selected performance periods are to account for that complexity. Without award of this requirement before July 11, 2024, the Agency would unacceptably be without VIS support risking significant impact to the public that utilizes both SAVE and E-Verify. Federal, state, and local agencies would not be able to determine if the individual was eligible for the benefits or license they applied for. Contractors could not validate if an employee is eligible to work. The issuing of state driver’s licenses, state and federal food assistance, state and federal education assistance, state and federal housing assistance and state and federal healthcare assistance to hundreds of thousands of applicants daily would stop.

5. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The contracting officer has determined that measures can be taken to ensure that the costs and/or prices will be fair and reasonable prior to award. The NIH-CIO SP3 establishes prices for the provided services with reasonable escalation as determined by the Agency. In addition, prices for previous task orders for similar work and historical pricing, is the basis for the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE). Pricing will be evaluated for reasonableness in accordance with one (1) or more analysis techniques identified in FAR Subpart 15.404-1. The Contracting Officer may request other than certified cost and pricing data if determined to be necessary in the assessment of fair and reasonable pricing.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

While the government relies on A Square Group, LLC to continue work, the Agency will be recompeting this requirement on an expedited basis with an anticipated award early July 2024.

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.