ATTACHMENT D - SOLICITATION PROVISIONS - NX DEFIBRILLATORS.docx

36C10G25R0012 36C10G25R0012

SECTION D – SOLICITATION PROVISIONS

D.1 52.201-1 ACQUISITION 360: VOLUNTARY SURVEY (SEP 2023)

(a) All actual and potential offerors are encouraged to provide feedback on the preaward and debriefing processes, as applicable. Feedback may be provided to agencies up to 45 days after award. The feedback is anonymous, unless the participant self-identifies in the survey. Actual and potential offerors can participate in the survey by selecting the following link: https://www.acquisition.gov/360.

(b) The Contracting Officer will not review the information provided until after contract award and will not consider it in the award decision. The survey is voluntary and does not convey any protections, rights, or grounds for protest. It creates a way for actual and potential offerors to provide the Government constructive feedback about the preaward and debriefing processes, as applicable, used for a specific acquisition.

(End of provision) D.2 52.204-24 REPRESENTATION REGARDING CERTAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT (NOV 2021)

The Offeror shall not complete the representation at paragraph (d)(1) of this provision if the Offeror has represented that it "does not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services as a part of its offered products or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract, or other contractual instrument" in paragraph (c)(1) in the provision at 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services—Representation, or in paragraph (v)(2)(i) of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products or Commercial Services. The Offeror shall not complete the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision if the Offeror has represented that it "does not use covered telecommunications equipment or services, or any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services" in paragraph (c)(2) of the provision at 52.204-26, or in paragraph (v)(2)(ii) of the provision at 52.212-3.

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision— Backhaul, covered telecommunications equipment or services, critical technology, interconnection arrangements, reasonable inquiry, roaming, and substantial or essential component have the meanings provided in the clause 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

(b) Prohibition.

(1) Section 889(a)(1)(A) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) prohibits the head of an executive agency on or after August 13, 2019, from procuring or obtaining, or extending or renewing a contract to procure or obtain, any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system. Nothing in the prohibition shall be construed to—

(i) Prohibit the head of an executive agency from procuring with an entity to provide a service that connects to the facilities of a third-party, such as backhaul, roaming, or interconnection arrangements; or

(ii) Cover telecommunications equipment that cannot route or redirect user data traffic or cannot permit visibility into any user data or packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise handles.

(2) Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) prohibits the head of an executive agency on or after August 13, 2020, from entering into a contract or extending or renewing a contract with an entity that uses any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system. This prohibition applies to the use of covered telecommunications equipment or services, regardless of whether that use is in performance of work under a Federal contract. Nothing in the prohibition shall be construed to—

(i) Prohibit the head of an executive agency from procuring with an entity to provide a service that connects to the facilities of a third-party, such as backhaul, roaming, or interconnection arrangements; or

(ii) Cover telecommunications equipment that cannot route or redirect user data traffic or cannot permit visibility into any user data or packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise handles.

(c) Procedures. The Offeror shall review the list of excluded parties in the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://www.sam.gov) for entities excluded from receiving federal awards for "covered telecommunications equipment or services".

(d) Representation. The Offeror represents that—

(1) It □ will, □ will not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract or other contractual instrument resulting from this solicitation. The Offeror shall provide the additional disclosure information required at paragraph (e)(1) of this section if the Offeror responds "will" in paragraph (d)(1) of this section; and

(2) After conducting a reasonable inquiry, for purposes of this representation, the Offeror represents that—

It □ does, □ does not use covered telecommunications equipment or services, or use any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services. The Offeror shall provide the additional disclosure information required at paragraph (e)(2) of this section if the Offeror responds "does" in paragraph (d)(2) of this section.

(e) Disclosures.

(1) Disclosure for the representation in paragraph (d)(1) of this provision. If the Offeror has responded "will" in the representation in paragraph (d)(1) of this provision, the Offeror shall provide the following information as part of the offer:

(i) For covered equipment—

(A) The entity that produced the covered telecommunications equipment (include entity name, unique entity identifier, CAGE code, and whether the entity was the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or a distributor, if known);

(B) A description of all covered telecommunications equipment offered (include brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); and

(C) Explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications equipment and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.

(ii) For covered services—

(A) If the service is related to item maintenance: A description of all covered telecommunications services offered (include on the item being maintained: Brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); or

(B) If not associated with maintenance, the Product Service Code (PSC) of the service being provided; and explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications services and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.

(2) Disclosure for the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision. If the Offeror has responded "does" in the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision, the Offeror shall provide the following information as part of the offer:

(i) For covered equipment—

(A) The entity that produced the covered telecommunications equipment (include entity name, unique entity identifier, CAGE code, and whether the entity was the OEM or a distributor, if known);

(B) A description of all covered telecommunications equipment offered (include brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); and

(C) Explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications equipment and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(2) of this provision.

(ii) For covered services—

(A) If the service is related to item maintenance: A description of all covered telecommunications services offered (include on the item being maintained: Brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); or

(B) If not associated with maintenance, the PSC of the service being provided; and explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications services and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(2) of this provision.

(End of Provision)

D.3 52.204-26 COVERED TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES-REPRESENTATION (OCT 2020)

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision, "covered telecommunications equipment or services" and "reasonable inquiry" have the meaning provided in the clause 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

(b) Procedures. The Offeror shall review the list of excluded parties in the System for Award Management (SAM) ( https://www.sam.gov) for entities excluded from receiving federal awards for "covered telecommunications equipment or services".

(c)

(1) Representation. The Offeror represents that it □ does, □ does not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services as a part of its offered products or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract, or other contractual instrument.

(2) After conducting a reasonable inquiry for purposes of this representation, the offeror represents that it □ does, □ does not use covered telecommunications equipment or services, or any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services.

(End of Provision)

D.4 52.204-29 FEDERAL ACQUISITION SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY ACT ORDERS—REPRESENTATION AND DISCLOSURES (DEC 2023)

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision, Covered article, FASCSA order, Intelligence community, National security system, Reasonable inquiry, Sensitive compartmented information, Sensitive compartmented information system, and Source have the meaning provided in the clause 52.204-30, Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act Orders—Prohibition.

(b) Prohibition. Contractors are prohibited from providing or using as part of the performance of the contract any covered article, or any products or services produced or provided by a source, if the prohibition is set out in an applicable Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act (FASCSA) order, as described in paragraph (b)(1) of FAR 52.204-30, Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act Orders—Prohibition.

(c) Procedures.

(1) The Offeror shall search for the phrase “FASCSA order” in the System for Award Management (SAM)( https://www.sam.gov) for any covered article, or any products or services produced or provided by a source, if there is an applicable FASCSA order described in paragraph (b)(1) of FAR 52.204-30, Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act Orders—Prohibition.

(2)The Offeror shall review the solicitation for any FASCSA orders that are not in SAM, but are effective and do apply to the solicitation and resultant contract (see FAR 4.2303(c)(2)).

(3) FASCSA orders issued after the date of solicitation do not apply unless added by an amendment to the solicitation.

(d)Representation. By submission of this offer, the offeror represents that it has conducted a reasonable inquiry, and that the offeror does not propose to provide or use in response to this solicitation any covered article, or any products or services produced or provided by a source, if the covered article or the source is prohibited by an applicable FASCSA order in effect on the date the solicitation was issued, except as waived by the solicitation, or as disclosed in paragraph (e).

(e)Disclosures. The purpose for this disclosure is so the Government may decide whether to issue a waiver. For any covered article, or any products or services produced or provided by a source, if the covered article or the source is subject to an applicable FASCSA order, and the Offeror is unable to represent compliance, then the Offeror shall provide the following information as part of the offer:

(1)Name of the product or service provided to the Government;

(2)Name of the covered article or source subject to a FASCSA order;

(3)If applicable, name of the vendor, including the Commercial and Government Entity code and unique entity identifier (if known), that supplied the covered article or the product or service to the Offeror;

(4)Brand;

(5)Model number (original equipment manufacturer number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number);

(6)Item description;

(7)Reason why the applicable covered article or the product or service is being provided or used;

(f)Executive agency review of disclosures. The contracting officer will review disclosures provided in paragraph (e) to determine if any waiver may be sought. A contracting officer may choose not to pursue a waiver for covered articles or sources otherwise subject to a FASCSA order and may instead make an award to an offeror that does not require a waiver.

(End of provision)

D.5 52.209-5 CERTIFICATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (AUG 2020)

(1) The Offeror certifies, to the best of its knowledge and belief, that—

(i) The Offeror and/or any of its Principals–

(A) Are □ are not □ presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, or declared ineligible for the award of contracts by any Federal agency;

(B) Have □ have not □, within a three-year period preceding this offer, been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for: commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, State, or local) contract or subcontract; violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes relating to the submission of offers; or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, tax evasion, violating Federal criminal tax laws, or receiving stolen property (if offeror checks "have", the offeror shall also see 52.209-7, if included in this solicitation);

(C) Are □ are not □ presently indicted for, or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity with, commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (a)(1)(i)(B) of this provision;

(D) Have □, have not □, within a three-year period preceding this offer, been notified of any delinquent Federal taxes in an amount that exceeds the threshold at 9.104-5(a)(2) for which the liability remains unsatisfied.

(1) Federal taxes are considered delinquent if both of the following criteria apply:

(i) The tax liability is finally determined. The liability is finally determined if it has been assessed. A liability is not finally determined if there is a pending administrative or judicial challenge. In the case of a judicial challenge to the liability, the liability is not finally determined until all judicial appeal rights have been exhausted.

(ii) The taxpayer is delinquent in making payment. A taxpayer is delinquent if the taxpayer has failed to pay the tax liability when full payment was due and required. A taxpayer is not delinquent in cases where enforced collection action is precluded.

(2) Examples.

(i) The taxpayer has received a statutory notice of deficiency, under I.R.C. § 6212, which entitles the taxpayer to seek Tax Court review of a proposed tax deficiency. This is not a delinquent tax because it is not a final tax liability. Should the taxpayer seek Tax Court review, this will not be a final tax liability until the taxpayer has exercised all judicial appeal rights.

(ii) The IRS has filed a notice of Federal tax lien with respect to an assessed tax liability, and the taxpayer has been issued a notice under I.R.C. § 6320 entitling the taxpayer to request a hearing with the IRS Office of Appeals contesting the lien filing, and to further appeal to the Tax Court if the IRS determines to sustain the lien filing. In the course of the hearing, the taxpayer is entitled to contest the underlying tax liability because the taxpayer has had no prior opportunity to contest the liability. This is not a delinquent tax because it is not a final tax liability. Should the taxpayer seek tax court review, this will not be a final tax liability until the taxpayer has exercised all judicial appeal rights.

(iii) The taxpayer has entered into an installment agreement pursuant to I.R.C. § 6159. The taxpayer is making timely payments and is in full compliance with the agreement terms. The taxpayer is not delinquent because the taxpayer is not currently required to make full payment.

(iv) The taxpayer has filed for bankruptcy protection. The taxpayer is not delinquent because enforced collection action is stayed under 11 U.S.C. 362 (the Bankruptcy Code).

(ii) The Offeror has □ has not □, within a three-year period preceding this offer, had one or more contracts terminated for default by any Federal agency.

(2) "Principal," for the purposes of this certification, means an officer, director, owner, partner, or a person having primary management or supervisory responsibilities within a business entity (e.g., general manager; plant manager; head of a division or business segment; and similar positions).

This Certification Concerns a Matter Within the Jurisdiction of an Agency of the United States and the Making of a False, Fictitious, or Fraudulent Certification May Render the Maker Subject to Prosecution Under Section 1001, Title 18, United States Code.

(b) The Offeror shall provide immediate written notice to the Contracting Officer if, at any time prior to contract award, the Offeror learns that its certification was erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances.

(c) A certification that any of the items in paragraph (a) of this provision exists will not necessarily result in withholding of an award under this solicitation. However, the certification will be considered in connection with a determination of the Offeror’s responsibility. Failure of the Offeror to furnish a certification or provide such additional information as requested by the Contracting Officer may render the Offeror non-responsible.

(d) Nothing contained in the foregoing shall be construed to require establishment of a system of records in order to render, in good faith, the certification required by paragraph (a) of this provision. The knowledge and information of an Offeror is not required to exceed that which is normally possessed by a prudent person in the ordinary course of business dealings.

(e) The certification in paragraph (a) of this provision is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when making award. If it is later determined that the Offeror knowingly rendered an erroneous certification, in addition to other remedies available to the Government, the Contracting Officer may terminate the contract resulting from this solicitation for default.

(End of Provision)

D.6 52.209-7 INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (OCT 2018)

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision—

“Administrative proceeding” means a non-judicial process that is adjudicatory in nature in order to make a determination of fault or liability (e.g., Securities and Exchange Commission Administrative Proceedings, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals Proceedings, and Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals Proceedings). This includes administrative proceedings at the Federal and State level but only in connection with performance of a Federal contract or grant. It does not include agency actions such as contract audits, site visits, corrective plans, or inspection of deliverables.

“Federal contracts and grants with total value greater than $10,000,000” means—

(1) The total value of all current, active contracts and grants, including all priced options; and

(2) The total value of all current, active orders including all priced options under indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, 8(a), or requirements contracts (including task and delivery and multiple-award Schedules).

“Principal” means an officer, director, owner, partner, or a person having primary management or supervisory responsibilities within a business entity (e.g., general manager; plant manager; head of a division or business segment; and similar positions).

(b) The offeror □ has □ does not have current active Federal contracts and grants with total value greater than $10,000,000.

(c) If the offeror checked “has” in paragraph (b) of this provision, the offeror represents, by submission of this offer, that the information it has entered in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) is current, accurate, and complete as of the date of submission of this offer with regard to the following information:

(1) Whether the offeror, and/or any of its principals, has or has not, within the last five years, in connection with the award to or performance by the offeror of a Federal contract or grant, been the subject of a proceeding, at the Federal or State level that resulted in any of the following dispositions:

(i) In a criminal proceeding, a conviction.

(ii) In a civil proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in the payment of a monetary fine, penalty, reimbursement, restitution, or damages of $5,000 or more.

(iii) In an administrative proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in–

(A) The payment of a monetary fine or penalty of $5,000 or more; or

(B) The payment of a reimbursement, restitution, or damages in excess of $100,000.

(iv) In a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, a disposition of the matter by consent or compromise with an acknowledgment of fault by the Contractor if the proceeding could have led to any of the outcomes specified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i), (c)(1)(ii), or (c)(1)(iii) of this provision.

(2) If the offeror has been involved in the last five years in any of the occurrences listed in (c)(1) of this provision, whether the offeror has provided the requested information with regard to each occurrence.

(d) The offeror shall post the information in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iv) of this provision in FAPIIS as required through maintaining an active registration in the System for Award Management, which can be accessed via https://www.sam.gov (see 52.204-7).

(End of Provision)

D.7 52.209-11 REPRESENTATION BY CORPORATIONS REGARDING DELINQUENT TAX LIABILITY OR A FELONY CONVICTION UNDER ANY FEDERAL LAW (FEB 2016)

(a) As required by sections 744 and 745 of Division E of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), and similar provisions, if contained in subsequent appropriations acts, the Government will not enter into a contract with any corporation that–

(1) Has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, where the awarding agency is aware of the unpaid tax liability, unless an agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that suspension or debarment is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government; or

(2) Was convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months, where the awarding agency is aware of the conviction, unless an agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

(b) The Offeror represents that–

(1) It is □ is not □ a corporation that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability; and

(2) It is □ is not □ a corporation that was convicted of a felony criminal violation under a Federal law within the preceding 24 months.

(End of Provision)

D.8 ADDENDUM to FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS — COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES ITEMS

Provisions that are incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date), have the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available.

The following provisions are incorporated into 52.212-1 as an addendum to this solicitation:

A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

1. INTRODUCTION: The Offeror’s proposal shall be submitted via email to Contract Specialist, Courtney Chattman at Courtney.Chattman@va.gov, and Supervisory Contracting Officer, Jessica Edwards at Jessica.Edwards6@va.gov. All proposals shall be submitted no later than May 26, 2025, by 1630 CST.

The Offeror’s proposal shall consist of the five (5) volumes listed below. Each volume shall be submitted on a separate PDF or Excel document. One copy of each volume will be required.

a. Volume I: Technical

b. Volume II: Past Performance

c. Volume III: Veterans Preference

d. Volume IV: Price

e. Volume V: Offer, Amendments, and Certifications

The use of hyperlinks is prohibited.

Proposals will be evaluated solely on the information contained in proposal submissions without reference to extraneous information.

WARNING: Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your proposals. Late proposals may not be accepted for evaluation. To avoid submission of late proposals, the Government recommends the transmission of your proposal file 24 hours prior to the required proposal due date and time. Please be advised that timeliness is determined by the date and time an Offeror’s proposal is received by the Government not when an Offeror attempted transmission.

2. PROPOSAL FILES: Offeror’s responses shall be submitted in accordance with the following instructions:

a. Format: The submission shall be clearly indexed and logically assembled. Each volume shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages of each volume should be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date, and solicitation number in the header and/or footer. Proposal page limitations are not applicable to this procurement. All files will be submitted as either a Microsoft Word 2010 (.doc) (if allowing Word documents) Microsoft Excel (.XLS) file or an Acrobat (PDF) file or compatible as indicated in the table. Page size shall be no greater than 8 1/2" x 11" with printing on one side, only. Font size shall be no smaller than 12-point. Arial or Times New Roman fonts are required. Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size not less than 8-point and may be landscape. Page numbers, company logos, and headers and footers are not bound by the 12-point font requirement. Footnotes to text shall not be used. All proprietary information shall be clearly and properly marked.

b. File Packaging: Do not compress (zip) proposal files. VA Network Security Operations Center (NSOC) has temporarily blocked email attachments with the “.zip” extension as a mitigation measure against the ongoing world-wide ransomware event impacting many organizations. During this time, .zip file extensions will be permanently stripped from email traffic and will not be recoverable. Due to VA email file size restrictions, Offerors are encouraged to logically separate their proposal into separate emails. If this is necessary, Offerors should attempt to contain complete volume within single email transmissions (and not split volumes). Offerors are encouraged to review and ensure that sufficient bandwidth is available on their end of the transmission.

c. Content Requirements: All information shall be confined to the appropriate file. The Offeror shall confine submissions to essential matters, sufficient to define the proposal and provide an adequate basis for evaluation. Offerors are responsible for including sufficient details, in a concise manner, to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each proposal. The proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall contain the separate volumes listed in the Table below with titles as shown.

d. Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall contain the following in separate volumes.

VOLUME #

VOLUME I – TECHNICAL

This requirement will be in accordance with FAR 52.211-6, Brand Name or Equal, which requires the Offeror to indicate that each product being offered as an “equal” product to Zoll Defibrillators and accessories. For each equal product, the offeror must include a description reflecting the salient characteristics and level of quality that will satisfy the salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics of the equal product(s) specified in the solicitation. The Offeror must also clearly identify the item by brand name (if any) and make/model number. In addition, the Offeror must include descriptive literature, such as illustrations, drawings, or a clear reference to previously furnished descriptive data or information available to the contracting officer, and clearly describe any modifications it plans to make to a product to make it conform to the salient characteristics. Descriptive literature will be evaluated to determine whether proposed items meet the salient characteristics. Descriptive literature will also be evaluated to assess the strengths, weaknesses, deficiencies and risks for each technical sub-factor.

Technical proposals must demonstrate the offeror’s ability to meet all salient characteristics listed in the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice Product Description Salient Characteristics chart. Only offerors that provide the necessary technical detail to ensure that the Government has a complete understanding of the Offeror’s capabilities will be considered for award. Proposals that fail to meet all salient characteristics of the solicitation will be ineligible for award.

Offerors must complete the Salient Characteristic table located on page 8 of the Combined Synopsis listing the location where compliance to the salient characteristics can be found in the technical literature. The chart must be included with the Offeror’s proposal. Offers which do not include this completed chart will not be considered for award.

Offerors may propose an alternative contract line-item number (CLIN) structure IAW FAR 4.1003 and 4.1004. Offerors may also propose any product solution or configuration so long as they meet the salient characteristics. Products proposed in the technical volume must be appear on and correspond with the Offeror’s pricing volume (Attachment A - Price Cost Schedule - NX DEFIBRILLATORS).

Offerors may propose any additional ancillary products which they deem to be essential to the functionality of the proposed solution; these ancillary items must be quantified in the Offeror’s pricing volume with an estimated quantity of zero (0).

Only new equipment is acceptable; no remanufactured or "gray market" items. No product in development shall be considered. All items must be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

Distributors must be authorized distributors/resellers as certified by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) (i.e., OEM letter dated within 12 months of the solicitation close date and duly signed by OEM’s authorized representative) to be eligible for award. The OEM letter must be valid for the life of the contract. Failure to include the OEM letter with the Offer will render the Offer non-compliant and will not be considered for award.

No pricing should be included in Volume I.

VOLUME II – PAST PERFORMANCE

The offeror shall complete Attachment F: Past Performance References in its entirety, listing a total of three (3) contracts/orders for similar relevant work performed in the past three (3) years or currently being performed. The Government will make the determination of relevance (based on size, scope, and complexity of requirement).

Contracts/orders listed may include those entered into with the Federal Government, agencies of state and local governments and commercial concerns. Offerors may also submit past performance information regarding predecessor companies, key personnel who have relevant experience or subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement when such information is relevant to the acquisition. For the purposes of this solicitation, a major subcontract is defined as 20% of the total contract effort. Data concerning the prime contractor shall be provided first, followed by each proposed major subcontractor, in alphabetical order.

Offerors shall indicate on Attachment F if there are Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) / Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) report(s) available for each reference. In the event an assessment was not completed in CPARS/PPIRS for the contract/order, offerors may request the reference point of contact (POC) to complete and submit a Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) (See Attachment G of this solicitation). The offeror shall instruct the POC at the referenced entity to return a copy of the completed PPQ directly to the Contract Specialist at Courtney.Chattman@va.gov, NO LATER THAN THE CLOSING DATE OF THE SOLICITATION (inclusive of any closing date extensions granted via amendment). PPQs will only be evaluated for those contracts/orders that do not have a PPIRS report available.

The Government is not required to contact references provided by the offeror. Also, references other than those identified by the offeror may be contacted by the Government to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation of the offeror's past performance. The Government may consider past performance information obtained through other sources which is reasonably available and determined to be relevant. Past performance information obtained will be used for both the responsibility determination and best value decision.

Offerors shall indicate on Attachment F if they have no record of relevant or recent past performance.

VOLUME III – VETERANS PREFERENCE

a. For SDVOSB and VOSB: To receive credit under this Factor, an Offeror must be registered in SAM, and registered and certified in SBA’s VetCert database (https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/) at the time of award.

b. For Non-SDVOSB/VOSB: To receive some consideration under this factor, an Offeror (prime Contractor) must state in this volume, the names of SDVOSB(s) and/or VOSB(s) with whom it intends to subcontract and provide a brief description and the approximate dollar values of the proposed subcontracts. Additionally, to receive some consideration under this factor, the proposed SDVOSB/VOSB subcontractors must be registered and certified by SBA at the time of award.

VOLUME IV – PRICE

The Offeror shall complete Attachment A - Price Cost Schedule - NX DEFIBRILLATORS and submit it in Volume II of their proposal.

In order to maximize the VA’s buying power and leverage the best value for the taxpayer, the VA is seeking volume discounts. It is expected that as the output and scale of an operation increases, that the unit cost per item should decrease as fixed costs are spread over more units of output. The VA expects that a portion of these reduced costs will passed-on and reflected in lower unit pricing.

Price Rounding Issue - The Government requires offerors to propose unit prices and total prices that are rounded to two (2) decimal places (i.e., the approximate value of a decimal number up to the hundredths place). Ensure that the two (2) digit unit price multiplied by the item quantity equals the two (2) digit total item price. {If an Excel spreadsheet is submitted by the Offeror, the Offeror shall ensure that the actual values in the spreadsheet cells are no more than two (2) decimal places even if values in the spreadsheet cells are formatted to display two (2) decimal places.}

The Government requests the Offeror to provide prices, warranties, conditions, benefits and terms that are at least equal to or more favorable than the prices, warranties, conditions, benefits and terms proposed by the Offeror to any customers for the same or a substantially similar quantity and type of service.

The current SLA which applies to this contract action is 3.0%. This SLA Fee shall be imbedded in the awarded contract/agreement price(s) and offers submitted in response to this solicitation shall include this SLA Fee in the price of every line item offered.

VOLUME V – OFFER, AMENDMENTS, AND CERTIFICATIONS & REPRESENTATIONS

Certifications and Representations - An authorized official of the firm shall sign the offer sheet and all certifications requiring original signature. The offer sheet should be dated and submitted on letterhead stationery. An Acrobat PDF file shall be created to capture the signatures for submission.

At a minimum the offer sheet shall contain the following:

a. Solicitation Number;

b. Acknowledgement of Amendments, if any;

c. The name, address, and telephone number of the Offeror;

d. Tax Identification Number (TIN);

e. OEM Number/ DUNS Number / Cage Code;

f. Point of Contact for submission of orders if awarded contract;

g. Authorized Distributor Letter signed by OEM and dated within 12 months of the solicitation close date; Comment by Gilabert, Catherine R. (OGC): What does current date mean? Within certain number of months? Years? Please define. Comment by Chattman, Courtney B. (he/him/his): Resolved.

h. Offeror shall submit representations and certifications IAW FAR 52.212-3 if not completed in System for Award Management (SAM);

i. Complete FAR 52.209-7 and FAR 52.225-6 provisions;

j. Period for acceptance of offers. The Offeror agrees to hold the prices in its proposal firm for 90 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of proposals unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

k. A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offerors that fail to furnish required representations or information or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.

l. All certified HUBZone small business concerns are required to identify themselves and state whether they elect to waive the evaluation preference.

Offerors are hereby advised that any Offeror-imposed terms and conditions and/or assumptions which deviate from the Government’s material terms and conditions established by the Solicitation, may render the Offeror’s proposal Unacceptable, and thus ineligible for award.

Any questions regarding this Request for Proposal (RFP) shall be addressed in writing to Contract Specialist, Courtney Chattman at Courtney.Chattman@va.gov, and Supervisory Contracting Officer, Jessica Edwards at Jessica.Edwards6@va.gov no later than May 12, 2025, by 1630 CST. No calls will be accepted.

(End of Addendum to 52.212-1)

D.9 52.212-2 EVALUATION—COMMERCIAL ITEMS (NOV 2021)

The following provisions are incorporated into 52.212-2 as an addendum to this solicitation:

A. BASIS FOR AWARD

The Government intends to award a Requirements contract to the responsible Offeror whose proposal conforms to the solicitation, and which represents the best value to the Government, with consideration given to the following evaluation factors: Technical, Past Performance, Veterans Preference, and Price.

The Technical factor is significantly more important than the Past Performance factor which is slightly more important than the Veterans Preference factor. The non-price factors when combined are significantly more important than the Price.

To receive consideration for award, a rating of no less than Acceptable must be achieved for the Technical Factor. To be considered eligible for award, all of the salient characteristics (SCs) listed in the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice must be met. Offerors failing to demonstrate compliance with the salient characteristics in the technical volume will not receive further evaluation. Offerors are cautioned that the award may not necessarily be made to the lowest priced proposal or the most highly rated technical proposal. The Government intends to award one (1) contract. Those proposals which fail to meet the requirements of the solicitation and/or all salient characteristics will be ineligible for award.

B. FACTORS TO BE EVALUATED

1. Technical

C. EVALUATION APPROACH

1. TECHNICAL EVALUATION APPROACH

All proposals shall be subject to evaluation by a team of Government personnel. Contents of the written proposals will be evaluated to determine the degree and extent to which the proposals meet the requirements identified in the solicitation. Proposals which merely restate the requirement or state that the requirement will be met, without providing supporting rationale, will not be sufficient. The Government reserves the right to award without discussions based upon the initial evaluation of proposals. The scope of this procurement includes being able to provide the products to all VHA facilities, CONUS and OCONUS.

Offerors may propose an alternative contract line-item number (CLIN) structure IAW FAR 4.1003 and 4.1004. Offerors may also propose any product solution or configuration so long as they meet the salient characteristics. Products proposed in the technical volume must be appear on and correspond with the Offeror’s pricing volume (Attachment A - Price Cost Schedule - NX DEFIBRILLATORS).

Offerors may propose any additional ancillary products which they deem to be essential to the functionality of the proposed solution; these ancillary items must be quantified in the Offeror’s pricing volume with an estimated quantity of zero (0).

Only new equipment is acceptable; no remanufactured or "gray market" items. No product in development shall be considered. All items must be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

Distributors must be authorized distributors/resellers as certified by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) (i.e., OEM letter dated within 12 months of the solicitation close date and duly signed by OEM’s authorized representative) to be eligible for award. The OEM letter must be valid for the life of the contract. Failure to include the OEM letter with the Offer will render the Offer non-compliant and will not be considered for award.

Technical proposals must demonstrate the Offeror’s ability to meet all salient characteristics listed in the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice Product Description Salient Characteristics chart. Only offerors that provide the necessary technical detail to ensure that the Government has a complete understanding of the Offeror’s capabilities will be considered for award. Proposals that fail to meet all salient characteristics of the solicitation will be ineligible for award.

First, the Government will evaluate technical proposals and assign a pass/fail rating based on meeting all salient characteristics. Technical proposals that meet all salient characteristics will be eligible for award; and technical proposals that do not meet all salient characteristics will be ineligible for award.

Next, technical proposals that have been determined to meet all salient characteristics will then be evaluated to assess the significant strengths, strengths, weaknesses, significant weaknesses, deficiencies and risks for each technical sub-factor.

Technical Sub-Factors

1) Capability of reporting patient events;

2) Federal Information Protection Standard (FIPS) compliant;

3) Capability of Monitoring other parameters such as SPO2, SpCo, SpMet, CO2, NIBP, invasive pressure, temperature (Excludes CLINs 0001-0006);

4) Capability of pacing (Excludes CLINs 0001-0006);

5) Workflow – onscreen animations and user guidance (CLIN 0009 only);

6) Maintenance (CLIN 0001-0006, 0009 only); and

7) Mounting options (CLIN 0009 only).

Lastly, technical proposals that have been determined to meet all salient characteristics will be assigned an overall adjectival rating based upon the assessment of the technical sub-factor’s strengths, weaknesses, deficiencies and risks. Risks associated with the technical capability will be combined into a single rating (i.e., combined technical/risk rating). The combined technical/risk rating includes consideration of risk in conjunction with the strengths, weaknesses, and deficiencies in determining technical ratings.

2. PAST PERFORMANCE EVALUATION APPROACH

Past performance evaluations will be conducted to determine the extent to which the offeror’s past performance demonstrates the likelihood of successful performance in providing requirements similar in size (overall contract value), scope (range of work involved), and complexity (challenges presented) to this solicitation.

First, the Government will evaluate the offeror’s past performance to determine how relevant (based on size, scope, and complexity to this requirement) a recent (within the past three years) effort accomplished by the offeror is to this solicitation. Relevant past performance will be given greater weight than Somewhat Relevant past performance and reflected in the overall past performance rating.

Next, the Government will evaluate the offeror’s past performance to determine how well the offeror performed on the contracts and assign a performance confidence rating. Past performance information shall be obtained from any other sources available to the Government, to include, but not limited to, Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) received, the written narrative provided by offerors, and other Government sources which may include Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), the contracting officer’s knowledge of and previous experience with the supply, or any other reasonable basis. The Government may use present and/or past performance data obtained from a variety of sources, not just those contracts identified by the contractor. No relevant or recent past performance, as indicated on Attachment F or based on the determination of relevance by the Government, the Offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably and will be given a neutral rating.

The Government will consider past performance for the proposed prime contractor to be significantly more important than past performance submitted for any other member of the contractor structure. For the purposes of evaluating prime contractor past performance, the prime contractor is defined as the primary contractor for the project. Projects performed by contractors other than the Offeror, such as teaming partners or subcontractors, will not be evaluated as prime contractor experience or past performance, unless those other contractors are part of a joint venture contractor as demonstrated by a signed joint venture agreement. Areas of relevance include projects of similar size and scope. Areas to be evaluated may include, but are not limited to, quality of product or service, timeliness of performance or adherence to delivery schedules. It is incumbent upon the contractors to explain the relevance of the data provided.

3. VETERANS PREFERENCE

In accordance with Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 852.215-70 SDVOSB and VOSB Evaluation Factors, the Government will assign evaluation credit for an Offeror (prime contractor) which is a SDVOSB or a VOSB. To receive credit, an offeror must be registered and verified by the SBA database (https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/) and must meet federal small business size standards for the NAICS code assigned to this solicitation at time of both proposal submission and at time of award.

The following rating definitions will be utilized in the evaluation of the Veterans Involvement Factor:

a. Full Credit — The Offeror is properly registered and certified by the SBA database (https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/) as a SDVOSB and must meet federal small business size standards for the NAICS code assigned to this solicitation at time of both proposal submission and time of award.

b. Partial Credit — The Offeror is properly registered and certified by the SBA database (https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/) as a VOSB and must meet federal small business size standards for the NAICS code assigned to this solicitation at time of both proposal submission and time of award.

c. Some Consideration — The non-SDVOSB/VOSB Offeror is proposing to subcontract a minimum of 5% of the total contract value proposed with SDVOSB(s) and/or a minimum of 7% of the total contract value proposed with VOSB(s), has provided a name of the SDVOSB(s) and/or VOSB(s), a brief description of the work they are to perform and the approximate dollar values of the proposed subcontracts. Proposed SDVOSB/VOSB subcontractors are registered and certified by the SBA database (https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/) and must meet federal small business size standards for the NAICS code assigned to this solicitation at time of both proposal submission and time of award.

d. No Credit — The Offeror does not qualify for any credit as described above.

4. PRICE EVALUATION APPROACH

Price will not be evaluated adjectively or assigned a score. The Government will conduct a price analysis to evaluate price reasonableness in accordance with FAR 15.404-1(b) based on Attachment A - Price Cost Schedule - NX DEFIBRILLATORS of the solicitation.