ATTACHMENT D - SOLICITATION PROVISIONS - NX EQ Image Processors Video.docx

36C10G24R0006

SECTION D – SOLICITATION PROVISIONS

D.1 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.2 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.3 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.4 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.5 52.209-9 UPDATES OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (OCT 2018)

(a) The Contractor shall update the information in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) on a semi-annual basis, throughout the life of the contract, by posting the required information in the System for Award Management via https://www.sam.gov.

(b) As required by section 3010 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-212), all information posted in FAPIIS on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews, will be publicly available. FAPIIS consists of two segments-

(1) The non-public segment, into which Government officials and the Contractor post information, which can only be viewed by-

(i) Government personnel and authorized users performing business on behalf of the Government; or

(ii) The Contractor, when viewing data on itself; and

(2) The publicly-available segment, to which all data in the non-public segment of FAPIIS is automatically transferred after a waiting period of 14 calendar days, except for-

(i) Past performance reviews required by subpart 42.15;

(ii) Information that was entered prior to April 15, 2011; or

(iii) Information that is withdrawn during the 14-calendar-day waiting period by the Government official who posted it in accordance with paragraph (c)(1) of this clause.

(c) The Contractor will receive notification when the Government posts new information to the Contractor’s record.

(1) If the Contractor asserts in writing within 7 calendar days, to the Government official who posted the information, that some of the information posted to the non-public segment of FAPIIS is covered by a disclosure exemption under the Freedom of Information Act, the Government official who posted the information must within 7 calendar days remove the posting from FAPIIS and resolve the issue in accordance with agency Freedom of Information procedures, prior to reposting the releasable information. The contractor must cite 52.209-9 and request removal within 7 calendar days of the posting to FAPIIS.

(2) The Contractor will also have an opportunity to post comments regarding information that has been posted by the Government. The comments will be retained as long as the associated information is retained, i.e., for a total period of 6 years. Contractor comments will remain a part of the record unless the Contractor revises them.

(3) As required by section 3010 of Pub. L. 111-212, all information posted in FAPIIS on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews, will be publicly available.

(d) Public requests for system information posted prior to April 15, 2011, will be handled under Freedom of Information Act procedures (End of provision) D.6 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.7 ADDENDUM to FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMMERCIAL ITEMS (NOV 2021) 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, Lesa Duran at Lesa.Duran@va.gov, and Contracting Officer, William Milline at William.Milline@va.gov. All proposals shall be submitted no later than April 25, 2024, by 1630 EDT.

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.

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.

VOLUME #

3. VOLUME I - TECHNICAL

Offerors shall provide descriptive literature which will be used to determine if the proposed products are technically acceptable. Proposed products must meet all the minimum salient characteristics listed in the Product Description of the solicitation to be considered technically acceptable and eligible for award.

Only OEM or Equal parts are acceptable. Only new equipment is acceptable; no remanufactured, used/refurbished or "gray market" items. No product in development shall be considered. All items must be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

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).

Distributors must be authorized distributors/resellers as certified by the OEM (i.e., in OEM letter with a current 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.

Proposals which fail to meet the requirements of the solicitation and all the minimum salient characteristics will be rated “Unacceptable” and will be excluded from further evaluation and ineligible for award.

Further, for each equal product, the offeror must include a description reflecting the SCs 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. Finally, 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 solicitation requirements.

No pricing should be included in Volume I.

4. VOLUME II – PAST PERFORMANCE

The offeror shall complete Attachment F: Past Performance References in its entirety, listing a total of three contracts/orders for work performed in the past three years or currently being performed, for nationwide delivery of Image Processors: Video. The Government will make the determination of relevance (based on size, scope, and complexity of requirement). “Relevant” is defined as, when considered meet much of the size, scope and/or complexity compared to the product description of this requirement. “Size” is defined as providing medical products to over 100 facilities CONUS/OCONUS. “Scope” is defined within the Solicitation under Product Description, Section 1 - Scope of Work. “Complexity” is defined as the ability to meet delivery times and dates based on the ARO in the contract.

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 report(s) available for each reference. In the event an assessment was not completed in CPARS 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 Lesa.Duran@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 CPARS 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.

5. VOLUME III – VETERANS PREFERENCE

a. For Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB): To receive credit under this Factor, an Offeror must be registered, and Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) verified in the Small Business Administration (SBA) Certification (VetCert) database at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/.

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 CVE verified in Small Business Administration (SBA) Certification (VetCert) database https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/.

6. VOLUME IV– Price

The Offeror shall complete Attachment A, Price Cost Schedule.

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 two (2) decimal places and requires the unit prices and total prices to be displayed as two (2) decimal places. Ensure that the two (2) digit unit price multiplied by the item quantity equals the two (2) digit total item price (there should be no rounding). {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 Contractor will provide literature for each CLIN listed with Technical Specifications, Product Brochure, and Color Swatch (if applicable) at no additional cost prior to the contract effective date.

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.

Should Quoters bundle multiple CLINs into one, it shall be reflected within their quote as one (1) CLIN with multiple sub CLINs (SLINs) to allow for adequate price breakdown and ordering of future individual parts.

7. 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. Unique Entity Identity (UEI) Number/ DUNS Number / Cage Code

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

g. Authorized Distributor Letter certified by OEM with current date.

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, Lesa Duran at Lesa.Duran@va.gov, and Contracting Officer, William Milline at William.Milline@va.gov no later than April 24, 2024 16:30 EDT. No calls will be accepted.

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

A. BASIS FOR AWARD

The Government intends to award one (single) 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. However, the Government reserves the right to make any number of awards, or no award, if considered to be in the Government’s best interest to do so.

Within the best value continuum, FAR 15.101 defines best value as using any one or a combination of source selection approaches. The Technical factor is significantly more important than the Past Performance factor which is slightly more important that 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 “Technically Acceptable" must be achieved for the Technical Factor. 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. The salient characteristics listed in the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation - Minimum Salient Characteristics/Product Description, must be met to achieve a rating of “Technically Acceptable.” Proposals that receive an "Technically Unacceptable" Technical rating will be excluded from further evaluation due to ineligibility for award."

Offerors are cautioned that the award may not necessarily be made to the lowest priced proposal or the most highly rated technical proposal. Product literature will be evaluated to determine whether proposed items meet the Salient Characteristics (SCs) and are considered technically acceptable. The Government intends to award one contract.

B. FACTORS TO BE EVALUATED

1. Technical

C. 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. Offerors who fail to meet the salient characteristics of the solicitation will be rated “Unacceptable” and thus, ineligible for award. 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 located in the United States.

Descriptive literature will be used to thoroughly evaluate each proposal to determine the extent to which it meets the salient characteristics delineated in the Combined Synopsis-Solicitation, Product Description. To receive a rating of Technically Acceptable, the proposal must demonstrate the Offeror’s ability to meet all the salient characteristics listed in the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice Product Description Salient Characteristics chart.

Offerors may propose an alternative 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 captured on – appear and correspond with -- the Offeror’s pricing volume (Attachment A Price Cost Schedule of the solicitation).

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., in OEM letter with a current 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. The Buy American Act in accordance with FAR 25.1 – Buy American Supplies applies to this acquisition. Those proposals which fail to meet the requirements of the solicitation and all the minimum salient characteristics will be rated “Unacceptable” and will be ineligible for award.

1. TECHNICAL EVALUATION APPROACH

This requirement will be IAW FAR clause 52.211-6, “Brand Name or Equal” which requires the offeror indicate that each product being offered as an “equal” product to Skytron and equipment name. For each equal product, the offeror must include a description reflecting the salient characteristics (SC) 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. Finally, 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.

The Technical Factor will be expressed as an adjectival assessment of Acceptable or Unacceptable. If an acceptable rating is not met, the offeror will be deemed ineligible for award and will be removed from further consideration.

a. Acceptable – An offer that demonstrates the Offeror’s ability to meet all of the Government’s minimum SCs as identified in the solicitation. To be considered technically acceptable and eligible for award, proposed products/services must meet all the minimum salient characteristics as identified in the solicitation.

b. Unacceptable - An offer that does not demonstrate the Offeror’s ability to meet all of the Government’s minimum SCs as identified in the solicitation. To be considered technically unacceptable and ineligible for award, proposed products/services do not meet all the minimum salient characteristics as identified in the solicitation.

The minimum Salient Characteristics of each CLIN will be evaluated using “Meets minimum salient characteristics: Yes/No”.

If a Quoter proposes a single product that meets the needs of multiple CLINs, (See example provided in Price Evaluation section below) it must meet all respective SCs and sub factors as stated within the solicitation. Proposed alternative brands must meet SCs, but may not require the same quantity of line items identified in Attachment A, Price Cost Schedule.

In addition to meeting the minimum salient characteristics listed in the e, the evaluation process will consider the following technical sub-factors and assign an adjectival rating:

1. Capability and approach for capture images.

2. Capability for and approach for using existing network to provide a cost saving

3. Capability of updating patient data with images

4. Capability and approach of providing imaging in real-time

5. Capability and approach of improving surgical quality and patient outcomes using the Image Processors: Video system

6. Capability and approach of performing Analysis

7. Capability and approach to transfer or export data to electronic medical records.

8. Capability and functionality of DICOM connectivity software features.

2. PAST PERFORMANCE EVALUATION APPROACH

Past performance will be evaluated to determine whether each reference is relevant (based on size, scope, and complexity to this requirement), recent (within the past three years), and reflects performance which is satisfactory or better. The offeror will be evaluated to determine the extent to which their performance demonstrates the likelihood of successful performance in providing requirements similar in size, scope, and complexity to this solicitation.

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 conduct a performance risk assessment based on the quality, relevancy, and recency of Offeror’s past performance. Past Performance will be evaluated to determine the extent to which the Offeror’s performance demonstrates the likelihood of successful performance in meeting the needs outlined in this solicitation.

Past Performance will be evaluated and given an adjectival rating based on the Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) received, the written narrative provided by the 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.

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 contractor, 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. The Offeror shall provide examples of their ability to provide multiple pieces of medical equipment to numerous hospitals (at the same time) throughout the USA without using a subcontractor to accomplish the task.

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.

Past Performance Factor Rating Definitions:

a. Low Risk: Little doubt exists, based on the Offeror’s past performance record, that the contractor can successfully perform requirements similar in size, scope, and complexity to this solicitation.

b. Moderate Risk: Some doubt exists, based on the Offeror’s past performance record, that the contractor can successfully perform requirements similar in size, scope, and complexity to this solicitation.

c. High Risk: Significant doubt exists, based on the Offeror’s past performance record, that the contractor can successfully perform requirements similar in size, scope, and complexity to this solicitation.

d. Neutral: The Offeror has no relevant or recent past performance.

3. VETERANS PREFERENCE

In accordance with Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 852.215-70 Service- Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and Veteran-Owned Small Business (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 certified by the Small Business Administration (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 a prime and is properly registered and certified by the Small Business Administration (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 a prime and is properly registered and certified by the Small Business Administration (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…