C04_FAR 12 Redacted Over SAT JA_1232SA26Q0688.pdf
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- Attached to
- American Society for Microbiology Journals
- Solicitation number
- 1232SA26Q0688
About this file
This is a Justification to Restrict Competition (J&A) document for a federal contract acquisition by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Agricultural Library (NAL).
The USDA intends to award a firm-fixed-price contract to the American Society for Microbiology (CAGE Code 7B896, Unique Entity ID: LJDQSS1E5ST7) for electronic access to 15 proprietary microbiology journals. The contract will consist of a 12-month base period (FY26) plus four 12-month option periods (FY27-FY30). NAL requires authenticated, unencumbered perpetual electronic access to the specified journals for all USDA-authorized personnel, with guaranteed perpetual access to content made available during the performance period. The journals include titles such as Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, Journal of Bacteriology, and Journal of Virology, among others. The estimated total value for the base year plus all options is redacted in the document, though historical procurement data shows prior contracts valued at $331,477.92 (5 years), $350,676.32 (5 years), and $444,672.08 (5 years). Market research, including internet searches, historical analysis, industry conversations, and a Sources Sought Notice on SAM.GOV, confirmed that only one source can provide the complete requirement. No other sources expressed interest in the acquisition. The procurement is justified under FAR 6.103-1 (Only One Responsible Source) and USC 3304(a)(1), as the American Society for Microbiology holds exclusive copyright and perpetual access rights to these proprietary publications. The Contracting Officer determined the anticipated cost to be fair and reasonable based on historical pricing comparison and the EBSCO Serials Price Projection Report 2026. The document was signed and approved on 09/10/2026.
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United States Department of Agriculture Justification to Restrict Competition
Identification Number: 1232SA26Q0688
Rev. 11/6/2025
NAL requires the most current and updated journals to be able to provide access to all USDA scientists, which in turn allows them to fulfill the agency’s mission. It is critical to the agency mission that NAL obtains 100% of the content of every journal, with perpetual access rights, as soon as the article is published.
(6) Provide a description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as possible, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Part 5 and, if not, which exception under Part 5 applies.
A pre-solicitation notice will be published on SAM.gov. Any responses will be reviewed to determine if additional publishers are capable of providing the full list of Journals.
(7) A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.
The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies/services covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable based on a thorough comparison of historical pricing data from the prior contract and the development of an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) using current market rates.
A fair and reasonable determination was made based on the comparison of the published catalog prices and historical pricing of similar items. Additionally, the published catalog prices will be compared to the industry escalation standards, as identified by the EBSCO Serials Price Projection Report 2026 https://about.ebsco.com/resources/ebsco-serials-price-projection-report-2026
(8) A description of the market research conducted, and the results or a statement of the reason
Market Research was not conducted.
Market research was conducted through internet searches, analyzing historical procurement history for similar/identical items, NAL conversations with industry, and posting a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) on SAM.GOV. The SSN failed to yield any responses. The market research conducted confirms that one source is capable of performance.
Procurement History:
Order/Contract
Period of Performance Total Cost
AG32SBC140006 1825 days (5 years) $331,477.92 1232SA19C0003 1825 days (5 years) $350,676.32 1232SA23C0005 1825 days (5 years) $444,672.08
(9) Any other facts supporting use of other than full and open competition:
No other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition is available. Due to the proprietary nature of this requirement, it is not possible to develop technical data packages, specifications, or a statement of work that would enable competition. A determination has been made that only one contractor can fulfil this requirement.
United States Department of Agriculture Justification to Restrict Competition
Identification Number: 1232SA26Q0688
Rev. 11/6/2025
(10) A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in the acquisition in writing.
No sources have expressed any interest in this acquisition.
(11) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition of the supplies or services required.
The publications provided by the American Society for Microbiology are proprietary. Therefore, only this vendor can provide perpetual access rights for all USDA-authorized personnel. In the event that the American Society for Microbiology journals are made available for distribution by other vendors in the future, with access rights, competition will be pursued.
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