FY20 - DJ035 - JA Airboss Redacted1_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Pursuant to FAR Subpart 6.302-2 (Using procedures under FAR Subpart 13.5)

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Procurement Acquisition and Logistics Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 10300 Spotsylvania Avenue, Suite 400

Fredericksburg, VA 22408

2. Description of the Action:

This Individual Justification and Approval (J&A) is for the award of a new contract to AirBoss Defense Group LLC (ADG) for the acquisition to expedite and expand the domestic production of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) Lightweight Hood w/Cape and HE2 Filters supplies, to resolve urgent supply needs. These maintenance and consumable items serve as vital parts of critical personal protection equipment (PPE) for medical and health professionals, and protect the wearer from airborne particles, including droplets that may contain bacteria and viruses. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, PAPRs and supplies have been identified as a critical item of PPE and have been depleted within the existing Strategic National Stockpile. Because current U.S.

production of PAPRs and supplies has been overburdened and is inadequate, there exists an immediate need to increase production capability for these PAPRs and supplies. Capacity must be increased, and reserve must be rebuilt as soon as possible to prepare for any potential, immediate spikes in demand, and for near and distant future needs.

3. Description of Supplies or Services:

This justification is for the acquisition of PAPR Lightweight Hood w/Cape and HE2 Filters, in support of the VA in meeting the PPE needs of 1,255 VA healthcare facilities;

which includes 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites within all 18 Veterans Integrated Services Networks (VISN) throughout the US and its territories. The manufacturer, ADG has domestic supplies available and can deliver increased filter capacities of its existing domestic NIOSH-approved filters to 10,000 per week. This delivery and weekly production can be achieved within weeks after contract award.

The contract issued under the authority of this justification shall be awarded on a firm fixed-price basis with an estimated dollar value of

4. Statutory Authority:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(2) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302- 2 entitled, “Unusual and Compelling Urgency,” using procedures under FAR Subpart 13.5, under 41 U.S.C. § 1903 Special Emergency Procurement Authority.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above:

On March 13, 2020, the President declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the declared national emergency, the supply chain has been overburdened to the point that there are now significant PPE shortages, and with increasing supply allocations being implemented, it has greatly reduced the availability of PPE items. As this major disaster is a world-wide pandemic, all available PPE supplies are in high demand and the market for these supplies is highly volatile.

Public health requires the immediate increase of production capability to meet critical inventory and production gaps for PAPR supplies in order to maintain sufficient levels of available supplies, for furnishing to VA facilities during this national emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Current U.S. production capacity of PAPRs and supplies and other PPE is so inadequate that on 23 March 2020, the President issued Executive Order 13910 on Preventing Hoarding of Health and Medical Resources to Respond to the Spread of COVID-19, delegating to VA the authority to enforce. Failure to immediately increase production capability will deplete current inventories of PAPR supplies, leaving the government, VA and the nation critically unprepared for this and the next pandemic emergency. The US Government is pursuing contracts with several domestic manufacturers of PAPRs and consumable supplies but does not have time to formerly compete the requirement due to the emergency circumstances. In the case of the National Response to the Spread of COVID-19, the contracting office has determined that ADG is a responsible domestic manufacturing source currently producing the required health and medical resources, specifically HE2 Filters and Lightweight Hood w/Capes, suitable to provide the needed response to the spread of

COVID-19.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

Due to the unprecedented and unforeseen circumstances that have arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not practical to seek full and open competition for PAPR supplies at this time, as increased global demand on the worldwide supply chain has resulted in acute global shortages. Instead, the government is reaching out to manufacturers for PAPRs and supplies from the commercial marketplace. As offers are received, the government is exercising due diligence in validating the source of supply;

obtaining medical-field subject matter expertise to determine if the offered PAPR supplies will meet the needs of the government; validating the need for the offered PAPR supplies; ensuring price reasonableness; and, is making appropriate contractor responsibility determinations prior to issuing a contract award.

In accordance with FAR 5.202(a)(2), the contracting officer did not submit the notice required by FAR 5.201 because the contracting officer has determined that the proposed contract action is made under the conditions described in FAR 6.302-2 and the Government would have been seriously injured if the agency complied with the time periods specified in FAR 5.203.

7. Contracting Officer determination that the anticipated cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

No award shall be made under the authority of this justification until the Contracting Officer determines the cost to the Government to be fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on a comparison of current contract pricing, past proposal submissions (if available), and other information made available utilizing price analysis for the PAPR Lightweight Hood w/Cape and HE2 Filters.

8. Description of Market Research Conducted:

Market research was conducted to determine the suitability of commercial items and it has been determined that the Government’s needs may be met by a type of item customarily available in the commercial marketplace that would meet the definition of a commercial item(s) in accordance with FAR Subparts 2.101 and 10.002.

9. Other Facts:

VA supports the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and US Department of Health & Human Services with the delivery of medical supplies and coordination of support missions in response-to and recovery-from nationally declared emergencies and disasters. Given that VA Medical Centers and other select federal facilities are designated FEMA facilities with significant contingency and emergency response roles, the failure to rapidly acquire PAPR supplies would not only negatively impact healthcare delivery to our nation’s Veterans and their dependents, but also potentially have a direct negative impact on the greater public.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in the acquisition:

None

11. Statement of Actions the Agency may take to overcome barriers to competition in the future.

As the actions under the authority of this justification are urgent and compelling as a result of unforeseen circumstances in response to a declared national emergency, there are currently no actions being taken to overcome barriers to competition for the purchase of these PAPR Lightweight Hood w/Cape and HE2 Filters during this national emergency. Future requirements for PAPR supplies after the national emergency subsides will be competed accordingly.

12. Technical Requirements Certification:

I certify that the foregoing justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

13. Contracting Officer Certification:

Pursuant to (FAR 6.303-2(a)(12)), I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Approval

For acquisitions over $700,000 but not exceeding $13.5M

In my role as Competition Advocate for the procuring activity, based on the forgoing justification, I hereby approve the Justification and Approval, on an other-than full and open competition basis pursuant to the statutory authority cited in paragraph 4 above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the items herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

7/6/2020