FY21 0003 - Class JA COVID Redacted.pdf

CLASS 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 Sensitive 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;

and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Office of Procurement Acquisition and Logistics Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick, MD 21703

2. Description of the Action:

The proposed action is a class justification and approval based on unusual and compelling urgency for the execution of contract actions required in response to immediate VA requirements for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in response to an emergency / major disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic.

This class justification expires on 31 March 2021, or until the current pandemic is over and the state of emergency is lifted, whichever occurs first.

The period of performance for contracts issued under the authority of this class justification shall not exceed six (6) months.

Class Justification and Approval, FY21 – 0001 issued by the Procuring Activity Competition Advocate on October 7, 2020, is hereby rescinded.

3. Description of Supplies or Services:

This class justification is for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 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.

All contracts issued under the authority of this justification shall be awarded on a firm fixed-price basis.

No contract action issued under the authority of this class justification may exceed $15 million.

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-

Pursuant to FAR Subpart 6.302-2

2 entitled, “Unusual and Compelling Urgency,” using procedures under FAR Subpart 13.5, under 41 U.S.C. 1903.

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. As a result, contracts must be issued with unusual and compelling urgency as commercial sources of supply will not and cannot wait weeks or even days for a solicitation to be issued for competition, evaluated, and a contract to be issued.

VA’s rationale is that under the current declared national emergency and marketplace conditions, an unusual and compelling urgency exists which justifies precluding full and open competition for the execution of contracts for PPE. Failure to execute this action could result in serious jeopardy to patient health and safety and mission loss for the VA and other Government agencies.

Approval of this class justification enables the VA to avoid delays in providing vital PPE and the catastrophic negative impact to the Department’s ability to provide world-class patient care to our nation’s veterans. This justification will allow the VA to be more agile in its acquisition of critical medical and surgical PPE items in the currently everchanging and quickly evolving marketplace.

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 PPE items at this time, as increased global demand on the worldwide supply chain has resulted in acute global shortages. Instead, the government is receiving numerous unsolicited offers for PPE from the commercial marketplace. As these 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 PPE will meet the needs of the government; validating the need for the offered PPE; ensuring price reasonable; and, is making appropriate contractor responsibility determinations prior to issuing a contract award.

A notice for each contract action awarded utilizing this authority will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2.

Pursuant to FAR Subpart 6.302-2

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 PPE and trends.

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 PPE 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 PPE during this national emergency. Future requirements for PPE after the national emergency subside will be competed accordingly.

Pursuant to FAR Subpart 6.302-2

12. Technical / Requirements and Procuring Contracting Officer Certification:

Each procurement executed under the authority of this justification shall be accompanied by a memorandum signed by both the Contracting Officer and the

Technical and Requirements representative, certifying the following:

a. That the requirements being procured are in support of the national emergency (COVID-19 pandemic) and are for medical or surgical PPE items as specified within this justification (reference number FY21 - 0001).

b. The contract is a firm-fixed-price contract.

c. The price is fair and reasonable price (and how price reasonableness was determined).

d. The contract period of performance (including options) does not exceed six-months.

e. The total contract value (including options) does not exceed $15M.

Approval

For acquisitions over $750,000 but not exceeding $15M

In my role as Competition Advocate for the procuring activity, based on the forgoing justification, I hereby approve the Class 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.

Donald J. Jones 926524

Digitally signed by Donald J. Jones

926524 Date: 2020.10.13 10:23:42 -04'00'

10/13/2020

Donald J. Jones Date Procuring Activity Competition Advocate

Competition Advocate Tracking Number FY21 - 0003