POSTED_-_OPTICAL_Card_Consumables_J A.pdf

J&A Other Than Full and Open Competition J&A No.: FY16-0043

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Justification &Approval (J&A) Justification For Other Than Full And Open Competition

41 U.S.C. 3304

J&A No.: FY16-0043

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-1 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Contracting Office proposes to enter into a contract on a basis of other than full and open competition. The requiring office is the USCIS Office of Intake and Document Production (OIDP), Document Management Division (DMD).

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

(a) Type of action: Firm-fixed price contract, Period of Performance (PoP) is 04/08/2016 –

09/30/2016 (Base period) plus two 3-Month Option periods; for a contemplated total PoP of 12 months, should all options be exercised.

(b) Amount: $ (Base period and all option periods)

(c) Type of funding: Exam Fee Funds

(d) Year of funding: FY 2016

(e) Other brief descriptive words and phrases:

USCIS intends to award a sole source contract to HID Global Corporation (HID), 611 Center Ridge Drive, Austin, TX, 75356. This action is to order specifically engineered optical card consumables to produce Permanent Resident Cards (PRCs) or Form I-551’s.

This action includes card stock, holograms, ongoing monthly operations support labor, and secure storage services at the vendor’s manufacturing facilities. HID is the only source that provides the card stock which contains a number of specific proprietary custom-designed visual and structural security features, more specifically, colors and multi-spectral identifiers embedded in the card structure, which make the card counterfeit resistant.

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3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The components of this PRC card consumables requirement make up secure identification cards for immigrants that serve as proof of evidence of eligibility to live and work in the United States. Evidence of immigration status in the U.S. is required by law. This procurement is required to keep USCIS in compliance with Federal requirements to provide timely evidence of immigration status to USCIS customers. DMD currently has a yearly requirement to maintain approximately 2,000,000 optical PRC production operations at the Corbin Production Facility (CPF), in Corbin, KY and Lee’s Summit Production Facility (LPF), Lee’s Summit, MO. On September 25, 2015, USCIS awarded a new card consumables Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract (HSSCCG-15-D-00004) for the design and manufacturing of the next generation of Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and PRC cards in one consolidated ordering vehicle. The design stage of the new contract is underway and February 2017 is the estimated date that the new cards will be ready for issuance by USCIS.

Based upon current usage, the existing contract with HID (HSSCCG-15-C-00017) provides for the delivery of 1,000,000 PRC card consumables, and will be exhausted by June 2016 -leaving USCIS with a 10 month gap in PRC card consumables until the anticipated full production begins under HSSCCG-15-D-00004 / HSSCCG-15-J-00167, in February 2017.

Additional PRC card consumables are required to ensure a stable card stock, thus lowering program risk. To bridge this gap and lower program risk, DMD has a requirement to obtain an additional 1,250,000 Optical PRC Laser Engraved Poly-Carbonate Cards, 50 Hologram Stamp Rolls, Ongoing Monthly Operations Support Labor, and Secure Storage for Optical PRC Card Consumables during the base period of 8 April 2016 – 30 September 2016.

Depending upon the progress of the design, testing, and manufacturing of the new cards under IDIQ contract HSSCCG-15-D-00004 / HSSCCG-15-J-00167, two 3-month option periods (1 October 2016 – 31 March 2017), allowing for up to 1,068,000 PRC card consumables (6-month supply), will also be available for use under this contract. As historical usage is utilized to calculate USCIS’s need and actual volumes may fluctuate, optional line items for increased quantities of 534,000 per each of the two 3-month option period are also being included for an additional 1,068,000 PRC card consumables.

The proposed contract action will provide up to a total maximum amount of 3,386,000 additional PRC card consumables to maintain current optical PRC production volume, until the new cards are available for use.

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The total estimated price of the proposed action, to include services incidental to the consumables being procured, is $ .

Period Total Base (04/08/2016 – 09/30/2016) Optional line items during Base

Option 1 (10/01/2016 – 12/31/2016) Optional line items during Option 1

Option 2 (01/01/2017 – 03/31/2017) Optional line items during Option 2

$ (rounded up)

4. Identification of statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C.

3304 and the applicable exception is FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Demonstration that the nature of the acquisition require use of the authority cited.

The proposed source is HID. Only one responsible source [41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1)] is the authority being used for this requirement, since HID is the sole manufacturer of the optical cards and is currently providing cards under contract HSSCCG-15-C-00017. The Government does not possess a detailed Technical Data Package for this item, and does not intend to obtain one. The optical card program was awarded to HID in December 2012. Since the program began, HID has been responsible for the secure production, delivery, and storage of PRC cards. The PRC cards incorporate state-of-the-art technology to prevent counterfeiting and obstruct tampering while facilitating quick and accurate authentication of the card. The PRC cards also contain secure ID credential combining HID Global’s LaserCard optical security media with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags for accelerated border crossing.

HID is the only source that can satisfy USCIS’s current optical PRC card consumables requirement. No other contractor is able to provide a timely product that meets the Government’s requirement. Were USCIS to compete this requirement, and award to a different contractor, extensive delays in the production of cards which could meet the Government’s requirement would be experienced, due to the required customization (inclusion of security features), First Article Testing (FAT), and acceptance. Other possible delays are International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification and user training. The impact of the above being that the existing contract for PRC card consumables (HSSCCG-15-C-00017) will be exhausted by June 2016, leaving USCIS with a 10 month gap in PRC card consumables until the anticipated full production begins under HSSCCG- 15-D-00004 / HSSCCG-15-J-00167, anticipated to be in February 2017.

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The production of USCIS secure identification PRC cards is mission critical, as this is a key element in the immigration benefits application process for the Agency. Additionally, these cards are valid for 10 years. If the beneficiary is eligible to continue to live and work in the U.S. for a longer period of time, they must re-apply, which means card production / reproduction is a continuous requirement.

HID is the only contractor currently capable of fulfilling this requirement and this effort must be awarded to HID on a sole source basis for the following reasons:

The current card stock being purchased via contract HSSCCG-15-C-00017 just recently underwent months of extensive development, inclusive of third party testing, multiple testing and validation exercises, testing by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Forensic Laboratory (FL), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) Program, and recognition training for field agents. A new source would be required to submit its proposed card stock to USCIS, which would result in duplicate testing, including extensive FAT, and validation processes. In addition, duplicate costs would be incurred.

USCIS requires a card that is highly secure, tamper resistant and difficult to counterfeit. The card has to be capable of being printed with card holder information, and highly customized optical memory stripe, artwork design, hologram stamp, and embedded RFID chip on the PRC card. Additionally, our own field personnel are trained with regard to the current card and its security features, and RFID readers at CBP border inspection stations are set to read RFID data on current PRC cards.

Without continued support from HID, USCIS would be at risk of jeopardizing performance, degradation of the existing PRC card consumables, and the smooth running of the Card Personalization System Technology Refresh system at the USCIS CPF and LPF. The current PRC card stock and holograms must be chemically compatible and binding of all materials to create a highly secure solid body laser engrave-able card stock, which is critical to the USCIS document production program. All PRC cards must conform to specific ISO and International Civil Aviation Organization technical formats to ensure compatibility and operability with existing materials and printing equipment.

Therefore, not just the card stock, but any other components of the card must perform exactly as per USCIS requirements. No other contractor is able to meet these requirements in the limited time available.

Consequently, use of any source other than HID, would result in the lack of availability of this critical requirement. Failure to ensure a seamless supply of PRC cards will significantly impact USCIS’ ability to provide critical optical cards to legal aliens, thereby jeopardizing successful mission accomplishment. This would increase the risk of ensuring the integrity of our immigration system. The direct result of a lack of availability of PRC cards would be an immediate disruption in the applicant’s ability to receive benefits to which they may otherwise be entitled.

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6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

It is intended to solicit only HID for this procurement. The notice required by FAR 5.201 will be published on FedBizOpps, and any proposals received shall be considered. USCIS intends to make this justification publicly available, pursuant to FAR 6.305.

7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price to the Government will be fair and reasonable based upon an analysis performed in accordance with FAR 15.404 and from obtaining other than cost or pricing data from HID.

8. Description of market research.

Market research performed for contract HSSCCG-15-D-00004 indicated that HID was the only company with the relevant capability to develop, produce, and sustain the required cards. As such, only HID can immediately deliver optical PRC cards beginning in April 2016, without an adverse impact to the immigration system – therefore, no market research (outside of that done for the above contract) was conducted for this requirement. A different contractor would not be able to provide the technical requirements and high-security critical functionality of the current PRC card; only HID is able to deliver the same quality PRC card consumables that can minimize security risks and meet the overall performance requirements. Selecting a different vendor (through competition) for the new contract would require substantial unanticipated changes in the requirement in order to obtain card consumables (void of proprietary technology).

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

Historical background shows the following:

Award # Contractor Date of Award Extent Competed HSSCCG-13-D-00003 HID Global 12/28/2012 Sole-Sourced HSSCCG-15-C-00017 HID Global 08/27/2015 Sole-Sourced

The PRC uses proprietary technology which is unique to this vendor (HID), and is compatible with USCIS’s current production system.

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

To date, no other qualified sources have expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

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11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for supplies or services required.

Competition for this requirement is limited by the factors and conditions stated in Sections 5 and 6. Moreover, barriers were removed by awarding a new contract via full and open competition, as discussed below. This requirement is needed to cover the gap from the new contract award through to production and issuance of cards. On September 25, 2015, USCIS awarded a new card consumables IDIQ contract (HSSCCG-15-D-00004) for the design and manufacturing of the next generation EAD and PRC cards in one consolidated ordering vehicle via full and open competition. The design stage of the new contract is underway, and February 2017 is when we estimate the new cards to be ready for issuance by USCIS.

Based upon current usage, USCIS only has sufficient PRC card consumables to last until June 2016, leaving the Government with a 10 month gap in PRC card consumables stock.

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12. Contracting Officer’s Certification. I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer Date

13. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification. I certify this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for this justification, is complete and accurate.

Program Manager

Date

APPROVAL:

Head of Contracting Activity Date