J_A_Redacted.pdf

This is a Justification for Restricting Competition document submitted by the Department of Veterans Affairs for a sole-source procurement under FAR 12.102(a) for purchases exceeding the micro-purchase threshold but not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold.

The Iowa City VA Health Care System's Pathology and Laboratory Department (Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C263-26-AP-2889) seeks to procure three MassLynx Acquisition PCs with Windows 11 upgrade kits for compatibility with existing Waters Corporation LCMS instruments used for drug confirmation testing. The justification states that Waters Technologies Corporation is the only vendor capable of upgrading the current system, which operates on Windows 7—an unsupported operating system no longer permitted on the VA network. The document explains that purchasing a new PC from another vendor would require repurchasing the MassLynx software, which was initially acquired for $32,300. Upgrading the software on existing Waters Corporation computers provides substantial cost savings while extending the useful life of the current drug confirmation testing system. The contracting officer, Becky De Los Santos, certified the justification as accurate and complete on April 29, 2026.