J AND A REDACTION CAO-20-0242- 3rd ESC Lodging-COVID19.pdf

Control Number: CA0-20-0242

For Official Use Only (March 2020)

Justification Review Document FAR 6.302-2 Other than Full and Open Competition

Urgent and Compelling for COVID-19

Program/Equipment: Lodging in Manhattan, New York; lodging, laundry and transportation services in Edison and Atlantic City, New Jersey; and lodging and transportation services in Newark, New Jersey in support of the 3rd Expeditionary

Sustainment Command for direct support of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Authority: Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 2304(c)(2) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6.302-2 -- Unusual and Compelling Urgency.

Amount: $25,075,535.00

Prepared by:

Typed Name: DSN:

Title: Advocate for Competition Date: 15 April 2020 E-mail:

Contracting Officers:

E-Mail: Date Reviewed: 16 April 2020

Typed Name: DSN: 562.7357 E-Mail: Date Reviewed: 16 April 2020

Technical Representative:

Typed Name: DSN:

Title: Date Reviewed: 28 April 2020

Requirements Representative:

Title: Date Reviewed: 28 April 2020

Control Number: CAO-20-0242

Reviews

I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Program Manager:

Signature: Date: 28 April 2020

Division Chief:

Typed Name: DSN: 562-6058

Signature: Date: 27 April 2020

Legal Counsel

Typed Name: DSN:

Signature: ___ Date: 04/27/20

Associate Director

Signature: Date: 30 April 2020

Advocate for Competition

Signature: Date: 30 April 2020

Senior Contracting Official

Signature: Date: 1 May 2020

Class Justification and Approval

FAR 6.302-2 Other than Full and Open Competition Urgent and Compelling for COVID-19

1. Contracting Activity: Army Contracting Command – New Jersey

2. Description of Action: The 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC) request approval of this Class Justification and Approval (J&A) for multiple new Firm Fixed Price contracts as follows: seven contracts in Manhattan, New York; one contract in Edison, New Jersey; one contract in Newark, New Jersey; and one contract in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Operations and Maintenance Funds-Army have been utilized on each contract.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The 3rd ESC requires lodging for the United States Army (U.S.A) service members providing direct support in the stand-up of the medical facility at the Jacob Javits Center in New York; urban augmented medical centers in New Jersey at the Edison New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center, and the Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City New Jersey; and to provide medical support at University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Due to the seriousness of the COVID-19 Pandemic, to protect the service members from contracting the coronavirus, laundry and transportation services for transport from the lodging facility to the medical facility is also required. This Class J&A supports the procurement of lodging in Manhattan, New York; lodging, laundry and transportation services in Edison and Atlantic City, New Jersey; and lodging and transportation services in Newark, New Jersey in support of the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. The tables below reflect all contracts that have been awarded to support this mission.

New York City Contract Number Cost 1st Option 2nd Option Total

W15QKN-20-C-5015 $

W15QKN-20-C-5017 $

W15QKN-20-C-5020 $

W15QKN-20-C-5014 $

W15QKN-20-C-5016 $

W15QKN-20-C-5018 $

W15QKN-20-C-5025 $

Total Cost for NY $

Edison, New Jersey Contract Number Base Period 1st Option 2nd Option Total

W15QKN-20-5022 $

Newark, New Jersey

W15QKN-20-5027 $

Atlantic City, New Jersey

W15QKN-20-5023 $

The period of performance for each contract is a 30 day base period from the date of award with two, 30-day options. The inclusion of options is due to the fluidity of the requirement and uncertainty of the service members’ departure from each location. The total value of this Class J&A is $25,075,535.00.

4. Authority Cited: Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 2304(c)(2), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency.

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

41 U.S.C. 1903 Special Emergency Procurement authority is authorized because the President of the United States made an emergency determination under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121- 5207 (the "Stafford Act") in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on 13 March 2020.

The 3rd ESC has a public responsibility to comply with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance to prevent further spread of COVID-19. They are also required to comply with Department of Defense and U.S. Army North guidance to implement plans to ensure compliance with directed force health protection measures throughout the area of operations in order to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 within U.S. personnel (service members, civilians, contractors, and dependents) or confine it to as small a population as possible. In order to comply and put protective measures in place, the 3rd ESC has an urgent need for lodging, laundry, and transportation services for U.S.A. service members. This requirement aligns with the WHO’s four prong approach as it provides these services for over 2,500 U.S.A. service members as they stand up a military hospital in New York Cities Javits Center and urban augmented medical facilities in the Edison New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center, and the Atlantic City New Jersey Convention Center and provides medical support to University Hospital, Newark New Jersey as directed by the President in his 13 March 2020 emergency declaration. These medical facilities will directly aid and protect the public from the spread of (or isolate people infected with)

COVID-19.

Every day that passes confirmed COVID-19 cases spike and the death toll increases. It was imperative that these services for the U.S.A. service members be obtained as quickly as possible to protect public health. The U.S. Government could not apply standard procurement times to an acquisition of this urgent nature. Even the short time-lines of 30-60 days to award, would have resulted in hundreds of thousands more being infected and thousands more dying.

FAR 6.302-2 (c)(2) states “This statutory authority requires that agencies shall request offers from as many potential sources as is practicable under the circumstances.” Due to the urgent circumstances, time did not allow for formal or traditional solicitations. The 3rd ESC and Army Contracting Center—New Jersey (ACC-NJ) contracting team partnered to identify viable sources for lodging and laundry services within close proximity of each medical facility as well as sources to support transportation services from the lodging facilities to each medical facility. Through internet searches, telephone calls, and boots on the ground canvasing of each location, sources were identified which resulted in the contracts shown in paragraph 3 of this justification.

The requirement to provide the lodging for the service members was very fluid, changing by the hour and often times by the minute. Some of these changes included:

1) The uncertainty of when service members would arrive on site resulting in Contracting Officers contacting lodging facilities with predisposed negotiated agreements in place to alert them that occupancy would be immediate and 2) Increases to the number of service members that would be deploying to a given location which meant an increased need for additional lodging facilities. Due to the quick reaction by the 3rd ESC and ACC-NJ the additional logging facilities were able to be immediately secured. Failure to secure lodging facilities for the military members would adversely affect the stand-up of the medical facility in New York Cities Javits Center, augmented medical centers in New Jersey at the Edison New Jersey Convention, and Exposition Center, and the Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City New Jersey; and provide medical support at University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey thus affecting many lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Failure to provide laundry and transportation services would jeopardize the health and safety of the service members leaving them vulnerable to contracting the coronavirus.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: The 3rd ESC and ACC-NJ canvased the internet and local areas to identify as many sources as possible for all requirements covered in this J&A which resulted in the contracts shown in paragraph 3 of this justification. The notices required by FAR 5.201 were not posted in accordance with the exception at FAR 5.202(a) (2).

7. Actions to Increase Competition: In the event that additional lodging, laundry and transportation services in support of the COVID-19 pandemic are required in the future, the government will canvas the specified areas to identify as many sources as possible.

This will allow for all sources with the required capacity to support the mission an opportunity to support the subsequent requirements.

8. Market Research: Market research was conducted starting on 27 March 2020 and continued until all required lodging, laundry, and transportation services were satisfied by the contracts shown in paragraph 3. The Market research was conducted by the 3rd ESC and ACC-NJ. Market research was minimal due to the urgent nature of this emergency procurement and the lack of requirements package and historical data for this requirement.

In December of 2019 an outbreak of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The World Health Organization (WHO) states COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. They also state in humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections, ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases, such as COVID-19. The WHO states:

“Around 1 out of every 6 people who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness.

People with fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention.”

The WHO declared the global COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March 2020, stating it is a “public health crisis”. The following is information from the WHO website.

The WHO is recommending all countries activate and scale up their emergency response mechanisms utilizing a four-pronged approach. First, prepare and be ready. In other words, prepare your people and your health facilities. Second, detect, prevent, and treat. Utilize surveillance to find, isolate, test and treat every case in order to break the chain of transmission. Third, reduce and suppress. Reduce transmission by finding and isolating as many cases as possible and quarantining their closes contacts. Protect health facilities, old age homes, and other vital areas. They recommend testing all suspected cases. Fourth, innovate and improve. Find new ways to prevent infection, save lives, and minimize impact. Utilize personal protective equipment. Utilize the WHO training programs, technical guidance, studies, protocols, and preparedness and response plans.

In order to meet the four prongs detailed above, 3rd ESC requirement included standing up medical facility at the Jacob Javits Center in New York; urban augmented medical centers in New Jersey at the Edison New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center; the Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City New Jersey; and provide medical support at University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey. To meet this objective, lodging, laundry services and transportation services were required to support the service members performing their duties at the locations. Without the lodging, laundry and transportation services, the four pronged mission would not be executable.

On January 31, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency (PHE) for the United States to aid the nation’s health care community in responding to COVID-19. On 13 March 2020, the President of the United States of America declared COVID-19 an emergency IAW 42 U.S.C. 5122 (the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency

Assistance Act) which allows for Special Emergency Procurement Authority IAW 41 U.S.C.1903. On 18 March 2020, the President invoked his authority IAW the Defense Production Act. The Act allows the President, where necessary to promote the national defense, may require acceptance and performance of contracts orders by any person he finds to be capable of performing them.

As stated in paragraph 5 above, the 3rd ESC and ACC-NJ contracting team partnered to identify viable sources within close proximity of each medical facility that had the room capacity required to house the service members and could provide laundry and transportation services. Through internet searches, telephone calls, and boots on the ground canvasing of each location, sources were identified and resulted in the contracts shown in paragraph 3 of this justification. In New York City, the lodging facilities were not able to accommodate the laundry and transportation services. As a result, the laundry services were satisfied on a task order issued off of the General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule and was supported by a FAR Part 8 Limited Source Justification. The transportation services were satisfied on a contract supported by a FAR 6.302-2 J&A. The lodging was required immediately upon the service members’ arrival on location. If the lodging facilities were not secured the service members would not be able to stand up the medical facilities that would directly aid and protect the public from the spread of (or isolate people infected with) COVID-19. The addition of the laundry and transportation services were directly related to the number of service members arriving at each location and were necessary for their protection from contracting COVID-19.

9. Interested Sources: As shown in the market research, interest was limited to sources that were within close proximity of the medical facilities. Due to the urgency of COVID-19, sources outside of the immediate areas were not considered.

10. Other Facts: a. Procurement history. As the requirements for the lodging, laundry and transportation services for service members outlined in this J&A are directly in support of the stand-up and support of medical facilities in support of the CONVID-19 mission there is no procurement history.

b. Other facts. N/A

11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Typed Name: Date: __29 APR 20_____

Title: Signature:

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Typed Name: Date: __29 APR 20_____

Title: Signature:

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. In accordance with FAR 15.403-1(b)(3) certified cost or pricing is not required therefore the Contracting Officer conducted Price Analysis in accordance FAR 15.404-1(a)(2). In accordance with FAR 404-1 (b)(2)(vi) the Contracting Officer determined the prices fair and reasonable by comparison of proposed prices with prices obtained through market research for the same or similar items.

Typed Name: Date: 27 April 2020___

Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

Typed Name: Date: 27 April 2020

Title: Contracting Officer Signature: _

14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Typed Name: Date: 27 April 2020___

Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

Typed Name: Date: 27 April 2020

Title: Contracting Officer Signature: _

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve this Class Justification and Approval in support of the COVID-19 pandemic for the procurement of lodging in Manhattan, New York; lodging, laundry and transportation services in Edison and Atlantic City, New Jersey; and lodging and transportation services in Newark, New Jersey in support of the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 2304(c)(2), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency. The total value for this Class J&A is $25,075,535.00. The approval is subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

For Official Use Only