JA-2023-04-0996_Redacted.pdf

Justification and Approval FAR Part 6 authority

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(41 U.S.C. 3304(a) (1-7))

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 use of the statutory authority under FARSubpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2:

1. Agency andContracting Activity.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Requirements and Capabilities Analysis (RCA), and Contracting and Procurement (C&P), propose to enter into a contract on a basis of other than full and open competition in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, with Idemia Identity and Security USA, LLC (Idemia) to develop and test a prototype e-gate solution and associated engineering support services for the Next Generation Credential Authentication Technology (CAT-2), as well as the upgrading of 11 CAT test units to the CAT-2 configuration.

The Justification and Approval (J&A) tracking number for this document is JA-2023-04-0996.

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved.

Contract details:

(a) Nature of action: The resulting action will be fora sole source contract with Idemia to develop and test a prototype e-gate solution and associated engineering support services for the CAT- 2, as well as the upgrading of 11 CAT test units to the CAT-2 configuration.

(b) Contractor:Idemia Identity and Security USA, LLC (Idemia), 296 Concord Rd, Ste 300, Billerica, MA 01821

(c) Contract Type: Firm Fixed-Price contract

(d) Purchase Request(s): PR237500A066, PR237500A074

(e) Solicitation Number: TSA25-04-03892

(f) Type of funding: Precheck Fee Funds

(g) Year of funding: Fiscal Year 2023

(h) Background information about requirement: see Section 5 below

(i) Estimated total value including options:

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

This requirement is to provide the TSA with 24 months of engineering support services for e-gate prototype development, testing, prototype upgrades, and maintenance. This contract will include the following support:

a. Engineering Support is required to design, develop, and support testing for twelve e-gate prototype solutions for CAT-2 units. The e-gate will be integrated with a CAT-2 unit and will be designed to ensure that airline passengers are authorized to enter the sterile airport area only following confirmation via CAT-2 of valid flight reservations and the authentication of the passenger identification documents (IDs).

b. Engineering Support is required to upgrade eleven existing TSA CAT prototypes to meet current CAT-2 system configuration requirements.

c. Maintenance support services are required for up to 129 CAT-2 testing systems and 12 CAT-2 systems with e-gate prototypes.

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(a)(1), as implemented by the FAR Subpart 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii), entitled “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.

RCA is charged with exploring, evaluating, and validating requirements that address complex mission security scenarios, including use cases that incorporate identity verification. In support of this function, RCA is exploring the requirements surrounding an e-gate version of CAT-2 with a Touchless Identity Solution agent.

TSA has invested testing, developing, maintaining, and securing the current CAT-2 platform. This platform will be the basis for the e-gate prototype and the Touchless Identity Solution. The core elements of CAT-2 are: 1) ID authentication of both physical and digital IDs; 2) biometric matching of passengers to their IDs; and 3) access to Secure Flight information through STIP, all while being cyber secured. The e-gate requirements will be developed from the CAT-2 platform for testing purposes. Test results will help TSA determine whether an e-gate feature should be part of next generation CAT requirements. As such, Idemia is the only responsible source capable of satisfying TSA’s requirements at the level of expertise needed, without extensive development work that would be costly to TSA.

This logical follow on for development will support multiple mission critical requirements to meet program goals and objectives. In addition, this contract is consistent with President Biden’s Customer Service Executive Order, which states that “The Secretary of Homeland Security shall: (i) test the use of innovative technologies at airport security checkpoints to reduce passenger wait times.” A CAT-2 with an integrated e-gate could potentially reduce the number of TSA Full Time Employees (FTE) needed to process passengers at the Traveler Document Check station and thus allow that FTE to complete other activities to increase throughput, thus reducing passenger wait times.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Ensure that Offers Are Solicited from as Many Potential Sources as is Practicable.

On April 4, 2023, TSA issued a Request for Information (RFI) for potential vendors on Sam.gov (TSA25- 04-03473) as a market research tool for e-gates integrated with CAT. TSA received responses from six vendors, including Idemia. With the exception of Idemia’s response, none of the other responses received indicated that another mature solution exists in the marketplace. These responses indicated that developing a solution would require significant additional development work as well as significantly more time than a solution from Idemia. The substantial duplication of development costs required to mature another solution, would not be recovered through a competitive action.

Furthermore, on August 28, 2023 TSA issued a notice of intent to sole source on Sam.gov (TSA25-04- 03884). The notice provided notification of TSA’s intent to sole source this requirement and provided other vendors with an opportunity to express interest in the requirement. The notice was open for response for 15 days and TSA did not receive any responses that prohibit this action.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable.

The Contracting Officer anticipates using procedures in accordance with FAR 15.404-1 to determine fair and reasonable pricing by utilizing comparison of proposed prices to historical prices paid for similar work on TSA contracts and in comparison to market pricing.

8. Description of Market Research.

Market research was conducted to better understand market capabilities. On April 4, 2023, TSA issued a RFI for potential vendors on Sam.gov (TSA25-04-03473) as a market research tool for e-gates. TSA received responses from six large businesses.

The single key takeaway for TSA based upon review of the responses was that Idemia, the CAT-2 vendor, is the only vendor capable of providing the full capability of an e-gate integrated with a CAT-2 unit without significant developmental work and testing that would require a great deal of time. TSA is seeking development to enhance this solution; testing another ID authentication system with this e-gate functionality would be costly and time-consuming, and the results of the 2023 CAT-2 IDIQ competitive contract award, 70T04023D7672N001, revealed there are no other vendors that currently possess this capability or that would be able to support development to the CAT system.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

None.

10. A Listing of the Sources, if Any That Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition.

No other source indicated their ability to meet our requirements.

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.

TSA conducted a competitive procurement for the CAT-2 IDIQ contract awarded in April 2023.

Although the incumbent is currently the only vendor capable of performing the development activities required of this effort, TSA encourages subcontracting opportunities to support this effort.

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.

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.

14. Legal Counsel Review: I reviewed this Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and Open Competition in accordance with HSAM 3006.304-70 and find it legally sufficient.

Legal Counsel

Date

APPROVAL:

Competition Advocate Transportation Security Administration

Contracting Officer

Technical Representative