JA-eFOIA P00007 Extension Redacted.pdf

eFOIA Order Extension VA-26-00033454

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, New Jersey 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed sole source action is for a contract extension modification to Contract Number NNG15SD26B, Delivery Order 36C10B22F0119 for Electronic Freedom of Information Act (eFOIA) Software and associated maintenance support with ThunderCat Technology, LLC (ThunderCat), 1925 Isaac Newton Square East, Reston, VA 20190.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OIT), Quality, Performance and Risk, Office of Quality and Compliance has a requirement for the continuation of 1,055 licenses of brand name AINS, Inc. FOIAXpress software and associated maintenance support to provide continued support of the eFOIA System while corrective action is being completed as a result of a recent protest that was filed against the competitively awarded follow on action.

The requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552 as amended By Public Law No. 110-175, 121 Stat. 2524 states that any person has a right of access to Federal agency records, except to the extent that such records are protected from release by a FOIA exemption or a special law enforcement record exclusion. Executive Order 13392 and the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act, which amended FOIA, requires VA to provide more customer-oriented service by improving the management and administration of its own FOIA program. VA’s web-based eFOIA system was created in response to these laws and directives. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) currently uses AINS, Inc.

FOIAXpress software to process its FOIA requests. This software redacts sensitive and personal information from audio, video, and documents so that it can be released in accordance with United States Laws and VA Directives. Without this software, responding to FOIA requests would be a labor-intensive manual process. Each document and media file would have to have all sensitive information manually redacted. The maintenance support associated with this procurement involves software updates, responding to system outages, training, and help desk support.

Software automating FOIA requests is critical to VA’s mission and obligations under United States Law. The Delivery Order was awarded with a 12-month base period beginning on May 1, 2022, with two 12-month option periods. Additionally, there were three modifications to extend the period of performance.

On August 6, 2025, contract number 47QSMA18D08PU, Delivery Order 36C10B25F0194, was awarded for eFOIA Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Solution. The award was made by the Technology Acquisition Center using competitive procedures eFOIA Order Bridge Extension VA-26-00033454 with a performance start date of August 6, 2025. An unsuccessful offeror filed a Government Accountability Office (GAO) protest challenging the eFOIA SaaS Solution Delivery Order award, on August 19, 2025, resulting in the stay of contract performance of that award pursuant to 31.U.S.C. & 3553 (d)(3)(A)(ii). On November 26, 2025 the Agency reached the decision to take corrective action to include terminating the awarded contract and take steps to recompete the requirement. As a result, VA faces a gap in service for this critical support. As such, an extension to the eFOIA Software Delivery Order 36C10B22F0119 is being sought to ensure the continuation of support throughout the process to recompete the requirement. This support is considered mission critical and must continue. Any gap in support would negatively impact schedule and create unnecessary risk and cost.

The period of performance for this extension being requested is January 1, 2026 through March 31, 2026, with three optional one month extensions to ensure the continuation of support in eFOIA services provided as the result of the actions being pursued in response to the protest. The extension request is comprised of the expected time to take steps to recompete the requirement and possibly transition to a new vendor which could take up to six months. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity is Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul VA Deviation 16.507-6(b)(2), entitled “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.”

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The proposed source for this action is ThunderCat Technology, LLC, 1925 Isaac Newton Square East, Reston, VA 20190. Based on market research, which can be found in Section 8 of this document, it was determined that ThunderCat is the only responsible source capable of satisfying VA’s eFOIA Software services at the level of quality required. No other source can provide the aforementioned support and continuity of services required because of the delays caused by the protest action. This extension will provide for the timely continuance of this critically needed support ensuring continued functionality while the necessary steps are taken to recompete the requirement.

ThunderCat is the only source capable of providing the continuation of services required as they have staff in place and are currently providing the services. From a functional, technical, and administrative perspective, the ramp up time required to incorporate another contractor under a separate Contract/Delivery order to perform eFOIA Software services would require significant time to complete the transition and onboarding activities. These additional delays would severely disrupt the existing eFOIA Software services which have been mandated by EO 13392 and the OPEN Government Act and would introduce significant added financial costs and technical risks.

In summary, no other source can perform this requirement in the timeframe required to prevent a gap in services while the corrective action is being completed. This contract extension is essential to allow continuation of eFOIA Software services through the time necessary to allow for a recompete and award of a new contract, as well as any potential transition.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources that could meet the Government’s requirements. Specifically, aside from ThunderCat, there are no other sources capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required, including the ability to start work immediately and avoid disruption. There is no competition anticipated for this acquisition. In accordance with FAR 5.301 and 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), the award notice for this action will be synopsized on the Contracting Opportunities website, SAM.gov and the justification will be made publicly available within 14 days of award.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The requirements under this effort were competitively awarded under General Services Administration (GSA). As a result of the corrective action taken, the awarded contract has been terminated, and the acquisition process has been restarted to recompete the requirement on a competitive basis.

8. Market Research: This acquisition was recently competed in 2025 as a set-aside among small vendors via GSA Multiple Award Schedule. This was a two-step competitive evaluation process resulting in many vendors being deemed capable.

Furthermore, prior to award of the new contract the Contracting Officer had considered other contractors in the marketplace. Given that the current Delivery Order is nearing the end of its period of performance and the results of the protest corrective action is to terminate the newly competitively awarded contract and recompete the requirement, the incumbent is the only source capable of providing the required services without delays associated with onboarding and transitioning.

Additionally, use of any alternative software would also expose VA to risk of data loss and corruption.

9. Other Facts: None.

10. Technical/Requirements Certification

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

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11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on comparison of the proposed prices with Independent Government Cost Estimates (IGCE). The IGCE was determined based on historical pricing and informal pricing previously provided at the time of the Base Award and were deemed to be fair and reasonable.

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12. Contracting Officer Certification

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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Advocate for Competition Approval

In my role as procuring activity Advocate for Competition, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the extension modification to Contract NNG15SD26B 36C10B22F0119 for Electronic Freedom of Information Act (eFOIA) Software with ThunderCat on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority cited in Section 4 above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Jason Bullen Date Advocate for Competition Technology Acquisition Center Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Department of Veterans Affairs