JA - Redacted 7.1.26_Redacted.pdf

This is a Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity document submitted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for a ceiling increase to an existing indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract.

The contracting activity is the VA's Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center located in Eatontown, New Jersey. The proposed action is a ceiling increase to firm-fixed-price IDIQ contract 36C10A24D0003 awarded to Barton Rogers Group LLC, a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), for the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) Gravesite Kiosk Location Modernization program. The original award on September 25, 2024, covered installation and maintenance of 56 End of Life Kiosks across VA National Cemeteries in the continental United States, outside the continental United States, and Puerto Rico. However, in the second year of ordering, the VA identified the need to replace all 103 existing kiosks to ensure compliance with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility 508 Standards, which became mandatory on January 18, 2018. To date, Barton Rogers has replaced 9 of the originally planned 56 kiosks with 508-compliant units. The ceiling increase is required to accelerate replacement of an additional 47 kiosks, bringing the total to 103 existing kiosks through the contract period ending September 24, 2029. Market research conducted in March 2026 identified two other 508-compliant kiosk providers—DynaTouch and ReliaSource, Inc.—but only Barton Rogers possesses freestanding and through-the-wall kiosks that meet VA facility and 508 compliance requirements and can connect to VA-developed software and Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE). The justification is based on the Veterans First Contracting Program authority under 38 U.S.C. 8127(c), which permits direct contracting with Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses or Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. The Advocate for Competition has approved this exception to fair opportunity.