JEFO Exceeding SAT - RFO 16.507-6 - LEP.pdf

Attachment 4 U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity (JEFO) Exceeding the SAT – RFO 16.507-6

March 2026

Date: May 18, 2026 PR Number: 20157753

1. Agency and Contracting Activity. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO), Non-Intrusive Inspection Program, prepared this justification for an exception to fair opportunity.1

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The DHS CBP Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Program intends to procure, on a sole source basis, integrated Low-Energy Portal (LEP) systems via award of a delivery order against an existing IDIQ contract to Rapiscan Systems pursuant to RFO 16.507-6. CBP is responsible for acquiring and deploying NII technology at U.S. Ports of Entry (POE) to enable CBP Officers to screen commercial traffic for the presence of contraband while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade, cargo, and passengers. The purpose of these systems is to enable CBP to perform effective and efficient inspection of conveyances, including passenger occupied vehicles and buses for contraband such as illicit drugs, terrorist weapons and currency. These systems will be used for inspection of smaller vehicles such as privately owned vehicles (POV) including cars, sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, motorcycles, commercial vans, dual-rear wheeled trucks and towed trailers, as well as larger vehicles like buses, recreational vehicles, truck tractors with empty semitrailers and trailers. Each system shall be capable of providing an NII image with the quality identified within the performance requirements in the Statement of Work (SOW) to aid CBP personnel in identifying anomalies (potential contraband) within the conveyance.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s need (including the estimated value and the period of performance).

This action supports the issuance of a follow-on delivery order to Rapiscan under the competitively awarded Low-Energy Portal (LEP) IDIQ contract 70B03C21D00000037.

The delivery order is anticipated to be awarded June 30, 2026 and delivery to be made by June 29, 2027.

The delivery order encompasses the following:

• LEP Type 2 systems and installation at the El Paso Field Office – El Paso, TX, Laredo Field Office – Mission, TX, and San Diego Field Office – San Diego, CA

1 In this document, citations to RFO Part 16 are citations specifically to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Class Deviation 26-04 R1 for FAR Part 16, which was issued as part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO), which was implemented in response to Executive Order 14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, signed April 15, 2025.

The proposed delivery order is being issued under the existing multiple-award IDIQ contract vehicle, which was competitively awarded on September 21, 2021, to three vendors— Astrophysics, Leidos, and Rapiscan —using full and open competition. Following the LEP IDIQ award to Leidos, Rapiscan and Astrophysics, CBP competed each delivery order among the IDIQ awardees using Fair Opportunity procedures. For each requirement, CBP issued a delivery order solicitation under the IDIQ, evaluated technical and price proposals, and made award decisions based on best valued to the Government. Through this process, individual delivery orders were awarded for specific ports of entry and field offices. Each awardee has since developed site specific designs, completed or initiated construction activities, and integrated their LEP systems into the local operational environment.

Each contractor has developed detailed knowledge of the physical, operational, and regulatory conditions at its assigned ports; and each contractor’s systems and infrastructure at those locations are now proprietary and tightly integrated with existing CBP operations.

Rapiscan has current experience delivering systems to the sites listed within the proposed Delivery Order. The requirement involves sustainment and enhancement efforts for established NII systems at designated locations. Rapiscan originally installed the existing Z-Portal systems and possesses specialized knowledge of the systems' design, functionality, and integration within the port environment. This expertise, combined with the contractor's familiarity with the unique construction challenges and operational needs of the port, ensures continuity and minimizes risks associated with system upgrades or modifications.

Additionally, the contractor has extensive experience working within the port environments, including familiarity with its unique construction challenges, operational needs, and regulatory requirements. This experience ensures that the contractor can effectively address unforeseen issues that may arise during the installation and upgrade process.

The contractor has also established strong working relationships with port points of contact, which facilitates efficient coordination and execution of the required tasks. Engaging a new contractor would require significant time and resources to transfer knowledge, establish relationships, and familiarize them with the port environment and existing systems. This would introduce unnecessary risks, delays, and costs, jeopardizing the ability to meet the required timeline and operational needs.

5. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The proposed delivery order is being issued under the existing multiple-award IDIQ contract vehicle, which was competitively awarded on September 21, 2021, to three vendors— Astrophysics, Leidos, and Rapiscan —using full and open competition. The pricing structure established under the IDIQ contract was determined to be fair and reasonable at the time of award. The proposed delivery order pricing aligns with the rates and terms negotiated under the IDIQ contract.

Additionally, the Contracting Officer will review and evaluate the cost breakdown for the delivery order as provided by the contractor and determine if the proposed pricing is reasonable given the scope of work, technical complexity, and operational requirements.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

This delivery order is a follow-on action under the legacy IDIQ contract, and transitioning to a new contractor outside of the IDIQ would result in significant duplicative costs. These costs include:

Re-engineering Costs: Developing new systems to meet CBP’s specifications, estimated at $10–15 million per system based on prior acquisition history.

Integration Costs: Re-integrating new systems with existing infrastructure at Ports of

Entry (POEs), estimated at $5 million per location.

Training Costs: Retraining CBP personnel to operate and maintain new systems, estimated at $2 million.

Operational Downtime: Delays in deployment and operational readiness, resulting in potential mission impacts and increased risks at POEs.

These estimates are based on historical data from similar acquisitions and the costs associated with transitioning to a new contractor. By issuing this delivery order under the legacy IDIQ, CBP avoids these duplicive costs and ensures continuity of operations.

Ordering these units now, versus waiting for the follow-on procurement to the existing contracts to be awarded, will allow CBP to continually improve its operational capabilities in inspecting vehicles, as well as meet the request as outlined in the One Big Beautiful Bill to begin procuring additional quantities of these items in an expedited manner.

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

This delivery order is being issued under the LEP, Multiple Award IDIQ contract. The IDIQ structure was designed to promote competition among the awardees for subsequent delivery orders under Fair Opportunity procedures, ensuring that barriers to competition are minimized within the scope of the IDIQ.

For future acquisitions beyond the scope of the current IDIQ, CBP will take the following actions to increase competition:

contracting officer should sign each justification prior to approval by the next higher level (e.g., Competition Advocate, HCA, and/or CPO).

Approvals:

11. COMPETITION ADVOCATE (Per RFO 16.507-6(e)(2) – Exceeding $900,000 to $20M)

Approved Disapproved

Name (Print): ________________________ Competition Advocate

Signature: ___________________________ Date: _____________

12. HEAD OF CONTRACTING ACTIVITY (Per RFO 16.507-6(e)(3)– Exceeding $20M to $90M)

Approved Disapproved

Name (Print): _______________________ Head of the Contracting Activity

Signature: __________________________ Date: _____________

EARL J LEWIS

Digitally signed by EARL J

LEWIS

Date: 2026.05.26 17:48:47 -04'00'

EARL J LEWIS

Digitally signed by EARL J

LEWIS

Date: 2026.05.26 17:51:01 -04'00'

Earl Lewis

Earl Lewis