Redacted- Part 8 Over SAT JandA-APHIS OM and E.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Justification to Restrict Competition under FAR Part 8

Over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold Identification Number:

Rev. 2/26/26

In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.4 and General Services Administration Acquisition Manual (GSAM) 538.7104-3 (b), the following justification documents the decision to restrict competition for this acquisition.

(1) Mission Area and Contracting Activity.

Requisition Number: Unknown yet- RPT # FY26-003934

Requesting Activity Agency: APHIS

Contracting Activity: POD

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

This J&A authorizes and approves the award of a FFP Bridge contract for Operations & Maintenance, development, and minor enhancements for the following APHIS systems: Veterinary Export Health Certification System (VEHCS), Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance & Tracking (PCIT), The Lacey Act Web Governance System (LAWGS). The contract being bridged is 12639520F0756.

These services are commercial in nature and will be procured utilizing the procedures listed in FAR Part 8 and GSAM 538.71.

The suggested contractor is:

AttainX, Inc.

13873 Park Center RD STE 55N Herndon, VA 20171-3297

UEI: J6Z9VBSL4219

GSA Contract: GS-35F-293DA

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

This contract provides mission critical operations and maintenance to provide the delivery of regulatory development, minor enhancements and maintenance of systems which support the mission of USDA APHIS, in particular the mission areas related to the import, shipment and tracking of commodities as well as to the program goals to monitor, safeguard, and regulate animal and plant commodities. These systems manage billions of dollars in trade of animals, plants, etc.

The bridge is anticipated to be one (1) task order for three months:

Base: $773,828.01 Total estimated value: $773,828.01

(4) Identify the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority supporting the placement of an order or establishment of a Federal Supply Schedule Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) that exceeds the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) on a sole source basis is: GSAM 538.7104-3 (b)(i) - The need is of such unusual urgency that following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling that need.

(5) Demonstrate that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires using the authority cited.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this procurement applies due to the proposed bridge and the nature of the acquisition. The contractor, having provided the same services under the previous contract 12639520F0756, possesses the knowledge, specialized expertise, and an in-depth understanding of APHIS requirement to keep the systems running. These unique factors are critical to ensuring the continuity and integrity of the program while we re-compete the contract.

The original contract was awarded through a competitive process, demonstrating the contractor’s capability and efficiency in meeting the requirements. Currently due to an unforeseen delay in transferring this requirement from APHIS to the OCIO STRATUS team, including financial issues related to their Inter-Agency Agreement (IAA). As a result, contracting did not have sufficient time to compete the requirement at its full magnitude prior to the need date of 3/24. I spoke with the APHIS Contracting Officer and they had already utilized FAR 52.217-8 to its full potential of 6 months. There is no other vendor that could be on board and up and running the same day for only 3 months. Hence why we are needing to bridge by sole sourcing to the incumbent. If this contract were to lapse it would jeopardize billions of dollars in trade of animals, plants, etc., stop products from entering the U.S., and would prevent compliance and enforcement during that time period to combat illegal trade of illegal timber harvest estimated at a $150 billion per year criminal enterprise.

The anticipated three (3) month bridge contract is unusual and has compelling urgency as a lapse of the three APHIS systems unacceptable as it would critically hamper imports and exports to the US and the monitoring of illegal timber harvesting. It would also lead to significant complaints from industry and Congress. Shipments will be delayed and possibly destroyed. There are no back-up paper options and trade will essentially be stopped.

The intent is to conduct a full competitive procurement on STRATUS. This bridge would allow us to set up and award a competitive contract. This bridge is meant to serve as a long-term goal of competing and getting the best value for the government. This temporary bridge mitigates the risks of operational disruptions and ensures the continued success and efficiency of the APHIS Veterinary Services (VS), fulfilling our organizational objectives to protects and improve the health, quality, and marketability of our Nation's animals, animal products, and veterinary biologics without compromise.

(6) A determination by the Contracting Officer that the order represents a fair and reasonable price.

The Contracting Officer reviewed the proposed order pricing against the contractor’s GSA Schedule rates and confirmed that the proposed labor categories, quantities, and discounts are consistent with the requirement and do not exceed approved Schedule ceiling rates. Although GSAM 538.7102-2(d) waives a formal determination, an appropriate price evaluation was completed. Based on this review, the anticipated cost is considered fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will ensure the final price remains fair and reasonable by verifying labor category alignment, confirming any applicable discounts, and reviewing the final pricing prior to award.

(7) A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results, or a statement of the reason Market Research was not conducted.

Market research recently was conducted for the bridge only. Confirming AttainX’s GSA Schedule was still valid and available. This research confirmed that the required supplies/services are available still under the Federal Supply Schedule; however, this being a bridge request only AttainX could keep the systems running as the incumbent while we re-compete. Accordingly, the market research supports proceeding with a bridge contract under the FSS program. The bridge is being put into place to keep critical services going. A recompete is still planned following the completion of this 3-month bridge.

(8) Any other facts supporting use of other than full and open competition, such as:

Contractor is a small business in the designated NAICS 541512. Additional socio-economic representations include Women-Owned Small Business, SBA Certified Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Business and Small Disadvantage Business. Contracting with AttainX, supports small business and small disadvantaged businesses goaling.

Several additional factors support the use of this justification for a sole source/bridge contract with AttainX, Inc. The company has been performing the OM&E services over the past 5 years and already have system and staff currently to support the services. To would not be in the government’s best interest to bring in a new contractor for three months just to re-compete the contract. It would also not allow transition time.

Transitioning to an alternative source would require substantial transition of staffing and significant time, leading to unacceptable delays and operational risks.

(9) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition of the supplies or services required.

To enhance competition and remove barriers for subsequent acquisitions of APHIS OM&E, the agency plans to re-compete the full requirement of a base year plus 1 option year. USDA is actively engaged in conducting market research and working on the RFQ for STRATUS. We will engage with STRATUS vendors shortly.

There will be a fair opportunity offered to all eligible STRATUS vendor.