VER Future LSJ Exceeding MPT up to SAT final_Redacted.pdf

CISAM 3008.405-690(a)(1) Limited-Sources Justification (LSJ)

For orders or BPAs exceeding the micro-purchase threshold and below simplified acquisition threshold

LSJ No: Page 1 of 2

Rev: 04/01/2020

LSJ Number: FY23-0106 PR Number: VER230051

Limited-Sources Justification

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Office of Contracting (OCON), proposes to award an Order, on behalf of Office of Information Technology (OIT)/Identity Records and National Security Division (IRNSD), pursuant to FAR 8.405-6, Limiting Sources.

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

The proposed action is for a sole source order to Slalom, Inc., 821 Second Ave., Suite 1900, Seattle, WA 98104, through General Services Administration, Multiple Award Schedule, Special Item Number, IT Schedule-70. The award will be Time and Materials (T&M) for a base period of 41 days with no option periods.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

VISOTS (Verification Information System Ongoing Transition Support) will consist of transition teams to provide development, security, and operations (DevSecOps) services to support United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Information Technology (IT) system delivery primarily VIS (Verification Information System) The teams will be performing operations and maintenance activities and modernizing complex, large-scale, Internet-facing websites and IT systems in a cloud environment using forward-thinking, modern, open source technologies and managed cloud services with heavy customer engagement.

Period PoP Duration Monthly Total Base Period 41 Days Total

4. Authority and supporting rationale.

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of Multiple-Award Schedule Program, 41 U.S.C. 152(3), Competitive Procedures, and 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies.

Pursuant to FAR 8.405-6(a), the circumstance that justifies limiting sources to fewer than those required by FAR 8.405-1 and 8.405-2 is:

FAR 8.405-6 (a)(1)(i)(A) An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays.

CISAM 3008.405-690(a)(1) Limited-Sources Justification (LSJ)

For orders or BPAs exceeding the micro-purchase threshold and below simplified acquisition threshold

LSJ No: Page 2 of 2

Rev: 04/01/2020

Rationale:

Due to continued performance issues experienced by the program office under the VIPER contract, the program office is in need for Slalom, the previous incumbent, to continue to provide critical expertise which they’ve been providing for the past 3.5 years. The VIPER contractor is lacking in DevSecOps maturity required to maintain and develop the Verification Information System (VIS).

Without Slalom providing mature DevSecOps experience and unique technical knowledge that they have gained from their years of VIS development and operations, the program could experience severe outages and degraded services. These services include public facing impacts such as federal, state, and local benefit-granting agencies would not be able to verify a benefit applicant’s immigration status or naturalized/derived citizenship. E-Verify an internet-based system in partnership with the Social Security Administration, companies and federal contractors would not be able verify the legal status employment eligibility of an individual. Competing this requirement would extend the time to award up to twelve months, which is way too long.

Awarding this contract to another company would obviate the requirement for seasoned engineers since there would be an extensive learning curve even for a large company.

5. Contracting Officer Certification and Approval.

I hereby determine that the circumstance(s) described herein exist and that the information is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.

Contracting Officer Date