Animal Husbandry, Animal Care and Technical Support Servicesr

HHSF223201000004I Task Order HHSF22301005T, Option Period 4 was due to end on Dec 31, 2016. For the follow-on services, Solicitation FDA-SOL-1153590 was posted to FBO on October 18, 2016 with a proposal closing date of Nov 18th, 2016, with an anticipated twenty day phase in period from Dec 12-31, 2016.

On October 28, 2016, the contracting officer received a Notice of Appeal on the NAICS code selected for this requirement. On October 31, 2016 the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a Notice and Order, giving parties an opportunity to file a response to the appeal no later than November 14, 2016. The SBA requested an extension of the Solicitation closing date to December 5, 2016 in order to complete their review and make a decision on the appeal. Due to the time required by the SBA to make their determination on the NAICS appeal, the FDA will not have time to conduct evaluations and finalize an award on the pending solicitation by the time the current Task Orders expire on December 31, 2016.

As a result of this unforeseeable situation and the resulting delays, the FDA is unable to issue an award in response to that solicitation in time to avoid a lapse in service and to allow for adequate transition between contracts. Under the authority of FAR 6.302-2 entitled "Unusual and Compelling Urgency", the FDA issued a modification to extend the current Task Order under the Master ID/IQ contract providing animal husbandry services support for the FDA's Animal Care and Use Programs (ACUP) at the Muirkirk Road Complex-MOD-1 (MRC/MOD-1) in Laurel MD. The performance period on this Task Order has been extended by two (2) months, from Jan 1, 2017 to Feb 28, 2017. This will allow the FDA adequate time to award the follow-on contract for these services.