FILE | D | FY13 Access to the International Justice and Public Safety Network (Nlets) for the Office of Security and Law Enforcement - Justification and Approval (J&A)

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF OCTOBER 05, 2012 FBO #3968
DOCUMENT

D -- FY13 Access to the International Justice and Public Safety Network (Nlets) for the Office of Security and Law Enforcement - Justification and Approval (J&A)

Notice Date: 10/3/2012
Notice Type: Justification and Approval (J&A)
NAICS: 519190 — All Other Information Services
Contracting Office: Department of Veterans Affairs;Acquisition Business Service;Office of Acquisition Operations (003B);810 Vermont Avenue, NW;Washington DC 20420
ZIP Code: 20420
Solicitation Number: VA10112Q0166
Response Due: 9/12/2012
Archive Date: 10/27/2012
Point of Contact: Brynn McGowan
E-Mail Address: Brynn.McGowan@va.gov<br
Small Business Set-Aside: N/A
Award Number: VA101-12-C-0032
Award Date: 9/27/2012
Description: Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, this justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows: 1.Contracting Activity Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Acquisition Operations Acquisition Business Service (003B5) 1776 I St. NW Washington, DC 20006 2.Nature of Action Being Approved: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Security and Law Enforcement has a critical need to enter into a noncompetitive award with the Information Justice and Public Safety Information Sharing Network, formerly known as the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (Nlets). This justification and approval sets forth the relevant facts and requests approval for the award of a one (1) year base contract with four (4) one year option periods. 3.Description of Services: VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement has an annual requirement for uninterrupted access to Nlets. This access is granted through annual payment of membership fees, which this acquisition seeks to secure. Nlets is a 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation, partially funded by membership fees. Nlets is primarily a message switch that electronically links state, territory, local, Federal and international entities involved in law enforcement, criminal justice, and public safety. Its purpose is to provide the capability to access and exchange the information transmitted through its message switch. In addition to state criminal history and driver and vehicle information, other files are available such as parole, probation, and corrections, bulk cash transactions, state wants and warrants, concealed weapons, license plate reader, immigration, social security, national insurance crime, hazardous material, and many others to include Interpol, Canadian, and Mexican files. In order to sustain continuous access to the system, Nlets charges an annual membership fee to all its members, state and Federal. The Office of Security and Law Enforcement is the policy oversight and compliance organization for the majority of VA Nlets users, i.e., VA Police. As such, it is centrally billed by Nlets in the form of a consolidated base and terminal fee that ensures VA-wide access. The fee structure is composed of the following: "A "membership base fee" ($4000.00 per month) is assessed universally for each month of access, to both state and Federal members. "Supplementing the membership base fee, a terminal fee is charged based on the number of "terminal" or access points utilized by the agency. Nlets mandates that each Federal agency with more than 50 individual access points is assessed this additional fee based on the number of access points it utilizes. VA accesses Nlets by means of the following separate means: "VA Police Units, which comprise the majority of VA users, have access to Nlets though stationary, mobile, and web access points. These users access Nlets through their designated state or Department of Justice system message switches/interfaces which directly link to the Nlets switch. This procurement will specifically ensure that their access to the Nlets switch is procured and maintained via fulfilling payment of the membership fee. "The Office of Security and Law Enforcement accesses Nlets through its one terminal in VA Central Office through the DoJ JUST switch/interface which is directly linked to Nlets. "The VA Office of Inspector General accesses Nlets through approximately 10 stationary terminals throughout the U.S. and VA Central Office which access Nlets applications through the DoJ JUST system switch/interface which is directly linked to Nlets. 4.Statutory Authority: The statutory authority for this justification is 9 U.S.C. Chapter 9, and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, "Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements." Nlets meets that standard. 5.Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: Access to Nlets enables VA law enforcement to fulfill its operational needs and to ensure optimum continuity of VA law enforcement operations at affected VA sites nationwide. Nlets is a unique, one of-a-kind organization that is the only provider of the required membership services that are critical to the successful performance of the Office of Security and Law Enforcement's chief functions in order to ensure the safety and well-being of Veterans and VA employees. 6.Efforts to Solicit Potential Sources: VA Office of Acquisition Operations (OAO), Acquisition Business service (ABS) will post a synopsis of this action to the Federal Business Opportunities website (fbo.gov) in order to publically announce the need and to prompt commercial industry to respond should they possess the same unique capabilities. 7.Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost: The annual membership fees charged to the Department are comparable to those charged to other Federal agencies and those that have been historically paid by VA in the past. 8.Market Survey: A market survey conducted by the Program Office indicated that there are no other sources capable of providing these unique and specialized sensitive security-sharing services ensuring the safety of Veterans and VA employees. 9.Additional Support for Other than-Full and Open Competition: Nlets links together and supports every state, local and federal law enforcement, justice and public safety agency for the purposes of sharing and exchanging critical information. It is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit corporation operated by the fifty states, districts and territories known as the Principal membership and is administered by a Board of Directors elected from those state law enforcement agencies. Nlets is unique in that it operates an international system and network accessible by all criminal justice agencies and is the only provider of this capability in the U.S. The users of the network are criminal justice and law enforcement agencies, both state and Federal. There is no other similar or comparable service entity in the United States, public or private, that provides the capability. 10.Future Competitive Plans: VA personnel will continue to research the industry to try to determine the commercial availability of such specialized criminal justice services. TECHNICAL AND REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION REQUIRED BY FAR 6.303-1 I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification forming a basis for this justification are complete and accurate, and meet the minimum needs and scheduled requirements. Technical/Requirements Cognizance CONTRACTING OFFICE CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge
Web Link: FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/VAAOAS/VADC/VA10112Q0166/listing.html)
Document(s): Justification and Approval (J&A); File Name: VA101-12-C-0032 VA101-12-C-0032_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=491781&FileName=VA101-12-C-0032-000.docx); Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=491781&FileName=VA101-12-C-0032-000.docx; Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
Record: SN02907810-W 20121005/121003234719-66f98cdb33d33cd5ec46f03290cb9fbe (fbodaily.com)
Source: FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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D -- FY13 Access to the International Justice and Public Safety Network (Nlets) for the Office of Security and Law Enforcement - Justification and Approval (J&A)