United States - R--Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Services

Description

Added: Aug 09, 2019 1:31 pm

COMBINED SYNOPSIS SOLICITATION

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The government anticipates award of a single firm fixed price contract. A quotation is not an offer and, consequently, cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Therefore, issuance by the Government of an order in response to a supplier s quotation does not establish a contract. The order is an offer by the Government to the supplier to buy certain supplies or services upon specified terms and conditions. A contract is established when the supplier accepts the offer.

Solicitation 36C10E20Q0015 is issued as a request for quote (RFQ).

The solicitation incorporates provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2019-01, effective Dec. 20, 2018.

The combined synopsis/solicitation is set aside for Service- Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) concerns only. Only quotes submitted by Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business concerns will be accepted by the Government. Any quote that is submitted by a contractor that is not a verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business in VIP will not be considered for award. The applicable NAICS Code for this solicitation is 624190 and the Small Business Size limitation is $11 Million. Offers from SDVOSB concerns must be registered and verified in the Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) Vendor Information Pages (VIP) website at https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov/ at the time and date set for receipt of offers and at the time and date of award to be considered for award. Offers from SDVOSB concerns that are not registered shall be rejected as non-responsive and shall not be considered for award.

The contractor shall provide all equipment, services, material, labor, transportation and supervision to provide Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services for 745 employees (and their immediate family members), employed by the Salt Lake City, UT VBA Regional Office.

Please provide pricing for Line Items 0001 - 4001 as shown in the attached price schedule. NOTE: The per employee price shall include all requirements outlined in the SOW.

Description of Requirement

Please see the attached Statement of Work (SOW) for details.

Period of Performance: It is anticipated that the period of performance for these services will commence on 10/1/2019, and continue with a base period of one year, with four one-year option periods.

viii. FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items (OCT 2018), applies to this solicitation. The following provisions are added as addenda:

52.204-7 System for Award Management (OCT 2018)

52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (JUL 2016)

52.217-5 Evaluation of Options (JUL 1990)

52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated By Reference (FEB 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html (FAR) and http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/index.asp (VAAR)

852.270-1 Representatives of Contracting Officers (JAN 2008)

(End of Addendum to 52.212-1)

FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation Commercial Items (OCT 2014), applies to this solicitation.

The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Price

Past Performance

Options - The Government will evaluate quotes for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the base price for the basic requirement to include the possible contract extensions under FAR Clause 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract. The Government will evaluate its option to extend services at FAR Clause 52.217-8 by adding six (6) months of the Offeror's proposed price for the final option period to the Offeror's total proposed price. The Government may determine that the quote is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-2

1. Contract Type: The contract will be firm-fixed price. It will be competed and awarded under Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The Government intends to select one Contractor from the subject solicitation.

2. SAM Registration: Quoter s must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). No contract will be entered into with an unregistered contractor. Internet access allows you to register by completing an electronic on-line registration application at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ On-line Representations and Certifications (ORCA) may also be filled out at this website.

3. Solicitation Questions: Questions of a technical nature shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer in writing via e-mail. Oral questions of a technical nature are not acceptable due to the possibility of misunderstanding or misinterpretation. The cut-off date and time for receipt of questions is August 16, 2019 by 5:00 PM CST. Questions received after this date and time may not be answered. Questions will be answered in a formal amendment to the solicitation so all interested parties can see the answers.

4. Amendments: Amendments to this solicitation will be posted at http://www.fedbizopps.gov (FBO). Paper copies of the amendments will NOT be individually mailed. By registering to receive notifications on FBO, offerors will be notified by email of any new amendments that have been issued. No other notification of amendments will be provided. Potential Offerors are advised that they are responsible for obtaining and acknowledging any amendments to the solicitation. Failure to acknowledge an amendment may result in your offer being considered unacceptable.

5. Basis For Award: This requirement will be competed and awarded under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The Government will award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsive, responsible offeror in accordance with FAR 9.104-1 and whose quote conforms to the solicitation will be the best value to the Government, price and other non-price factors considered. Since award may be made to the Quoter with other than the lowest price, price is not necessarily the determining factor.

6. Award and Selection: Following receipt of quotes, the government will perform an evaluation using a comparative analysis of the products/services quoted, in an impartial manner. The government intends to compare what has been quoted to one another to select the product/service that is best suited to fulfill the requirement. The evaluation factors outlined in this request for quote will determine suitability. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other non-price factors considered.

7. Quote Preparation Instructions: Quotes shall be based on the requirements of the solicitation, and must contain the following:

Part I - Price: Insert proposed unit and extended prices in all Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs). All prices shall be represented in two decimal positions only. Example: $0.27, not $0.27458.

Part II Past Performance: Quoter shall submit three (3) relevant references (relevant is defined in this RFQ as within the last 3 years) for which your company has provided work similar in size and scope to this requirement. Please provide current contact information to include an active contact s name, e-mail, phone number, address, and organization to include a brief description of the work completed, dollar value of contract, contract period of performance, and a contract # (if applicable). References may be checked to ensure your company is capable of performing in accordance with the Statement of Work.

The Government reserves the right to obtain past performance data from other sources than those identified by the Offeror in evaluating past performance. This includes, but not limited to, the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), Electronic Subcontract Reporting System (eSRS), or other databases; interviews with Program Managers, Contracting Officers, and other designated Technical Representatives. Offerors are reminded that both independent data and data provided by Offerors in their quotes may be used by the Government to evaluate past performance. The Contracting Officer may also evaluate past performance based on direct knowledge of the Contractor s performance on current or recent contracts.

8. Submission of Quotes:

Quotes are due no later than August 26, 2019 by 5:00 PM CST.

Quotes shall be submitted electronically to Edward.Bradford@va.gov. The email subject line must contain the following: Quote in Response to 36C10E20Q0015, EAP Services, Salt Lake City, UT VBA .

Vendors bear the burden of ensuring that quotes, and any applicable amendments, are emailed on time. All pages of the quote must be emailed before the deadline specified in this solicitation. Failure to provide any of the required information or the providing of inadequate or unclear information may result in the offer being considered unacceptable.

x. FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items (OCT 2018) applies to this solicitation. The offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically via the SAM website access through http://www.acquisition.gov. After reviewing the SAM database information, the offeror verifies by submission of this offer that the representations and certifications currently posted electronically at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items, have been entered or updated in the last 12 months, are current, accurate, complete, and applicable to this solicitation (including the business size standard applicable to the NAICS code referenced for this solicitation), as of the date of this offer and are incorporated in this offer by reference (see FAR 4.1201), except for paragraphs ____________.

xi. FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items (OCT 2018) applies to this solicitation. The following provisions clauses are added as addenda:

VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY

GENERAL

Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security. Contractors must follow policies and procedures outlined in VA Directive 6500, Information Security Program which is available at: http://www1.va.gov/vapubs and its handbooks to ensure appropriate security controls are in place.

ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

b. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness.

d. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor.

e. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor's employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

b. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor's information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA's information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA's sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on-site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

c. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/ subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/ created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

d. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

e. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

f. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

h. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

i. The contractor/subcontractor's firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA's minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA's prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response.

l. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COR.

INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Reserved

INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, OR USE

a. For information systems that are hosted, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities, contractors/subcontractors are fully responsible and accountable for ensuring compliance with all HIPAA, Privacy Act, FISMA, NIST, FIPS, and VA security and privacy directives and handbooks. This includes conducting compliant risk assessments, routine vulnerability scanning, system patching and change management procedures, and the completion of an acceptable contingency plan for each system. The contractor's security control procedures must be equivalent, to those procedures used to secure VA systems. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must also be provided to the COR and approved by VA Privacy Service prior to operational approval. All external Internet connections to VA's network involving VA information must be reviewed and approved by VA prior to implementation.

b. Adequate security controls for collecting, processing, transmitting, and storing of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as determined by the VA Privacy Service, must be in place, tested, and approved by VA prior to hosting, operation, maintenance, or use of the information system, or systems by or on behalf of VA. These security controls are to be assessed and stated within the PIA and if these controls are determined not to be in place, or inadequate, a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) must be submitted and approved prior to the collection of PII.

c. Outsourcing (contractor facility, contractor equipment or contractor staff) of systems or network operations, telecommunications services, or other managed services requires certification and accreditation (authorization) (C&A) of the contractor's systems in accordance with VA Handbook 6500.3, Certification and Accreditation and/or the VA OCS Certification Program Office. Government- owned (government facility or government equipment) contractor-operated systems, third party or business partner networks require memorandums of understanding and interconnection agreements (MOU-ISA) which detail what data types are shared, who has access, and the appropriate level of security controls for all systems connected to VA networks.

d. The contractor/subcontractor's system must adhere to all FISMA, FIPS, and NIST standards related to the annual FISMA security controls assessment and review and update the PIA. Any deficiencies noted during this assessment must be provided to the VA contracting officer and the ISO for entry into VA's POA&M management process. The contractor/subcontractor must use VA's POA&M process to document planned remedial actions to address any deficiencies in information security policies, procedures, and practices, and the completion of those activities. Security deficiencies must be corrected within the timeframes approved by the government. Contractor/subcontractor procedures are subject to periodic, unannounced assessments by VA officials, including the VA Office of Inspector General. The physical security aspects associated with contractor/ subcontractor activities must also be subject to such assessments. If major changes to the system occur that may affect the privacy or security of the data or the system, the C&A of the system may need to be reviewed, retested and re- authorized per VA Handbook 6500.3. This may require reviewing and updating all of the documentation (PIA, System Security Plan, Contingency Plan). The Certification Program Office can provide guidance on whether a new C&A would be necessary.

e. The contractor/subcontractor must conduct an annual self-assessment on all systems and outsourced services as required. Both hard copy and electronic copies of the assessment must be provided to the COR. The government reserves the right to conduct such an assessment using government personnel or another contractor/subcontractor. The contractor/subcontractor must take appropriate and timely action (this can be specified in the contract) to correct or mitigate any weaknesses discovered during such testing, generally at no additional cost.

f. VA prohibits the installation and use of personally-owned or contractor/ subcontractor-owned equipment or software on VA's network. If non-VA owned equipment must be used to fulfill the requirements of a contract, it must be stated in the service agreement, SOW or contract. All of the security controls required for government furnished equipment (GFE) must be utilized in approved other equipment (OE) and must be funded by the owner of the equipment. All remote systems must be equipped with, and use, a VA-approved antivirus (AV) software and a personal (host-based or enclave based) firewall that is configured with a VA-approved configuration. Software must be kept current, including all critical updates and patches. Owners of approved OE are responsible for providing and maintaining the anti-viral software and the firewall on the non-VA owned OE.

g. All electronic storage media used on non-VA leased or non-VA owned IT equipment that is used to store, process, or access VA information must be handled in adherence with VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization upon: (i) completion or termination of the contract or (ii) disposal or return of the IT equipment by the contractor/subcontractor or any person acting on behalf of the contractor/subcontractor, whichever is earlier. Media (hard drives, optical disks, CDs, back-up tapes, etc.) used by the contractors/ subcontractors that contain VA information must be returned to the VA for sanitization or destruction or the contractor/subcontractor must self-certify that the media has been disposed of per 6500.1 requirements. This must be completed within 30 days of termination of the contract.

h. Bio-Medical devices and other equipment or systems containing media (hard drives, optical disks, etc.) with VA sensitive information must not be returned to the vendor at the end of lease, for trade-in, or other purposes. The options are:

(1) Vendor must accept the system without the drive;

(2) VA's initial medical device purchase includes a spare drive which must be installed in place of the original drive at time of turn-in; or

(3) VA must reimburse the company for media at a reasonable open market replacement cost at time of purchase.

(4) Due to the highly specialized and sometimes proprietary hardware and software associated with medical equipment/systems, if it is not possible for the VA to retain the hard drive, then;

(a) The equipment vendor must have an existing BAA if the device being traded in has sensitive information stored on it and hard drive(s) from the system are being returned physically intact; and

(b) Any fixed hard drive on the device must be non-destructively sanitized to the greatest extent possible without negatively impacting system operation. Selective clearing down to patient data folder level is recommended using VA approved and validated overwriting technologies/methods/tools. Applicable media sanitization specifications need to be pre-approved and described in the purchase order or contract.

(c) A statement needs to be signed by the Director (System Owner) that states that the drive could not be removed and that (a) and (b) controls above are in place and completed. The ISO needs to maintain the documentation.

SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

a. The term "security incident" means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/ subcontractor shall immediately notify the COR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/ subcontractor has access.

b. To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/ subcontractor's notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the contractor/subcontractor considers relevant.

c. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement.

d. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH

a. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract.

b. The contractor/subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a "security incident" as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

c. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following:

(1) Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access);

(2) Description of the event, including:

(a) date of occurrence;

(b) data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code;

(3) Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;

(4) Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

(5) Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text;

(6) Amount of time the data has been out of VA control;

(7) The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons);

(8) Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any;

(9) Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals;

(10) Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy Incidents, as appropriate; and

(11) Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised.

d. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

(1) Notification;

(2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

(3) Data breach analysis;

(4) Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;

(5) One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and

(6) Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs.

SECURITY CONTROLS COMPLIANCE TESTING

On a periodic basis, VA, including the Office of Inspector General, reserves the right to evaluate any or all of the security controls and privacy practices implemented by the contractor under the clauses contained within the contract. With 10 working-days notice, at the request of the government, the contractor must fully cooperate and assist in a government-sponsored security controls assessment at each location wherein VA information is processed or stored, or information systems are developed, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA, including those initiated by the Office of Inspector General. The government may conduct a security control assessment on shorter notice (to include unannounced assessments) as determined by VA in the event of a security incident or at any other time.

TRAINING

a. All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

(1) Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

(2) Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training;

(3) Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and

(4) Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the contracting officer for inclusion in the solicitation document - e.g., any role-based information security training required in accordance with NIST Special Publication 800-16, Information Technology Security Training Requirements.]

b. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

c. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.

NOTE: The C&A requirements do not apply and that a Security Accreditation Package is not required.

(End of Clause)

52.204-3 System for Award Management Maintenance (OCT 2018)

52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (JULY 2016)

52.204-21 Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems (JUN 2016)

52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999)

52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2000)

The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 60 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed Five (5) years.

52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification (APR 1984)

52.224-2 Privacy Act (APR 1984)

52.227-14 Rights in Data-General (MAY 2014)

52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (DEC 2013)

52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html (FAR) and http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/index.asp (VAAR)

852.203-70 Commercial Advertising (MAY 2008)

852.219-10 VA Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside (JUL 2016)(DEVIATION)

852.219-74 Limitations on Subcontracting Monitoring and Compliance (JUL 2018)

(a) This solicitation includes VAAR 852.219-10 VA NOTICE OF TOTAL SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE (JUL 2016)(DEVIATION).

(b) Accordingly, any contract resulting from this solicitation is subject to the limitation on subcontracting requirements in 13 CFR 125.6, or the limitations on subcontracting requirements in the FAR clause, as applicable. The Contractor is advised that in performing contract administration functions, the Contracting Officer may use the services of a support contractor(s) retained by VA to assist in assessing the Contractor's compliance with the limitations on subcontracting or percentage of work performance requirements specified in the clause. To that end, the support contractor(s) may require access to Contractor's offices where the Contractor's business records or other proprietary data are retained and to review such business records regarding the Contractor's compliance with this requirement.

(c) All support contractors conducting this review on behalf of VA will be required to sign an Information Protection and Non-Disclosure and Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest Agreement to ensure the Contractor's business records or other proprietary data reviewed or obtained in the course of assisting the Contracting Officer in assessing the Contractor for compliance are protected to ensure information or data is not improperly disclosed or other impropriety occurs.

(d) Furthermore, if VA determines any services the support contractor(s) will perform in assessing compliance are advisory and assistance services as defined in FAR 2.101, Definitions, the support contractor(s) must also enter into an agreement with the Contractor to protect proprietary information as required by FAR 9.505-4, Obtaining access to proprietary information, paragraph (b). The Contractor is required to cooperate fully and make available any records as may be required to enable the Contracting Officer to assess the Contractor's compliance with the limitations on subcontracting or percentage of work performance requirement.

(End of Clause)

852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests (NOV 2018)

852.237-70 Contractor Responsibilities (APR 1984)

(End of Addendum to 52.212-4)

xii. 52.212-5, Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Executive Orders Commercial Items (OCT 2018), applies to this solicitation. The following provisions and clauses are selected as appropriate to this solicitation:

Paragraph a clauses applicable:

(1) 52.203-19 Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or

Statements (JAN 2017)

(2) 52.204-23 Prohibition on Contracting for Hardware, Software, and Services Developed or Provided by Kapersky Lab and Other Covered Entities (JUL 2018)

(3) 52.209-10 Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (NOV 2015)

(4) 52.233-3 Protest After Award (AUG 1996)

(5) 52.233-4 Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (OCT 2004)

Paragraph b clauses applicable:

(4) 52.204-10 Reporting Executive Compensation & First-Tier Subcontract Awards (OCT 2018)

(8) 52.209-6 Protecting the Government s Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (OCT 2015)

(22) 52.219-28 Post-Award Small Business Program Representation (JUL 2013)

(25) 52.222-3 Convict Labor (June 2003)

(27) 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (APR 2015)

(28) 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity (SEP 2016)

(30) 52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (JUL 2014)

(33)(i) 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons (MAR 2015)

(42) 52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (AUG 2011)

(45)(i) 52.224-3 Privacy Training (JAN 2017)

(49) 52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (JUN 2008)

(56) 52.232-34 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Other than System for Award Management (JUL 2013)

Paragraph c clauses applicable:

(7) 52.222-53 Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services Requirements (MAY 2014)

xiii. Additional Contract Requirements or terms and conditions:

See attached document: Statement of Work - EAP Services

See attached document: Pricing Schedule - 36C10E20Q0015

xiv. Defense Priorities and Allocations Systems and assigned rating: N/A

xv. Quotes are due no later than August 26, 2019 by 5:00 PM CST. Offers shall be submitted electronically to Edward.Bradford@va.gov.

For additional information, please contact the Contracting Officer, Edward Bradford, via e-mail to Edward.Bradford@va.gov.

Opportunity closing date

26 August 2019

Value of contract

to be confirmed