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J -- J065--ScriptPro Service Contract Columbia VAMC 36C255-26-AP-0006 SOL 36C25525Q0393 DUE 06/05/2025 at 07:00AM -05:00 POC Erika Kobulnicky, Erika.Kobulnicky@va.gov, tel:913-946-1991THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)/SOURCES SOUGHT DISCLAIMER 1. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. 2. The submission of pricing, capabilities for planning purposes, and other market information is highly encouraged and allowed under this RFI In Accordance With (IAW) FAR Part 15.201(e). SOURCES SOUGHT DESCRIPTION Establish a service contract for ScriptPro Maintenance and Support Service at Columbia VA Medical Center. 3. This is NOT a solicitation announcement. This is an RFI/sources sought only. The purpose of this sources sought/RFI is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classification relative to NAICS 811210. Responses to this sources sought will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After review of the responses to this sources sought, a solicitation announcement may be published. Responses to this sources sought synopsis are not considered adequate responses for a solicitation announcement. 4. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VISN 15 Network Contracting Office, is seeking sources that can provide the following: Contractor shall perform maintenance and support services, including emergencies, on the ScriptPro systems and associated equipment in accordance with Manufacturer s recommendations, design specifications, and the specifications, terms and conditions of this contract at the Harry S. Truman VA Medical Center. The contract would be for a base year starting October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. 5. It is the responsibility of the interested source to demonstrate to the government that the interested parties can provide the services that fulfill the requirement. If you are interested, and are capable of providing the sought services, please provide the requested information as well as the information indicated below. Failure to respond to all questions in this sources sought will determine the interested party as non-responsive which may affect a set-aside decision for a resulting solicitation. Response to this notice should include company name, address, point of contact, size of business pursuant to the following questions: a. Please provide your UEI number. b. Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Hubzone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc.)? c. Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified under this RFI/Sources Sought? d. Are you the manufacturer, distributor, or an equivalent solution to the items being referenced above? Do you have a proprietary letter or an authorized distributor letter from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)? e. If you re an SDVOSB, VOSB or small business and you are an authorized distributor/reseller for the items identified above or an equivalent solution, do you alter; assemble; modify; the items requested in any way? If you do, state how and what is altered; assembled; modified? f. If you are identified as a SDVOSB/VOSB or SB, identify how you intend to meet the requirements found in the limitations on subcontracting FAR or VAAR clauses. (providing 51% of the work outlined in section 4 above) g. Does your company have an FSS contract with GSA, VA NAC, NASA SEWP, or any other federal contract, that can be utilized to procure the requirement listed above? If so, please provide the contract number(s). h. Please submit your capabilities that show clear, compelling, and convincing evidence that you can meet the requirement described above. 6. Responses to this notice shall be submitted via email to Erika Kobulnicky at Erika.Kobulnicky@va.gov. Telephone responses shall not be accepted. Responses must be received no later than Thursday, June 5, 2025, at 7:00AM CST. If a solicitation is issued it shall be announced at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the responses to this sources sought. Responses to this sources sought notice are not a request to be added to a prospective bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation. STATEMENT OF WORK Period of Performance Contract period of performance shall commence on October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. Background The Pharmacy currently is requesting routine maintenance for their ScriptPro systems and associated equipment. This equipment is used to dispense and package medications for patients. The Columbia VA Medical Center is requesting routine maintenance as required by the Truman VA Medical Center Healthcare Technology Management Medical Equipment Management Program and the OEM specifications for ScriptPro medication dispensing systems. Timely repair of this equipment is essential to the safety of the patient population and the efficient operation of the Pharmacy. 3. Required Services 3.1 Contractor shall be responsible to provide full 24X7X365 support service coverage for all equipment listed in paragraph 2.10. Coverage includes all parts, installation, calibration, labor, and travel necessary to bring all listed modalities to manufacture operating specifications. Any and all parts used must be new or factory rebuilt for that model and type of device. AT NO TIME WILL ANY HARD DRIVES BE REMOVED FROM THE FACILITY. Throughout the term of the contract, all maintenance (scheduled or unscheduled), shall be provided during the contract business hours of 8:00 AM 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays unless otherwise approved by the contract COR. A thirty (30) minute telephone response is required by the contractor to provide an initial consultation or possible interim measures until the repair can be completed. The contractor is required to respond on-site within twenty-four (24) hours after Pharmacy, Biomedical Engineering or designee has placed the service call, once it is determined that remote fix is not possible. 3.2 The contractor shall provide full scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and repair (when determined by the contract COR/POC), to include all replacement parts, labor, travel expenses, telephone technical support, remote on-line support (if applicable), tools, test equipment and other incidentals necessary to maintain and/or restore the equipment below: VA EE# MNFR Nomenclature SN 192040 NEC Display monitor 71313331 192041 NEC Display monitor 71313278 192042 NEC Display monitor 71312517 192049 ScriptPro kiosk & stand KK01060-01 192050 ScriptPro kiosk & stand KK01060-02 192046 NEC notice board XL & Ticket Window Display BX01333-01 192047 NEC notice board XL & Ticket Window Display BX01335-01 192048 NEC notice board XL, Audio Package Speakers, Audio Package Setup/System Integration & Ticket Window Display BX01334-01 50452 ScriptPro SP 200/CCC 0003274-01 192058 ScriptPro workstation 01 -Datapoint & Printer D1FYZ2-547419-03 192059 ScriptPro workstation 02 -Datapoint & Printer D001465-02 192064 ScriptPro workstation 03 -Datapoint & Printer D001465-03 192060 ScriptPro workstation 04 -Datapoint & Printer D001465-04 192053 ScriptPro workstation 05 -Datapoint & Printer D001465-05 192061 ScriptPro workstation 06 -Datapoint & Printer D001465-06 192055 ScriptPro workstation 07 -Datapoint, Printer D001465-07 192062 ScriptPro workstation 08 -Datapoint & Printer D001465-08 192063 ScriptPro workstation 09 -Datapoint & Printer D001465-09 192057 ScriptPro workstation 10 -Datapoint & Terminal Emulation/Service Setup D001465-11 192064 ScriptPro workstation 11 -Datapoint & Electronic Signature Pad D001465-10 192054 ScriptPro workstation 12 -Datapoint D001465-12 192056 ScriptPro workstation 13 -Datapoint D001465-13 Virus Protection (Platform System) Wireless Bar Code Scanner ScriptPro Serial Interface Controller ScriptPro workstation -Datapoint D1FYZ2-547419-04 ScriptPro workstation -Datapoint D1FYZ2-547419-05 ScriptPro workstation -Datapoint D1FYZ2-547419-01 ScriptPro workstation -Datapoint D1FYZ2-547419-02 Smart Card Scanners (Qty 17) n/a Full Disk Encryption (per covered Server computer) (Qty 2) D1FYZ21-1012953313 & D1FYZ21-1012953313 Security Entitlement: Customer Hard Drive Retention HCI 1000/Workflow Platform Server (per server) (Qty 3) n/a ScriptPro SP Central Expanded Platform (includes 1 SP Central Expanded Server, 1 SP Datapoint) D1FYZ21-1012953386                3.3 All scheduled preventive maintenance for equipment listed in paragraph 3.2 will be performed by Contractor. Contractor will provide (at no additional cost) any part(s) found out of manufacture specification during the preventive maintenance inspection activities. Contractor shall assist with Planned Maintenance, Quality Assurance and Safety Checks. Scheduling of preventive maintenance will be coordinated between the contractor and the contract COR. 3.4 All services for this contract must meet manufacturer performance and technical specifications, Federal Regulations, and other specifications that may apply such as National Electric Code (NEC), Life Safety Code (LSC), Joint Commission (JC), and VA Regulations. 3.5 The contractor shall ONLY respond to service calls placed by Biomedical Engineering to include: The Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) or Point of Contact (POC). Personnel will be stated in the contract. 3.6 The contractor accessing the listed equipment must have an approved VA VPN network account established (existing MOU/ISA). All VPN accounts will be coordinated through the facilities ISO (Information Security Officer) and will comply with all VA regulations and standards to include OA&MM Information Letter (IL 90-01-6) dated July 16, 2001. Additionally, the contractor will be responsible for adhering to the following security requirements/clauses: 3.7 Contractor shall provide all manufacture required hardware and software updates, upgrades, patches, revisions and licenses and service keys at no additional charge to the HSTMVH. 3.8 ALL SERVICE ENGINEERS MUST REPORT to the FM Office (Building 22) to sign in before work is begun on the premises of the HSTMVH and must also to sign out after work has been completed. The contractor must furnish a detailed field service report, or equivalent, showing work completed, listing all repairs and/or repair parts used to maintain operating efficiency of the equipment. When possible, this report may be delivered to Biomedical Engineering before contractor leaves the station or via email to the POC/COR. If it is necessary for the contractor to work after 4:30pm, permission must be granted from the Contract COR/POC. If the service was completed after regular duty hours, the FSE will sign out and leave the report in the Engineering Control Center, room D019 of the hospital. Payment will be withheld pending receipt of this report. The service report from the contractor must contain, at a minimum, the following information: a. Date and time of the contractor s arrival on station, b. Type, model, and serial number(s) of all equipment on which maintenance was performed, c. Total time spent performing maintenance, excluding travel time, d. Detailed narrative description of the malfunction or PM action required, e. Complete list of parts replaced, f. Comments as to the cause of the malfunction when applicable, g. Date and time the work is completed. 3.9 There is a potential for exposure to bloodborne or other infectious material with equipment throughout the hospital. All maintenance persons must use the Universal Precautions (i.e. decontamination of medical equipment, wearing protective gloves, aprons, and goggles) during cleaning and maintenance/repair procedures required by this contract. Contractor will be responsible for providing their own Personal Protective Equipment as applicable. Personnel Qualifications Upon request by the COR/POC, contractor is required to provide proof of qualified, trained, and competent personnel performing maintenance services on all listed equipment. All technical staff servicing listed equipment must provide proof that he/she has successfully completed the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Privacy Training. 5. Access to VA Information and VA information Systems 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. 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. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the United States, 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. 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. 6. VA Information Custodial Language 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). 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 7. Information System Design and Development The standard installation, operation, maintenance, updating, and patching of software shall not alter the configuration settings from the VA approved and FDCC configuration. Information technology staff must also use the Windows Installer Service for installation to the default program files directory and silently install and uninstall. The vendor shall ensure the security of all procured or developed systems and technologies, including their subcomponents (hereinafter referred to as Systems ), throughout the life of this contract and any extension, warranty, or maintenance periods. This includes, but is not limited to workarounds, patches, hotfixes, upgrades, and any physical components (hereafter referred to as Security Fixes) which may be necessary to fix all security vulnerabilities published or known to the vendor anywhere in the Systems, including Operating Systems and firmware. The vendor shall ensure that Security Fixes shall not negatively impact the Systems. The vendor shall notify VA within 24 hours of the discovery or disclosure of successful exploits of the vulnerability which can compromise the security of the Systems (including the confidentiality or integrity of its data and operations, or the availability of the system). Such issues shall be remediated as quickly as is practical, but in no event longer than 3 days. When the Security Fixes involve installing third party patches (such as Microsoft OS patches or Adobe Acrobat), the vendor will provide written notice to the VA that the patch has been validated as not affecting the Systems within 10 working days. When the vendor is responsible for operations or maintenance of the Systems, they shall apply the Security Fixes within 10 days. All other vulnerabilities shall be remediated as specified in this paragraph in a timely manner based on risk, but within 60 days of discovery or disclosure. Exceptions to this paragraph (e.g. for the convenience of VA) shall only be granted with approval of the contracting officer and the VA Assistant Secretary for Office of Information and Technology. 8. Information System Hosting, Operation, Maintenance, or Use 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. 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: Vendor must accept the system without the drive; 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 VA must reimburse the company for media at a reasonable open market replacement cost at time of purchase. 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 preapproved 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. 9. Security Incident Investigation 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 COTR 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. 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. 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. 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. 10. Liquidated Damages for Data Breach 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. 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. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following: 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. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages for the affected individual and cover 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 three 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. 11. Contractor Rules of Behavior This User Agreement contains rights and authorizations regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This User Agreement covers my access to all VA data whether electronic or hard copy ("Data"), VA information systems and resources ("Systems"), and VA sites ("Sites"). This User Agreement incorporates Rules of Behavior for using VA, and other information systems and resources under the contract. 11.1 GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ALL ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES UNDER THE CONTRACT: I understand and agree that I have no reasonable expectation of privacy in accessing or using any VA, or other Federal Government information systems. I consent to reviews and actions by the Office of Information & Technology (OI&T) staff designated and authorized by the VA Chief Information Officer (CIO) and to the VA OIG regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the VA. These actions may include monitoring, recording, copying, inspecting, restricting access, blocking, tracking, and disclosing to all authorized OI&T, VA, and law enforcement personnel as directed by the VA CIO without my prior consent or notification. I consent to reviews and actions by authorized VA systems administrators and Information Security Officers solely for protection of the VA infrastructure, including, but not limited to monitoring, recording, auditing, inspecting, investigating, restricting access, blocking, tracking, disclosing to authorized personnel, or any other authorized actions by all authorized OI&T, VA, and law enforcement personnel. I understand and accept that unauthorized attempts or acts to access, upload, change, or delete information on Federal Government systems; modify Federal government systems; deny access to Federal government systems; accrue resources for unauthorized use on Federal government systems; or otherwise misuse Federal government systems or resources are prohibited. I understand that such unauthorized attempts or acts are subject to action that may result in criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. This includes penalties for violations of Federal laws including, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. §1030 (fraud and related activity in connection with computers) and 18 U.S.C. §2701 (unlawful access to stored communications). 12. Records Management Obligations 12.1 Applicability This clause applies to all Contractors whose employees create, work with, or otherwise handle Federal records, as defined in Section B, regardless of the medium in which the record exists. 12.2 Definitions Federal record as defined in 44 U.S.C. § 3301, includes all recorded information, regardless of form or characteristics, made or received by a Federal agency under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the United States Government or because of the informational value of data in them. The term Federal record: 1. includes Department of Veterans Affairs records. 2. does not include personal materials. 3. applies to records created, received, or maintained by Contractors pursuant to their Department of Veterans Affairs contract. 4. may include deliverables and documentation associated with deliverables. 12.3 Requirements 1. Contractor shall comply with all applicable records management laws and regulations, as well as National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) records policies, including but not limited to the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. chs. 21, 29, 31, 33), NARA regulations at 36 CFR Chapter XII Subchapter B, and those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a). These policies include the preservation of all records, regardless of form or characteristics, mode of transmission, or state of completion. 2. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, all data created for Government use and delivered to, or falling under the legal control of, the Government are Federal records subject to the provisions of 44 U.S.C. chapters 21, 29, 31, and 33, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended, and the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended and must be managed and scheduled for disposition only as permitted by statute or regulation. 3. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, Contractor shall maintain all records created for Government use or created in the course of performing the contract and/or delivered to, or under the legal control of the Government and must be managed in accordance with Federal law. Electronic records and associated metadata must be accompanied by sufficient technical documentation to permit understanding and use of the records and data. 4. The Department of Veterans Affairs and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of the Department of Veterans Affairs or destroyed except for in accordance with the provisions of the agency records schedules and with the written concurrence of the Head of the Contracting Activity. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. In the event of any unlawful or accidental removal, defacing, alteration, or destruction of records, Contractor must report to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The agency must report promptly to NARA in accordance with 36 CFR 1230. 5. The Contractor shall immediately notify the appropriate Contracting Officer upon discovery of any inadvertent or unauthorized disclosures of information, data, documentary materials, records or equipment. Disclosure of non-public information is limited to authorized personnel with a need-to-know as described in the [contract vehicle]. The Contractor shall ensure that the appropriate personnel, administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are established to ensure the security and confidentiality of this information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is properly protected. The Contractor shall not remove material from Government facilities or systems, or facilities or systems operated or maintained on the Government s behalf, without the express written permission of the Head of the Contracting Activity. When information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is no longer required, it shall be returned to the Department of Veterans Affairs control, or the Contractor must hold it until otherwise directed. Items returned to the Government shall be hand carried, mailed, emailed, or securely electronically transmitted to the Contracting Officer or address prescribed in the [contract vehicle]. Destruction of records is EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED unless in accordance with Paragraph (4). 6. The Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under, or relating to, contracts. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and Department of Veterans Affairs guidance for protecting sensitive, proprietary information, classified, and controlled unclassified information. 7. The Contractor shall only use Government IT equipment for purposes specifically tied to or authorized by the contract and in accordance with Department of Veterans Affairs policy. 8. The Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any non-public Department of Veterans Affairs information that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract. 9. The Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected from public disclosure by an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act. 10. The Department of Veterans Affairs owns the rights to all data and records produced as part of this contract. All deliverables under the contract are the property of the U.S. Government for which the Department of Veterans Affairs shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest. Any Contractor rights in the data or deliverables must be identified as required by FAR 52.227-11 through FAR 52.227-20. 11. Training. All Contractor employees assigned to this contract who create, work with, or otherwise handle records are required to take Department of Veterans Affairs-provided records management training. The Contractor is responsible for confirming training has been completed according to agency policies, including initial training and any annual or refresher training. [Note: To the extent an agency requires contractors to complete records management training, the agency must provide the training to the contractor.] 12.4 Flow down of requirements to subcontractors 1. The Contractor shall incorporate the substance of this clause, its terms and requirements including this paragraph, in all subcontracts under this [contract vehicle], and require written subcontractor acknowledgment of same. 2. Violation by a subcontractor of any provision set forth in this clause will be attributed to the Contractor. Set-Aside: URL: https://sam.gov/opp/b8bada04106f4936becaf126bdc1f95a/view
OutreachSystems Article Number: 20250604/PROCURE/0155