SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS The U.S. Government intends to award, on a sole source basis, a contract for a Catholic Priest to conduct funerals and internment services at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, or at any designated location within the National Capital Region in fulfillment of Arlington National Cemetery's mission, and in accordance with the Army Regulations and Federal Acquisition Regulations. However, the MICC Fort Belvoir is seeking vendors that may be capable of performing this requirement in order to support a competitive procurement. Accordingly, the U.S. Government highly encourages all interested businesses (large and small) to respond to this notice. In addition, be advised that the U.S. Government will not be able to set-aside this requirement for small businesses unless 2 or more small businesses respond with information sufficient to support the requirement as a set-aside. We encourage all small businesses, in all socioeconomic categories (including, 8(a) Business Development Program, Small Disadvantage Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Women-Owned Small Business concerns), to identify their capabilities in meeting the requirement at a fair market price. The proposed sole source Firm Fixed Price contract to Bryant, Francis Michael will be to conduct Full Honors funeral services, memorial services, and graveside services in accordance with the Catholic tradition and as outlined in the PWS. The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform the services defined in the Performance Work Statement except for those items specified as government furnished property and services. The statutory authority for the sole source procurement is Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5, utilizing guidance of Content under FAR 6.303-2.: Pursuant to FAR subpart 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) and FAR Subpart 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), only one responsible source is capable of providing the services at the level of quality required because the services are unique or highly specialized to satisfy the agency’s requirement. 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1). Attached is the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS). Limitations on subcontracting and nonmanufacturer rule do not apply to small business set-asides for contracts at or below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT). It does apply to 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, EDWOSB, and WOSB set-asides regardless of the dollar value of the award. Small business contractors awarded contracts above the SAT are required to comply with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting when utilizing subcontractors. The penalty for non-compliance is the greater of (A) $500K or (B) the dollar amount expended, in excess of permitted levels. This notice does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ, IFB or RFP in the future. This notice does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service. Further, the U.S. Government is not seeking quotes, bids or proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals in response to this notice. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice. Submittals will not be returned to the responder. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. However, if a competitive solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Governmentwide Point of Entry. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor the Governmentwide Point of Entry for additional information pertaining to this requirement. The anticipated NAICS code is: 812220, Cemeteries and Crematories. In response to this notice, please provide: 1. Name of the firm, point of contact, phone number, email address, SAM Unique Entity ID, CAGE code, identify business size (large business or a small business), and if applicable, a statement regarding small business status (including small business type(s)/certifications(s) such as SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.) and the corresponding NAICS code. 2. Identify whether your firm is interested in competing for this requirement as a prime contractor or not. Identify subcontracting, joint ventures or teaming arrangement that will be pursued, if any. 3. Information in sufficient detail regarding previous experience (indicate whether as a prime contractor or subcontractor) on similar requirements (include size, scope, complexity, timeframe, government or commercial), pertinent certifications, etc., that will facilitate making a capability determination. 4. Information to help determine if the requirement (item or service) is commercially available, including pricing information, basis for the pricing information ( e.g. , market pricing, catalog pricing), delivery schedules, customary terms and conditions, warranties, etc. 5. Identify how the Army can best structure these contract requirements to facilitate competition, including competition among small business concerns. 6. Recommendations to improve the Army's approach/specifications/draft PWS/PRS to acquiring the identified items/services. 7. The deadline for response to this notice is no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 30 May 2023. Provide responses to this notice to: Gwendolyn Bridges, Contracting Officer,
[email protected] and Kenneth Lutes, Contract Specialist,
[email protected] Telephone responses will NOT be accepted. 8. Identify any condition or action that may be having the effect of unnecessarily restricting competition with respect to this acquisition and identify alternatives or solutions. Also contact the MICC Advocate for Competition, Scott Kukes, at
[email protected] or 210-466-3015, if you believe that this action is unreasonably restricting competition. Include the subject of the acquisition, this announcement, and the MICC POC information from this notice. Provide the specific aspects that unreasonably restrict competition and the rationale for such conclusion.