Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation Sections 809.504(d) and Clause 852.209-70

OMB Control #2900-0418

Respondent Burden: 1 Hour

Expiration Date: 31 DEC 2023

809.507-1 Solicitation provisions.

(a) While conflicts of interest may not presently exist, award of certain types of contracts may create potential future organizational conflicts of interest (see FAR 9.508 for examples). If a solicitation may create a potential future organizational conflict of interest, the contracting officer shall insert a provision in the solicitation imposing an appropriate restraint on the contractor's eligibility for award of contracts in the future. Under FAR 9.507-1, the restraint must be appropriate to the nature of the conflict and may exclude the contractor from award of one or more contracts in the future.

(b) The provision at 852.209-70, Organizational Conflicts of Interest, must be included in any solicitation for the services addressed in FAR 9.502.

852.209–70 Organizational Conflicts of Interest.

As prescribed in 809.507-1(b), insert the following provision:

ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (OCT 2020)

(a) It is in the best interest of the Government to avoid situations which might create an organizational conflict of interest or where the Offeror’s performance of work under the contract may provide the Contractor with an unfair competitive advantage. The term ‘‘organizational conflict of interest’’ means that because of other activities or relationships with other persons, a person is unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, or the person’s objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or the person has an unfair competitive advantage.

(b) The Offeror shall provide a statement with its offer which describes, in a concise manner, all relevant facts concerning any past, present, or currently planned interest (financial, contractual, organizational, or otherwise) or actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest relating to the services to be provided under this solicitation. The Offeror shall also provide statements with its offer containing the same information for any consultants and subcontractors identified in its proposal and which will provide services under the solicitation. The Offeror may also provide relevant facts that show how its organizational and/or management system or other actions would avoid or mitigate any actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest.

(c) Based on this information and any other information solicited or obtained by the Contracting Officer, the Contracting Officer may determine that an organizational conflict of interest exists which would warrant disqualifying the Contractor for award of the contract unless the organizational conflict of interest can be mitigated to the Contracting Officer’s satisfaction by negotiating terms and conditions of the contract to that effect. If the conflict of interest cannot be mitigated and if the Contracting Officer finds that it is in the best interest of the United States to award the contract, the Contracting Officer shall request a waiver in accordance with FAR 9.503.

(d) Nondisclosure or misrepresentation of actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest at the time of the offer or arising as a result of a modification to the contract, may result in the termination of the contract at no expense to the Government.

(End of provision)

RESPONDENT BURDEN:

This statement was included in final rule 2900-AQ38 published at 85 FR 60073 on Thursday, September 9, 2020: “The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (at 44 U.S.C. 3507) requires that VA consider the impact of paperwork and other information collection burdens imposed on the public. Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a), an agency may not collect or sponsor the collection of information, nor may it impose an information collection requirement unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. See also 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3)(vi).”

Offerors must advise, as part of the firm’s offer, whether award of the contract to the firm might involve organizational conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest, and, if so, to disclose all relevant facts regarding the conflicts or potential conflicts.

VA estimates in the approved information collection request that it will take offerors/contractors 1 hour to assemble and submit to a contracting officer, via electronic means or email, the existing information in the offeror’s/contractor’s own format.