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Combined Synopsis-Solicitation for Commercial Products and Commercial Services Effective Date: 03/15/2023 Revision: 01 Description This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products and ... Combined Synopsis-Solicitation for Commercial Products and Commercial Services Effective Date: 03/15/2023 Revision: 01 Description This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products and commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued. This solicitation is issued as an RFQ. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-05. This solicitation is not set aside and is open to all vendors. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 813110, with a small business size standard of $13 million. The FSC/PSC is R799. The Network Contracting Office 19 located at 6162 S Willow Drive, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 is seeking to purchase Pastor services. All interested companies shall provide quotations for the following: Supplies/Services Base Period: October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2024 Item # Part Number Protestant Pastor Chaplain Services Qty Hourly Price Extended Amount 1 CLIN 0001 Weekly (1) hour Sunday Worship 52   2 CLIN 0002 Spiritual Assessment - Denver/New Patients 50   3 CLIN 0003 Individual Consults 60   4 CLIN 0004 Individual Care / Consults 60   5 CLIN 0005 On-Call Coverage 20   TOTAL FOR BASE YEAR $ - Option Year 1: October 1, 2024 - September 30, 2025 Item # Part Number Protestant Pastor Chaplain Services Qty Hourly Price Extended Amount 1 CLIN 1001 Weekly (1) hour Sunday Worship 52   2 CLIN 1002 Spiritual Assessment - Denver/New Patients 50   3 CLIN 1003 Individual Consults 60   4 CLIN 1004 Individual Care / Consults 60   5 CLIN 1005 On-Call Coverage 20   TOTAL FOR OPTION YEAR 1 $ - Option Year 2: October 1, 2025 - September 30, 2026 Item # Part Number Protestant Pastor Chaplain Services Qty Hourly Price Extended Amount 1 CLIN 2001 Weekly (1) hour Sunday Worship 52   2 CLIN 2002 Spiritual Assessment - Denver/New Patients 50   3 CLIN 2003 Individual Consults 60   4 CLIN 2004 Individual Care / Consults 60   5 CLIN 2005 On-Call Coverage 20   TOTAL FOR OPTION YEAR 2 $ - Option Year 3: October 1, 2026 - September 30, 2027 Item # Part Number Protestant Pastor Chaplain Services Qty Hourly Price Extended Amount 1 CLIN 3001 Weekly (1) hour Sunday Worship 52   2 CLIN 3002 Spiritual Assessment - Denver/New Patients 50   3 CLIN 3003 Individual Consults 60   4 CLIN 3004 Individual Care / Consults 60   5 CLIN 3005 On-Call Coverage 20   TOTAL FOR OPTION YEAR 3 $ - Option Year 4: October 1, 2027 - September 30, 2028 Item # Part Number Protestant Pastor Chaplain Services Qty Hourly Price Extended Amount 1 CLIN 4001 Weekly (1) hour Sunday Worship 52   2 CLIN 4002 Spiritual Assessment - Denver/New Patients 50   3 CLIN 4003 Individual Consults 60   4 CLIN 4004 Individual Care / Consults 60   5 CLIN 4005 On-Call Coverage 20   TOTAL FOR OPTION YEAR 4 $ - TOTAL CONTRACT PRICE  Chaplain Services Local Support Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center 1700 N Wheeling St., Aurora CO 80045 STATEMENT OF WORK Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Rocky Mountain VA Medical Center (RMRVAMC) located at 1700 N. Wheeling Street, Aurora, CO, 80045, has a requirement for a one-year contract. The contractor agrees to provide one Protestant Chaplain to perform chaplain services on a Call-Back/On Call basis in accordance with the terms and conditions stated herein at the ECHCS VA Health Care System (VA ECHCS). Services to be performed by contractor shall be done on an agreed upon schedule between the contractor and the VA staff. VA requires contractor to have flexible work schedule. Contractor will be expected to report within 48 hours. REQUIREMENTS: Provide One Hour Sunday Worship Protestant Service with prepared sermon and service according to the Lutheran Lectionary. Provide initial visits to newly admitted patients, pre-surgery visits to the seriously ill and to those in designated patient care areas, using information provided by the Chaplain Integrated Clinical Community and document in CPRS and Event Capture. Provide bedside visits as requested/needed by patients. Counsel Veterans and Veteran families for general spiritual issues as well as for Grief and Loss. Consult with professional staff regarding the total welfare of any patient. On-duty time and services to be recorded in a log in the Chaplaincy Office when services are provided or within 24 hours thereafter. QUALIFICATIONS: Submit on each individual, an ecclesiastical endorsement, dated within the past 12 months, from the official national endorsing authority of their faith group or denomination and such endorsement must be approved by the Chaplain Service, VA Headquarters. Education - candidates must possess the Master of Divinity degree, normally based upon completion of 3 years of graduate study or possess equivalent educational qualifications. The position of the Contractor is decentralized; that is, the proposed Contractor must be approved by the Medical Center Director. In an emergency, the VA can accept the employment application/resume and a declaration that the Contractor is in good and regular standing with his/her denomination. SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS: SERVICE: In a time of need or emergency, as determined by VA, the Contractor agrees to provide services to meet and fulfill the needs of the Veteran, and to be available for call-back as necessitated by the needs of the VA. Mutually acceptable modifications shall be attached to this contract. The Contractor will be guided by the practices of the VA Chaplain Integrated Clinical Community. TERM OF CONRACT: This contract, when accepted by the Contractor and the VA Contracting Officer shall be effective from the date of its execution for a period of one (1) year with the option to extend for four option years. WORK HOURS: The services covered by this contract shall be furnished by the Contractor as defined herein. The Contractor will not be required, except in case of an emergency or special request that is mutually agreed upon, to furnish such services on a national holiday or during non-working hours as described below. However, this policy does not absolve the Contractor from providing services on religious holidays even if such holidays coincide with national holidays. The following terms have the following meaning: Work hours - Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. National Holiday - the eleven holidays observed by the Federal Government; i.e. New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Martin Luther King's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday. On-Call Hours - Monday through Friday, between the hours of 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. and all Saturdays and Sundays. PERSONNEL POLICY: The Contractor shall assume full responsibility for the protection of his personnel furnishing services under this contract, in accordance with the personnel policy of the Contractor, such as providing worker's compensation, professional liability insurance, health examination, and social security payments. Such personnel shall not be considered VA employees for any purpose. PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES: Contractor will perform all duties in accordance with DM&S VA Manual 1111and VHA Handbook 1111.02 http://vaww.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1720 . Directions for the Contractor will be provided by VA and its Pastoral Care Program. Record Keeping System Contractor: Contractor must establish a recordkeeping system of Contractor hours worked. The payments for any leave to include sick leave, holiday, or vacation time are the responsibility of the Contractor. VA Health Care System/Recordkeeping: Contracting Officer Representative (COR) will be designate appropriate VA personnel to monitor Contractor employee work hours/services through one or a combination of the following mechanisms: Departments being served will monitor Contractor employee work hours through time and attendance logs similar to VA staff positions, to ensure that services called for in the contract have been received by VA Health Care System. The COR will be responsible for verifying contract compliance. Any incidents of Contractor noncompliance as evidence by monitoring procedures will be forwarded immediately to the Contracting Officer. Associate Director for Patient Care Services/Pastoral Care office reviews monitoring data. An internal time-keeping form is maintained and reviewed for total number of hours worked per month against monthly average hours. Part-time personnel s cares are reviewed against their VA tour of duty to verify that the services were received. Documentation of services performed will be reviewed prior to certifying payment. The COR will perform periodic spot checks and document with the using service to ensure records monitoring. VA will pay only for services actually performed at the VA, and in strict accordance with the schedule of prices/costs shown in the schedule of items. Contract monitoring and recordkeeping procedures will be sufficient to ensure proper payment and allow audit verification that services were provided. Monthly invoices are generated to VA Fiscal Services who forwards to the COR for review. The COR verifies with Pastoral Care Service that services were actually performed against the schedule and logs. Only after verification are invoices certified for payment. The using service, through the COR, will provide a written statement annually to the Contracting Officer to include summary of Contractor action and a statement that all requirements of the contract have been fulfilled as agreed. This summary evaluation will be submitted 60 days prior to expiration of contract (and/or prior to election of option year renewals, if applicable). A Contractor s employee may not certify bills for payment. Designation of Contract Representative: A VA Health Care System representative of the Contracting Officer. Will be designated to represent the Contracting Officer in furnishing technical guidance and advice regarding work being performed under this contract. The foregoing is not to be construed as authorization to interpret or furnish advice and information to the Contractor relative to the financial or legal aspects of the contract. Enforcement of these segments is vested in and is the responsibility of the Contracting Officer. VA Informational and Information Security/Privacy Language for inclusion into Contracts as Appropriate 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. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS A contractor/sub-contractor 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. 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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 COTR. INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT (Not Applicable to this Contract) INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, OR USE (Not Applicable to this Contract) 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. 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); Description of the event, including: date of occurrence; data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code; Number of individuals affected or potentially affected; Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected; 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; Amount of time the data has been out of VA control; The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons); Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any; Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals; Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy Incidents, as appropriate; and 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 in the amount of $ _______ per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following: Notification; One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports; Data breach analysis; Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution; One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and 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 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: 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; Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training; Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and 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. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COTR 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. 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. The contract period of performance is October 1, 2023 September 30, 2024 plus four one-year option periods. Place of Performance/Place of Delivery Address: Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, 1700 N Wheeling Drive, Aurora, CO Postal Code: 80045 Country: UNITED STATES The full text of FAR provisions or clauses may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html. The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Products and Commercial Services FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Products and Commercial Services Offerors must complete annual representations and certifications electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://www.sam.gov/portal in accordance with FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Products and Commercial Services. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required. The following contract clauses apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Products and Commercial Services [DEC 2022] FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Products and Commercial Services [SEPT 2023] The following subparagraphs of FAR 52.212-5 are applicable: 52.204-10 Reporting Executive Compensation & First-Tier Subcontract Awards (JUN 2020) 52.209-9 Protecting the Government s Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (NOV 2021) 52.219-4 Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns (OCT 2022) 52.219-28 Post Award Small Business Program Representation (SEPT 2023) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (Jun 2003) (E.O.11755) 52.222-19, Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (Dec 2022) (E.O.13126) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Apr 2015) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Sep 2016) (E.O.11246) 52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (JUN 2020) 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons (NOV 2021) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Jun 2020) (E.O. 13513) 52.224-3 Privacy Training (JAN 2017) 52.232-34 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Other than System for Award Management (JUL 2013) 52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards (AUG 2018) 52.222-42 Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (May 2014) FAR 52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel (JAN 2011); FAR 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (OCT 2018); FAR 52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (AUG 2020); FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999) The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only because of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within fifteen (15) days of the expiration date of the current contract period. The `specified' rates under this clause will be those rates in effect under the contract each time an option is exercised under this clause. (End of Clause) FAR 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2000) (a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 1 days; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 30 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension. (b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 5 Years. (End of Clause) FAR 52.222-14 Disputes Concerning La...