U.S. flag
          An official website of the United States Government  Main navigation
  

        

              Data Initiatives
                              Regulations
                                                                        Row 1
                                              FAR FAR
                              Smart Matrix Smart Matrix
                              Chapter 99 (CAS) Chapter 99 (CAS)
                              Row 2
                                              DFARS DFARS
                              DFARSPGI DFARSPGI
                              AFARS AFARS
                              DAFFARS DAFFARS
                              DAFFARS MP DAFFARS MP
                              DARS DARS
                              DLAD DLAD
                              NMCARS NMCARS
                              Row 3
                                              SOFARS SOFARS
                              TRANSFARS TRANSFARS
                              AGAR AGAR
                              AIDAR AIDAR
                              CAR CAR
                              DEAR DEAR
                              DIAR DIAR
                              DOLAR DOLAR
                              Row 4
                                              DOSAR DOSAR
                              DTAR DTAR
                              EDAR EDAR
                              EPAAR EPAAR
                              FEHBAR FEHBAR
                              GSAM/R GSAM/R
                              HHSAR HHSAR
                              HSAR HSAR
                              Row 5
                                              HUDAR HUDAR
                              IAAR IAAR
                              JAR JAR
                              LIFAR LIFAR
                              NFS NFS
                              NRCAR NRCAR
                              TAR TAR
                              VAAR VAAR
                              Tools
                                                                        Archives
                              Smart Matrix
                              Regulations Search
                              Acquisition Regulation Comparator (ARC)
                              Policy Network
                                                                        CAOC
                              CAAC
                              FAR Council
                              ISDC
 Breadcrumb
        Home
                            Regulations
                            VAAR
                            PART 802 - DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMS
        
                  HTML
VAARPart Number: 802
        
                  

                                
                  
        Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations
« PreviousNext »
PART 802 - DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMSPART 802 - DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMS       Authority:                            40 U.S.C. 121(c); 41 U.S.C. 1121(c)(3); 41 U.S.C. 1702; and 48 CFR 1.301 through 1.304.          Source:                            73 FR 2717, Jan. 15, 2008, unless otherwise noted.                                       Subpart 802.1 - Definitions                                                         802.101 Definitions.    **Parent topic:**  SUBCHAPTER A - GENERALSubpart 802.1 - Definitions    802.101 Definitions.       *A/E* means architect/engineer.          *Business associate* (or *associate*) means an entity, including an individual (other than a member of the workforce of a covered entity), company, organization, or another covered entity, as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) (Pub. L. 104-191) Privacy Rule (45 CFR part 160), that performs or assists in the performance of a function or activity on behalf of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) that involves the creating, receiving, maintaining, transmitting of, or having access to, protected health information (PHI), or that provides to or for VHA, certain services as specified in the HIPAA Privacy Rule that involve the disclosure of PHI to a contractor by VHA. The term also includes a subcontractor of a business associate that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits PHI or that stores, generates, accesses, exchanges, processes, or utilizes such PHI on behalf of the business associate.          *Business Associate Agreement (BAA)* means the agreement, as dictated by the HIPAA Privacy Rule (45 CFR part 160), between VHA and a business associate, which must be entered into in addition to the underlying contract for services and before any release of PHI can be made to the business associate, in order for the business associate to perform certain functions or activities on behalf of VHA.          *Chief Acquisition Officer* (CAO) means the Principal Executive Director, Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction.          *COR* means Contracting Officer's Representative.          *FAR* means the Federal Acquisition Regulation.          *GAO* means the Government Accountability Office.          *Gray market items* means original equipment manufacturer goods intentionally or unintentionally sold outside an authorized sales territory or sold by non-authorized dealers in an authorized sales territory.          *HCA* means the Head of the Contracting Activity, an individual appointed in writing by the SPE.          *Information system* means, pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 5727, a discrete set of information resources organized for the collection, processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of information whether automated or manual.          *Information technology* (*see* FAR 2.101) also means Information and Communication Technology (ICT).          *Information technology-related contracts* means those contracts which include services (including support services) and related resources for information technology as defined in this section.          *OGC* means the Office of the General Counsel.          *Ordering officer* means the VA official authorized to order supplies and services against a FAR-based contract or agreement in accordance with the ordering limits identified in the contract or agreement or the specific ordering guide in accordance with 801.601(b).          *Privacy officer* means the VA official with responsibility for implementing and oversight of privacy related policies and practices that impact a given VA acquisition.          *Public Law (Pub. L.) 109-461* means the Veterans Benefits, Health Care and Information Technology Act of 2006, as codified in 38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128.          *SDVOSB/VOSB* when used as an initialism means a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) and/or veteran-owned small business (VOSB) that has been found by VA eligible to participate in the Veterans First Contracting Program implemented at subpart  819.70 and listed in the Vendor Information Pages. The term is synonymous with VA or VIP-verified small business concerns owned and controlled by Veterans.          *Security plan* means a formal document that provides an overview of the security requirements for an information system or an information security program and describes the security controls in place or planned for meeting those requirements.          *Sensitive personal information* means, with respect to an individual, any information about the individual maintained by VA, including but not limited to the following:                    (1)  			Education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history.          (2) Information that can be used to distinguish or trace the individual's identity, including but not limited to name, Social Security Number, date and place of birth, mother's maiden name, or biometric records.          *Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB)* or small business concern owned and controlled by Veterans with service-connected disabilities has the same meaning as *service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern* defined in FAR 2.101, except that for acquisitions authorized by 38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128 for the Veterans First Contracting Program, these businesses must be listed as verified in the VIP database. In addition, some SDVOSB listed in the VIP database may be owned and controlled by a surviving spouse. See definition of *surviving spouse* in this section.          *Small business concern* has the same meaning as defined in FAR 2.101.          *SPE* means the Senior Procurement Executive who is also the Executive Director, Office of Acquisition and Logistics. The SPE is responsible for the management direction of the VA acquisition system.          *Surviving spouse* means an individual who has been listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) database of veterans and family members. To be eligible for inclusion in the VetBiz.gov VIP database, the following conditions must apply:                    (1)  			If the death of the veteran causes the small business concern to be less than 51 percent owned by one or more service-disabled veterans, the surviving spouse of such veteran who acquires ownership rights in such small business shall, for the period described below, be treated as if the surviving spouse were that veteran for the purpose of maintaining the status of the small business concern as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.          (2) The period referred to above is the period beginning on the date on which the veteran dies and ending on the earliest of the following dates:                    (i)  			The date on which the surviving spouse remarries;          (ii) The date on which the surviving spouse relinquishes an ownership interest in the small business concern;          (iii) The date that is 10 years after the date of the veteran's death; or          (iv) The date on which the business concern is no longer small under federal small business size standards.          (3) The veteran must have had a 100 percent service-connected disability rating or the veteran died as a direct result of a service-connected disability.          *VA* means the Department of Veterans Affairs.          *VAAR* means the Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation.          *VA Information Security Rules of Behavior for Organizational Users/VA National Rules of Behavior* means a set of VA rules that describes the responsibilities and expected behavior of users of VA information or information systems.          *VA Rule of Two* means the determination process mandated in 38 U.S.C. 8127(d)(1) whereby a contracting officer of the Department shall award contracts on the basis of competition restricted to small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans if the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more small business concerns owned and controlled by Veterans will submit offers and that the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States. For purposes of this VA specific rule, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) or a veteran-owned small business (VOSB), must meet the eligibility requirements in 38 U.S.C. 8127(e), (f) and VAAR 819.7003 and be listed as verified in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database.          *VA sensitive information* means all VA data, on any storage media or in any form or format, which requires protection due to the risk of harm that could result from inadvertent or deliberate disclosure, alteration, or destruction of the information and includes sensitive personal information. The term includes information where improper use or disclosure could adversely affect the ability of VA to accomplish its mission, proprietary information, records about individuals requiring protection under various confidentiality provisions such as the Privacy Act and the HIPAA Privacy Rule, and information that can be withheld under the Freedom of Information Act. Examples of VA sensitive information include the following: individually-identifiable medical, benefits, and personnel information; financial, budgetary, research, quality assurance, confidential commercial, critical infrastructure, investigatory, and law enforcement information; information that is confidential and privileged in litigation such as information protected by the deliberative process privilege, attorney work-product privilege, and the attorney-client privilege; and other information which, if released, could result in violation of law or harm or unfairness to any individual or group, or could adversely affect the national interest or the conduct of Federal programs.          *Vendor Information Pages (VIP)* or *VIP database* means the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database at *https://www.vetbiz.va.gov/vip/.* This site's database lists businesses that VA CVE has determined eligible for the Veterans First Contracting Program.          *Veteran-owned small business (VOSB)* has the same meaning as v*eteran-owned small business concern* defined in FAR 2.101, except that for acquisitions authorized by 38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128 for the Veterans First Contracting Program, these businesses must be listed as verified in the VIP database. SDVOSBs, including businesses whose SDVOSB status derive from ownership and control by a surviving spouse, are also considered VOSBs, as long as they are listed as eligible in VIP.          *Veterans First Contracting Program* means the program authorized by Public Law 109-461 (38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128), as implemented in subpart  819.70. This program applies to all VA contracts (see FAR 2.101 for the definition of contracts) as well as Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs), Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs), and orders against the Federal Supply Schedules (FSS), unless otherwise excluded by law.          *VISN* means Veterans Integrated Service Network, an integrated network of VA facilities that are focused on pooling and aligning resources to best meet local needs in the most cost-effective manner and provide greater access to care.
« PreviousNext »
FavoriteX

      VAAR Parts
            Regulations Vaar Menu
  

        
      Index
                              800
                              801
                              802
                              803
                              804
                              805
                              806
                              807
                              808
                              809
                              810
                              811
                              812
                              813
                              814
                              815
                              816
                              817
                              819
                              822
                              823
                              824
                              825
                              826
                              828
                              829
                              830
                              831
                              832
                              833
                              835
                              836
                              837
                              839
                              841
                              842
                              843
                              844
                              845
                              846
                              847
                              849
                              852
                              853
                              870
                              871
                              873
                              874

      ×
        Data Initiatives
                                                              Regulations
                                                              Tools
                                              Archives
                                                              Smart Matrix
                                                              Regulations Search
                                                              Acquisition Regulation Comparator (ARC)
                                                              Policy Network
                                              CAO.gov
                                                        CAO Home
                                                              Council Member
                                                                    Large Agencies
                                                              Small Agencies
                                                              Council Defining Documents
                                                                    CAOC History
                                                              CAOC Charter
                                                              Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC)
                                                              Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council
                                                              Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC)
                                                              Search
 ˄ Top Sign up for FAR News

                            Share the FAR
                        Upper Footer Menu
  

        
      Useful Links
                              FAR Resources
                              Training
                              Acquisition Systems
            
                            **Contact Us/FAQs**
                        **Privacy and Security Notice**
                        **Accessibility Aids**
                        **Last Updated 03/29/2024**
 ACQUISITION.GOV
                An official website of the General Services Administration About GSA
                Accessibility support
                FOIA requests
                No FEAR Act data
                Office of the Inspector General
                Performance reports
                Privacy policy Looking for U.S. government information and services?
            Visit USA.gov
 «
    
    Tt