SHEILA JACKSON LEE Congress of the United States 18TH DISTRICT, TEXAS COMMITTEES: House of Representatives JUDICIARY Washington, DC 20515 SUBCOMMITTEES: Chair Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations Immigration and Border Security STEERING AND POLICY COMMITTEE _________ HELSINKI COMMISSION MEMBER _________ VICE CHAIR CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS _________ _________ HOMELAND SECURITY CHIEF DEPUTY WHIP SUBCOMMITTEES: DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS _________ Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies FOUNDER AND CO-CHAIR Counterterrorism and Intelligence CONGRESSIONAL CHILDREN’S CAUCUS _________ BUDGET COMMITTEE April 25, 2020 The Honorable Robert Wilkie Secretary of Veteran Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420 Dear Secretary Wilkie: Thank you for your service to our nation and to our Veterans. I am writing on behalf of Robert Stewart, Managing Director and CEO of Federal Government Experts, LLC (an 8(a) Minority-Owned Business) who is a government contractor and has requested by assistance regarding two federal purchase orders. On April 10, 2020 Federal Government Experts (FGE) received two purchase orders for NIOSH-approved N95 particulate respirators; one from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and the second from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Prior to FGE receiving these two purchase orders, fifteen suppliers were rendered unable to perform, but Mr. Stewart, a remarkable and heroic disabled veteran, used every resource available and took every step to ensure the United States Department of Veteran Affairs would receive their supply on-time. Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that unforeseen circumstances may possibly cause an interruption in the scheduled delivery for the Department of Veteran Affairs. In the event that this delivery is off schedule, I am respectfully requesting your office to grant Mr. Stewart a 72-hour window pursuant to FAR 52.249-14 “Excusable Delay” – “(a) Except for defaults of subcontractors at any tier, the Contractor shall not be in default because of any failure to perform this contract under its terms if the failure arises from causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor. Please give Mr. Stewart every consideration on his request. Again, thank you for your service and for your commitment to our Veterans. If you have questions, please have your office contact my Chief of Staff, Glenn Rushing, at glenn.rushing@mail.house.gov or at 202-615-7476. Very truly yours,    Sheila Jackson Lee Member of Congress WASHINGTON OFFICE: 2079 Rayburn Office Building Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-3816 DISTRICT OFFICE: 1919 Smith Street, Suite 1180 Houston, TX 77002 (713) 655-0050 HEIGHTS OFFICE: 420 West 19th Street Houston, TX 77008 (713) 861-4070 FIFTH WARD OFFICE: 4300 Lyons Ave., Suite 200 Houston, TX 77020 (713) 227-7740