Statutes
Executive Orders
and Related Publications
Regulations
Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR)
Federal
Acquisition Circulars (FAC)
FAC 2023-02
Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC)
2023-02 included the following two items plus technical amendments:
FAR Case 2020-007:
A final rule
amended the FAR by implementing section 873 of the NDAA for FY 2020, which provides for accelerated
payments to contractors that are small
businesses and to small business
subcontractors by accelerating payments
to their prime contractors.
FAR Case 2019-008:
A final rule amended the FAR to conform
the FAR to changes the SBA
made to its regulations in its
final rule
published on November 29, 2019, which implemented
several provisions of the NDAAs for FY
2016 and 2017 and the Recovery
Improvements for Small Entities After
Disaster Act of 2015 (RISE Act) and also clarified existing regulations.
The
technical amendments can be found
here.
FAC 2023-03
FAC 2023-03 included the following items:
FAR Case 2022-007: A final rule amended the FAR to implement the statutory expiration of the Federal Helium System in accordance with the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013.
FAR Case 2022-002: A final rule amended the FAR in accordance with section 861 of the NDAA for FY 2022, which provides for a statutory exception to the periodic inflation adjustments of acquisition-related thresholds for certain bond requirements under 41 U.S.C. 1908.
FAC 2023-04
FAC
2023-04
included the following
item:
FAR Case 2023-010: An interim rule amended the
FAR to implement section
102 of Division R of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2023 (the "No TikTok on Government
Devices Act") and its implementing guidance under OMB Memorandum M–23–13 by adding FAR clause 52.204–27 ("Prohibition on a ByteDance
Covered Application"). The rule and the clause ban the
presence or use of TikTok
on any information technology owned
or managed by the Government or on
any information technology used or
provided by the contractor under a
contract, including equipment provided
by the contractor’s employees, unless an
exception is granted in accordance with
OMB Memorandum M–23–13.
FAC 2023-05
FAC
2023-05 included the following
three items.
FAR Case 2017-014:
A
final rule amended the FAR to
encourage use of voluntary feedback
mechanisms, where appropriate, to
support continual improvement of the
acquisition process.
FAR Case 2023-004:
A final rule amended the FAR,
inter alia, to implement regulatory
changes made by the SBA in its interim rule
published on November 17, 2022 (at 87
FR 69118), which adjusted for inflation
the net worth threshold for an
individual to be eligible as an owner of
a small disadvantaged business concern
from $750,000 to $850,000. To do so,
this rule updates this threshold to
reflect a reference to SBA’s regulations
at 13 CFR 124.104(c)(2), which is used
in the definition of "small
disadvantaged business concern," in the FAR.
FAR Case 2022-008: A final rule
amended the FAR to update the contact
information, web addresses, and office
titles necessary to obtain federal and
Defense specifications and standards
from the DoD Acquisition Streamlining
and Standardization Information System
(ASSIST) website or, for Defense
documents not available in ASSIST, the
Defense Standardization Program Office.
This final rule also adds a reference in
part 53, Forms, to the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI)
Z39.18, Scientific and Technical
Reports—Preparation, Presentation, and
Preservation, with the prescription for
the Standard Form 298, Report
Documentation Page.
FAC 2023-06
FAC
2023-06 included the following three items:
FAR Case
2020-011: Effective December 4, an interim rule amends
the FAR to implement supply chain risk
information sharing and exclusion or removal orders consistent with the
Federal Acquisition Supply Chain
Security Act of 2018 and a final rule
issued by the Federal Acquisition
Security Council. Comments are due by December 4.
FAR Case
2017-005: A final rule amended the FAR to implement Pub. L. 114–261 to enhance
whistleblower protection for contractor
employees. The rule makes permanent
the protection for disclosure of certain
information. It also clarifies that the
prohibition on reimbursement for legal
fees accrued in defense against reprisal
claims applies to subcontractors, as well
as contractors.
FAR Case
2021-012: A final rule amended the FAR to implement
regulatory changes made by the SBA in its
final rule published in the Federal
Register at 85 FR 66146 on October 16,
2020 to more clearly articulate
the SBA’s intent with regard to certain
aspects of the 8(a) program and to eliminate
confusion and decrease burdens on
procuring activities and 8(a)
participants.
FAC 2024-01
FAC
2024-01 included the following item:
FAR 2023-019: A final rule amended the FAR to add North Macedonia as a new
designated country under the World
Trade Organization Government
Procurement Agreement.
FAC 2024-02
FAC
2024-02 included the following
item:
FAR Case 2022-003: Effective January 22, 2024, a final
rule amends the FAR to implement E.O. 14063 ("Use of Project Labor
Agreements for Federal Construction
Projects"), which
mandates that federal government
agencies require the use of project labor
agreements (PLAs) for large-scale federal construction projects, where the
total estimated cost to the Government
is $35 million or more, unless an
exception applies. Agencies still have
the discretion to require PLAs for
federal construction projects that do not
meet the $35 million threshold. The
E.O. also directs the OMB to issue
implementation guidance to agencies on
exceptions and reporting.
Other Proposed FAR Revisions
FAR Case 2018-003: Because of a change in the underlying
statute, a proposed rule concerning credit for lower tier
small business subcontracting was withdrawn.
FAR Case 2022-006:
A proposed rule would amend the FAR to restructure and
update the regulations to focus on current
environmental and sustainability matters and to
implement a requirement for agencies to procure
sustainable products and services to the maximum
extent practicable.
FAR Case 2020-005: A proposed rule would amend the FAR
to implement section
874 of the NDAA for FY 2020, which,
for task orders or delivery orders
exceeding the simplified acquisition
threshold but not greater than $6
million, requires contracting officers to
provide, upon written request from an
unsuccessful offeror (aka unsuccessful awardee), a brief explanation
as to why the offeror was unsuccessful,
including the rationale for award and an
evaluation of the significant weak or
deficient factors in the offeror’s offer.
FAR Case 2020-016: A proposed rule would amend the FAR to
implement regulatory changes made by
the SBA in its
final rule published on October 16,
2020, at 85 FR 66146, to
order-level size and socioeconomic
status rerepresentation requirements.
FAR Case 2021-017: A proposed rule would amend the FAR
to partially implement an Executive Order
on cyber threats and incident reporting
and information sharing for federal
contractors and to implement related cybersecurity policies.
FAR Case 2021-019: A proposed rule would amend the FAR
to provide
standardized cybersecurity contractual
requirements across federal agencies for
federal information systems by implementing recommendations
received in accordance with paragraph
(i) of section 2 of Executive Order
14028 ("Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity") and paragraphs (a) and (b)(1) of
section 7 of the Internet of Things Cybersecurity
Improvement Act of 2020.
FAR Case 2021-009: A proposed rule would amend the FAR
to implement regulatory changes made by
the SBA to
update and clarify requirements
associated with size and/or
socioeconomic status protests in
connection with multiple-award
contract set-asides and reserves and
orders placed under multiple-award
contracts.
Department of Defense FAR
Supplement (DFARS)
Final
Rules
DFARS Case 2018-D066: A final rule amended the DFARS by replacing all instances of
"commercial item"’ with "commercial
product" and/or "commercial service.
DFARS
Case 2017-D018: A final rule amended
the DFARS to implement a section of the
NDAA for
FY 2017 that makes
amendments regarding the treatment of
independent research and development
expenditures and requires the DCAA to provide an
annual report to Congress on
independent research and development
and bid and proposal expenditures
associated with awarded DoD contracts
for the prior Government fiscal year.
DFARS Case
2022-D010: DoD adopted as final,
without change, an interim rule
amending the DFARS to implement a section of the
NDAA for
FY 2022 that requires a
disclosure from entities that employ one
or more individuals who will perform
work in the People’s Republic of China.
DFARS Case
2021-D008: A final rule amended the DFARS
to remove clause 252.232–7017 ("Accelerating Payments to Small
Business Subcontractors—Prohibition
on Fees and Consideration"), which prohibits the
contractor requiring any further
consideration from or charging fees to
the small business subcontractor in
exchange for making accelerated
payments, because the clause and its proscription are no longer necessary due to
other provisions in the FAR.
DFARS Case 2021-D001:
A final rule amended the DFARS to implement a GAO
recommendation regarding expediting quick close out
procedures. This rule states that the amount of
unsettled direct costs and indirect costs
to be allocated to the contract, task
order, or delivery order will be
considered relatively insignificant when
the total unsettled direct costs or
indirect costs to be allocated do not
exceed $2 million. Additionally, DCMA
administrative contracting officers may
negotiate the settlement of direct and
indirect costs for a specific contract,
task order, or delivery order to be closed
in advance of the determination of final
direct costs and indirect rates set forth
in FAR 42.705 regardless of the dollar
value or percentage of unsettled direct
or indirect costs allocable to the
contract.
DFARS Case
2017-D036: A final rule amended Parts 204, 232, and 252
of the DFARS to provide clarifying payment instructions
for certain contracts based on the type
of item acquired and the type of
payment.
DFARS Case 2022-D021: A final rule amended the DFARS to clarify when a contract
administration office has authority to
negotiate and settle direct costs
questioned in incurred cost audits by adding to section
242.302(b) an additional contract
administrative function delegable from a
procuring contracting office to a
contract administration office.
DFARS Case 2020-D027: A final rule amended the DFARS to to revise the requirements
related to the assumption of risk
associated with aircraft under DoD
contracts due to
numerous developments in aircraft contract
situations and the emergence of
contracts for small, unmanned aircraft.
DFARS Case 2018-D018: A final rule amended the DFARS to implement section
871 of the NDAA for FY 2018, which requires that the DoD, as part of any
negotiation for such software, consider
all noncommercial computer software
and related materials necessary to meet
the needs of the agency throughout the
life cycle of the software. The new rule
provides direction to the DoD both to
improve acquisition planning and to
identify and negotiate for software
deliverables and license rights at a fair
and reasonable price before contract
award.
DFARS Case 2019-D009: A final rule amended the DFARS to update the policy and
procedures for use of the Supplier
Performance Risk System ("SPRS") and to require
contracting officers to consider SPRS
risk assessments, if available, (a) in the
evaluation of a supplier’s quotation or
offer and (b) when determining
contractor responsibility.
DFARS Case 2023-D006: A final rule implemented section
842 of the NDAA for FY 2023, which amends 10 U.S.C. 4022(f)(2) to
permit the award of a follow-on
production contract without the use of
competitive procedures, even if an explicit
notification was not listed within the
request for proposal for the prototype
project transaction.
DFARS Case
2021-D003: A final rule amended the DFARS to to refine the management of
undefinitized contract actions (UCAs) as recommended in the DoD
Inspector General Audit of Military
Department Management of
Undefinitized Contract Actions (Report
No. DODIG–2020–084).
DFARS Case 2020-D022: A final rule amended the DFARS to
implement section 852 of the NDAA for FY 2020, which transfers
responsibilities for carrying out the
procurement technical assistance
cooperative agreement program from the
Director of the Defense Logistics Agency
to the Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition and Sustainment.
DFARS CASE 2023-D005: A final rule amended the DFARS to implement a section of the
NDAA for
FY 2023 that adds New Zealand
to the definition of the national
technology and industrial base.
DFARS Case
2017-D028: A final rule amended the DFARS to implement
section 846 of the NDAA for FY 2017 that repealed provisions
related to major
automated information systems.
DFARS Case
2022-D009: A final rule adopted, with changes, the prior
interim rule amending the DFARS to implement
section 802 of the NDAA for FY 2022
that restricts the acquisition of personal
protective equipment and certain other
items from the Democratic People’s
Republic of North Korea, the People’s
Republic of China, the Russian
Federation, and the Islamic Republic of
Iran.
DFARS Case
2020-D017: A final rule amended the DFARS to implement
section 853 of the NDAA for FY 2020 that requires certain
auxiliary ship components to be
procured from a manufacturer in the
national technology and industrial base.
DFARS Case: 2022-D006: A final rule amended the DFARS to implement section
803 of the NDAA for FY 2022, which modifies 10 U.S.C. 2380c
(redesignated as 10 U.S.C. 3458) to give
DoD the authority to acquire innovative
commercial products and commercial
services through a competitive selection
of proposals resulting from a general
solicitation and the peer review of such
proposals. Section 803 of the NDAA for
FY 2022 also repealed section 879 of the
NDAA for FY 2017, which authorized a
pilot program providing the same
authority for a limited period of time. In
addition, section 814 of the NDAA for
FY 2023 amended 10
U.S.C. 3458 by striking ‘‘fixed-price
incentive fee contracts’’ and inserting
‘‘fixed-price incentive contracts," and this final rule incorporates
this statutory amendment.
DFARS Case 2024-D001: A final rule
amended the DFARS to to add North Macedonia as a
new designated country under the
World Trade Organization Government
Procurement Agreement.
DFARS Case
2023-D015: A final rule adopted
without change, an interim rule
amending the DFARS to implement a section of the
NDAA for
FY 2023 that prohibits the use
of funds to knowingly procure any
products mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part by
forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region of the People’s
Republic of China.
DFARS Case
2021-D021: A final rule amended the
DFARS to implement section 1025 of the NDAA for FY 2021 that restricts overhaul
and repair of a naval vessel in a
shipyard outside the United States or
Guam.
DFARS Case
2012-D010: A final rule amended the DFARS to
partially implement section 874 of the
NDAA for
FY 2017 that addresses the
inapplicability of certain laws and
regulations to the acquisition of
commercial products, including
commercially available off-the-shelf
items, and commercial services.
DFARS Case 2020-D029: Effective January 22, 2024, a
final rule amends the DFARS to consolidate existing contract
clauses for the management and
reporting of Government property into a
single contract clause and to replace references to legacy
software applications used for reporting
Government property within the DoD
enterprise-wide eBusiness platform and
convert existing form-based processes
into electronic processes within that
platform.
Interim Rules
DFARS
Case 2022-D009: An interim rule
amended the DFARS to implement a section of the
NDAA for
FY 2022 that restricts the
acquisition of personal protective
equipment and certain other items from
the Democratic People’s Republic of
North Korea, the People’s Republic of
China, the Russian Federation, and the
Islamic Republic of Iran.
DFARS Case
2023-D015: An interim rule amends the DFARS to implement
section 855 of the NDAA for FY 2023, which prohibits the use
of funds to knowingly procure any
products mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part by
forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region.
DFARS Case
2021-D023: An interim rule amended the DFARS to implement section 1062 of the
NDAA for FY 2021, which provides that none of the funds authorized to be
appropriated or otherwise made available for any fiscal year
for DoD may be provided to an institution of higher
education that hosts a Confucius Institute, defined as a
cultural institute directly or indirectly funded by the
government of China.
DFARS Case
2020-D011: An interim rule amended
the DFARS to implement sections 322(b), (c), and (d)
of the NDAA for FY 2020, which prohibit
the DoD's procurement of fluorinated
aqueous film-forming foam ("AFFF")containing in excess of one part per
billion of perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substances after
October 1, 2023, unless an exemption
applies. Section 322 also requires
publication not later than January 31,
2023, of a military specification for a
fluorine-free fire-fighting agent for use at
all military installations and availability
of such agent for use not later than
October 1, 2023. After October 1, 2024,
fluorinated AFFF may not be used at
any military installation, unless the
Secretary of Defense waives the
prohibition on use.
Proposed Rules
DFARS Case 2022-D006: A proposed rule would amend the
DFARS to to
implement a section of the NDAA for FY 2022 that authorizes the DoD to
acquire innovative commercial products
and commercial services using general
solicitation competitive procedures, as
well as a section of the NDAA for FY 2023
that makes an amendment to that
authority.
DFARS Case 2018-D053: A proposed rule would amend the
DFARS to to enable the Defense Contract Management
Agency (DCMA) to obtain export authorizations from
contractors when a contract requires government
quality assurance surveillance oversight and has
delivery to, or production or performance in, the
following government quality assurance countries:
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy,
Republic of Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the
United Kingdom..
DFARS Case 2021-D021: A proposed rule would amend the
DFARS to to implement section 1025 of the NDAA for FY
2021, which amends 10 U.S.C. 8680(a) to restrict the
overhaul or repair of a naval vessel in a shipyard
outside the United States or Guam.
DFARS Case 2020-D029: A proposed rule would amend the
DFARS to
consolidate existing contract clauses for
the management and reporting of
Government property into a single
contract clause, to replace references to
legacy software applications used for
reporting Government property within
the DoD enterprise-wide eBusiness platform, and to convert existing form-
based processes into electronic
processes within that platform.
DFARS Case
2021-D015: A proposed rule would amend the DFARS to
implement a section of the NDAA for FY 2021 that provides restrictions on
the acquisition of certain covered
materials from North Korea, the People’s
Republic of China, Russia, and Iran.
DFARS Case
2020-D021: A proposed rule would amend the DFARS
concerning contract clauses regarding the the care and
treatment of working dogs provided under the contract after
their retirement.
DFARS Case
2022-D019: A proposed rule would
amend the DFARS to supplement the FAR
implementation of Executive Order
(E.O.) 14005 ("Ensuring the Future Is
Made in All of America by All of
America’s Workers") addressing domestic preferences in DoD procurements.
DFARS Case
2023-D009: DoD proposed to revise the DFARS to to implement section 808 of the
NDAA for FY 2023, which amends
section 818 of Public Law 109–364 to
limit the number of low-rate initial production lots associated with a major
defense acquisition program to be
procured to no more than one when the
milestone decision authority authorizes
the use of a fixed-price type contract at
Milestone B and the scope of the work
includes both development and low-rate
initial production. This limitation may
be waived.
DFARS Case
2023-D011: A proposed rule would amend the DFARS to
implement section 856 of the NDAA for FY 2023 that permanently authorizes
and modifies the DoD Mentor-Protégé
Program.
DFARS Case
2018-D074: A proposed would amend the DFARS to
implement sections of the NDAA for FY 2018 and 2019 regarding
the applicability of certain solicitation
provisions and contract clauses to
contracts and subcontracts for
commercial products, commercial
services, and commercially available
off-the-shelf items.
DFARS
Case 2021-D022: A proposed rule would amend the DFARS to to
implement two sections of the NDAA for FY 2021, one section of the NDAA for FY 2022, one section of the NDAA for FY 2023, and one section of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
These statutes remove limitations and
restrictions on certain components that
are no longer required and add new
limitations on other components,
subject to exceptions.
DFARS Case 2023-D010: A proposed rule would amend the
DFARS to to implement section 803 of the James
M. Inhofe NDAA for FY 2023, which modifies 10 U.S.C. 3455 to provide additional guidance regarding
data requirements to support a
determination of commerciality and
price reasonableness for certain
procurements associated with major
weapon systems.
DFARS Case
2018-D053: The proposed rule concerning export
authorizations associated with this case was withdrawn.
Other
Agencies
Defense Department
The DoD is contemplating negotiating and concluding a new
Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement with Brazil and requestied industry feedback regarding its experience in public defense procurements conducted by or on behalf of the Brazilian Ministry of Defence or Armed Forces.
Department of Education
The Department
of Education proposed an
extensive set of modifications to the its Acquisition Regulation
(EDAR) to revise aspects of those
regulations that are out-of-date or
redundant with other Department
of Education policies and
procedures and to accurately implement
the current FAR and Department
policies. The
final rule is effective October 1.
Department of Energy
The DOE proposed a
comprehensive
revision of its acquisition regulation (DEAR) in
order to update and streamline the
policies, procedures, provisions and
clauses that are applicable to its
contracts, specifically to
update or eliminate coverage that is
obsolete or that unnecessarily
duplicates the FAR and retain only that
coverage which either implements or
supplements the FAR for the award and
administration of the DOE’s contracts.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS adoptied as
final, with only minor changes, the proposed rule amending the Homeland Security
Acquisition Regulation (HSAR) in order to implement a new subpart and new
contract clause (i) to establish contract
termination policies for the United
States Coast Guard and (ii) to amend
a clause to address the applicability of
the Coast Guard's contract termination policy to
commercial items.
A final rule amends the DHS's acquisition regulation to address requirements for the safeguarding of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) by implementing security and privacy measures to safeguard CUI and facilitating improved incident reporting to DHS when DHS contractors experience incidents with protected DHS information.
DHS
withdrew a
proposed rule originally published in August 2012 titled "Homeland Security
Acquisition Regulation (HSAR)
Subcontractor Labor Hour Rates Under
Time and Materials Contracts (HSAR
Case 2010–001)." The original notice of
proposed rulemaking proposed to
amend HSAR parts
3016 and 3052 to require DHS contracts
for time and material or labor hours
to include separate labor hour rates for subcontractors and
a description of the method that would be used to record and
bill for labor hours for both contractors and
subcontractors. DHS withdrew this proposed rule
because of differing agency priorities and the staleness of
the public comments.
DHS also
withdrew a proposed
rule originally published in June 2010 titled "Limitations on
Subcontracting in Emergency
Acquisitions (HSAR Case 2009–005)," which proposed
to amend the HSAR to limit the use of tiering subcontractors on cost-reimbursement
type contracts entered into by the
Department to facilitate the response to
or recovery from a natural disaster or act
of terrorism or other man-made disaster.
General Services Administration (GSA)
GSAR Case
2022-G513: The GSA proposed to amend the GSAR
to remove GSAR Clause 552.232–1
("Payments") and any corresponding
references to the clause because the GSA has
determined the existing FAR clause
52.232–1 ("Payments") is sufficient. The GSAR
clause requires, in certain transactions, that the Government to pay a contractor
without the submission of a proper invoice
for non-commercial fixed price
contracts for supplies or services;
whereas the FAR currently requires that
the Government pay a contractor only
after receipt of the contractor’s proper
invoice or voucher.
GSAR
Case 2023-G506: A final rule amended the
GSAR to remove
clause 552.232–77 ("Payment by
Government Charge Card").
GSAR Case
2020-G511: The GSA proposed to amend
its acquisition regulation (GSAR) to
update and clarify the requirements for
the use of FSS
contracts by eligible non-federal
entities, such as state and local
governments.
GSAR Case 2019–G503:
The GSA amended the GSAR to clarify
and streamline the clauses contracting
officers should reference in acquisitions
for commercial products and services.
GSAR Case
2020-G510: The GSA proposed to amend the GSAR to to standardize
and simplify the Multiple Award
Schedule clauses for
economic price adjustments. The proposed rule
would remove certain economic price
adjustment requirements within these
clauses to better align with commercial
standards and practices.
GSAR Case 2022-G517:
The GSA proposed to amend the GSAR to add a
new provision and clause to identify
single-use plastic free
packaging availability for products
under the FSS
with the goal of reducing single-use
plastic packaging.
Labor
The DOL proposed to revise
its acquisition regulations (DOLAR)
in
their entirety to update and streamline agency
procurement regulations consistent with
the Federal Acquisition Reform Act and FASA in order to remove
provisions that are redundant or
obsolete and codify the use of certain
contractual provisions that DOL has
developed and deployed in recent years
in order to put potential contractors on
notice of these provisions and to
formalize their usage, including provisions relating to:
government property, continuity of
operations, system requirements, records management, telework policy
for contractor personnel, submission of
invoices, mandatory training for
contractors, OCIs, and changing the scope of a
contract. The proposed revisions
also remove provisions in the current
DOLAR that are DOL internal operating
procedures, which need not be
published in the C.F.R. in order for them to take effect. The current DOLAR
supplements the FAR to
address matters specific to the
DOL relating to its
procurement of goods and services. It
also includes certain rules governing
private entities doing business with
DOL.
NASA
Effective October 19, a final rule amends the NASA Federal
Acquisition Regulation Supplement
(NFS) to conform to changes in the
FAR
that reflect an updated
"commercial
item" definition pursuant to a section of
the John S. McCain National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2019.
NASA
issued
a final rule revising
the NFS to reflect updates to NASA’s Small
Business Mentor Protégé Program.
NASA
proposed to amend
the NFS to reflect
updates to NASA’s Mentor Protégé
Program (MPP) including: the
requirement of Small Business
Specialists’ concurrence on the signed
letter of endorsement; requirements
associated with credit received towards
subcontracting goals; the change of the
MPP reporting requirement from semi-annually to annually; identification of the
NASA Mentor Protégé Program Office;
and clerical, semantic improvements.
NASA also proposed to amend the NFS
language to reflect the annual negotiation of its small business
percentage goals. Lastly, the NFS will be
amended to emphasize collaboration
amongst representatives from the Office
of Small Business Programs, Office of
Procurement, and Program Offices to
reduce barriers to entry and to
opportunities for all small business
concerns and Historically Black
Colleges and Universities or Minority
Institutions.
NASA proposed to amend the
NFS
by removing NFS 1831.205–671 and NFS
1852.231–71 ("Determination of
Compensation Reasonableness") because they
provisions exceed the requirements
adequately covered in FAR
52.222–46 ("Evaluation of Compensation
for Professional Employees"
Effective December 20, a final
rule amends the NASA acquisition regulation supplement (NFS) to update the policy concerning
the NASA Ombudsman Program.
Small Business Administration (SBA)
The SBA
increased 144 of its its
employee based size standards
(and retaining 268 others) for NAICS
sectors related to
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas
Extraction (Sector 21); Utilities (Sector
22); Manufacturing (Sector 31–33);
Transportation and Warehousing (Sector
48–49); Information (Section 51);
Finance and Insurance (Sector 52);
Professional, Scientific and Technical
Services (Sector 54); and Administrative
and Support, Waste Management and
Remediation Services (Sector 56).
The SBA also retained the current
500-employee size standard for federal
procurement of supplies under the
nonmanufacturer rule.
The SBA amended its regulations to
provide procedures for
the OHA to hear appeals
from protest determinations regarding
the status of a concern as a certified
HUBZone small business concern.
The SBA issued
a final rule that adopted, without
change, three interim final actions dated
November 17, 2022, that adjusted monetary-based industry
size standards (i.e., receipts- and assets-based) for inflation: (i) an additional
13.65 % inflation increase to the
industry-based monetary small business
size standards to account for the
inflation that occurred since the last
adjustment to size standards for
inflation in 2019; (ii) inflation adjustments to three
program-specific monetary size
standards (the size standards for sales or
leases of government property, the size
standards for stockpile purchases, and
the alternative size standard based on
tangible net worth and net income for
the SBIC program; and (iii) inflation adjustments to
the economic disadvantage thresholds
applicable to the 8(a) Business
Development and Economically
Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small
Business programs, and the dollar limit
for combined total 8(a) contracts.
The SBA made several changes to the ownership and control requirements for the 8(a) Business Development program, including recognizing a process for allowing a change of ownership for a former Participant that is still performing one or more 8(a) contracts and permitting an individual to own an applicant or Participant where the individual can demonstrate that financial obligations have been settled and discharged by the Federal Government. The rule also makes several changes relating to 8(a) contracts, including clarifying that a contracting officer cannot limit an 8(a) competition to Participants having more than one certification and clarifying the rules pertaining to issuing sole source 8(a) orders under an 8(a) multiple award contract. The rule also makes several other revisions to incorporate changes to SBA’s other government contracting programs, including changes to implement a statutory amendment from the NDAA for FY 2022, to include blanket purchase agreements in the list of contracting vehicles that are covered by the definitions of consolidation and bundling, and to more clearly specify the requirements relating to waivers of the nonmanufacturer rule.
The SBA amended its regulations
to establish
a certification program for VOSBs and SDVOSBs to
implement section 862 of the NDAA for FY 2021. Subsequently,
the SBA issued quite a number of
corrections to this rule.
The SBA amended its
regulations to implement provisions of
the NDAA for FY 2020 in order to permit a prime contractor
with an individual subcontracting plan
to apply credit for subcontracts to small
businesses at lower tiers toward its
subcontracting goals
by incorporating the lower-tier subcontracting performance
into the prime contractor's subcontracting-plan goals.
The SBA
revised its white
paper explaining how it establishes,
reviews, and modifies small business
size standards, including
changes from the SBA’s 2019 Revised Size
Standards Methodology, which guided the SBA’s recently completed second
five-year review of size standards as required by the
Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.
The SBA proposed
to amend its
small business size regulations to increase the
alternative size standard for its 7(a)
Business and Certified Development
Company Loan Programs
by 34.46% to account for inflation that
has occurred since the size standard’s
establishment in 2010. The inflation
adjustment would increase the size
standard’s level for tangible net worth to
$20 million and for net income to $6.5
million. SBA also is adjusting for
inflation the applicable statutory limits
for contract size under the Surety Bond
Guarantee Program. The
adjustment would increase the contract
limit to $9 million and to $14 million
for Federal contracts if a federal
contracting officer certifies that such a
guarantee is necessary.
USAID
A final rule amended the United States Agency for
International Development's ("USAID") Acquisition Regulation
("AIDAR") regarding contractor
requirements on foreign tax reporting,
conference planning, and trade and
investment activities in order to bring the AIDAR into
compliance with revised
agency
policies and procedures and statutory
requirements.
Veterans Affairs
The VA issued
a final rule
amending the its Acquisition
Regulation (VAAR) by adding a part
covering Acquisition of Information
Technology and revising coverage
concerning Other Contracts for Goods
and Services involving mandatory
information, privacy, and security
requirements to include policy
concerning VA sensitive personal
information, information security, and
liquidated damages requirements for
data breach.