[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 47 (Thursday, March 9, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12484-12485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5376]



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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 1806, 1808, 1811, 1813, 1815, 1825, 1835, 1837, 1842, 
1848, and 1851


Miscellaneous Administrative Revisions to the NASA FAR Supplement

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This is a final rule to conform the NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 
with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR); indicate the method of 
voluntary consensus standard reporting utilized by NASA; clarify that 
when using NASA's structured approach for determining profit or fee 
objectives, values outside the designated ranges must not be used; adds 
NASA's policy regarding payment of profit or fee under letter contracts 
which was mistakenly removed; and make editorial corrections and 
miscellaneous changes dealing with NASA internal and administrative 
matters.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 9, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Celeste Dalton, NASA Headquarters, 
Office of Procurement, Contract Management Division (Code HK), 
Washington, DC 20546, (202) 358-1645, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  

A. Background

    FAC 97-14, dated September 24, 1999, amended FAR 11.107 to indicate 
that agencies will describe the reporting method of voluntary consensus 
standards used. This final rule states that NASA's method of reporting 
is categorical. This final rule also revises numbering within NFS Part 
1848 to reflect the FAC 97-14 changes to FAR 48.104. Changes unrelated 
to FAC 97-14 are made to: Allow deputy procurement officers to 
designate cardholders for commercial purchase cards; clarify that when 
using NASA's structured approach for determining profit or fee 
objectives, values outside the designated ranges must not be used; and 
to require submission of hardcopies of RFPs for Headquarters review. 
The change to NASA's structured approach for developing a profit or fee 
objective (64 FR 51472-51476, September 23, 1999) mistakenly deleted 
NASA's policy regarding payment of profit or fee under letter 
contracts. This final rule corrects this error by adding the previous 
language as section 1815.404-472. Other editorial changes are made to: 
Correct referenced document titles; Correct referenced FAR citations; 
delete expired documents; and remove section 1851.101 as a result of an 
expired document.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    NASA certifies that this final rule will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small business entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) because it 
does not impose any new requirements.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because the changes to 
the NFS do not impose any recordkeeping or information collection 
requirements that require the approval of the Office of Management and 
Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

List of Subparts in 48 CFR Parts 1806, 1808, 1811, 1813, 1815, 
1825, 1835, 1837, 1842, 1848, and 1851

    Government procurement.

Tom Luedtke,
Associate Administrator for Procurement.

    Accordingly, 48 CFR Parts 1806, 1808, 1811, 1813, 1815, 1825, 1835, 
1837, 1842, 1848, and 1851 are amended as follows:
    1. The authority citation for 48 CFR Parts 1806, 1808, 1811, 1813, 
1815, 1825, 1835, 1837, 1842, 1848, and 1851 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2473(c)(1).

PART 1806--COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS

    2. In section 1806.302-7, amend paragraph (c)(2) by removing 
``(Code LC)'' and adding ``(Code L)'' in its place.

PART 1808--REQUIRED SOURCES OF SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

    3. In section 1808.002-70, paragraph (d) is revised to read as 
follows:


1808.002-70  Acquisition of radioisotopes.

* * * * *
    (d) Guidance is available from DOE at URL http://www.ornl.gov/
isotopes/catalog.htm.


1808.1100  [Amended]

    4. Amend section 1808.1100 by removing ``NMI 6000.5'' and adding 
``NPD 6000.1'' in its place.

PART 1811--DESCRIBING AGENCY NEEDS

    5. Section 1811.107 is added to read as follows:


1811.107  Solicitation provisions. (NASA supplements paragraph (b))

    (b) NASA uses the categorical method to report its use of voluntary 
consensus standards.
    Therefore, use of the provision at 52.211-7 is not required. 
However, contracting officers must include in draft RFPs (DRFPs) the 
information required by 1815.201(c)(6)(A).

PART 1813--SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES

    6. In section 1813.301, revise paragraphs (a) and (a)(i) to read as 
follows:


1813.301  Governmentwide commercial purchase card.

    (a) The procurement officer or deputy procurement officer shall 
designate individual cardholders in accordance with center procedures, 
subject to the following limitations:
    (i) Personnel other than contracting officers may be designated as 
cardholders for micro-purchases and for individual orders under BPAs up 
to $5,000 (see 1813.303-3(a)(4)), provided they complete training 
adequate to ensure appropriate use of the purchase card.
* * * * *

PART 1815--CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATIONS

    7. In section 1815.201, revise paragraph (c)(6)(A) to read as 
follows:


1815.201  Exchanges with industry before receipt of proposals.

    (c)(6)(A) Except for acquisitions described in 1815.300-70(b), 
contracting officers shall issue draft requests for proposals (DRFPs) 
for all competitive negotiated acquisitions expected to exceed 
$1,000,000 (including all options or later phases of the same project). 
DRFPs shall invite comments from potential offerors on all aspects of 
the draft solicitation, including the requirements, schedules, proposal 
instructions, and evaluation approaches. Potential offerors should be 
specifically requested to identify unnecessary or inefficient 
requirements. If the DRFP contains Government-unique standards, 
potential offerors should be invited to identify voluntary consensus 
standards that meet the Government's requirements as alternatives to 
Government-unique standards cited as requirements, in accordance with 
FAR 11.101 and OMB Circular A-119. When considered appropriate, the 
statement of work or

[[Page 12485]]

the specifications may be issued in advance of other solicitation 
sections.
* * * * *

    8. Revise section 1815.203-71 to read as follows:


1815.203-71  Headquarters reviews.

    For RFPs requiring Headquarters review and approval, the 
procurement officer shall submit ten copies of the RFP to the Associate 
Administrator for Procurement (Code HS). Any significant information 
relating to the RFP or the planned evaluation methodology omitted from 
the RFP itself should also be provided.

    9. In section 1815.404-471-1, revise paragraph (b) to read as 
follows:


1815.404-471-1  General.

* * * * *
    (b) The contracting officer assigns values to each profit or fee 
factor; the value multiplied by the base results in the profit/fee 
objective for that factor. Each factor has a normal value and a 
designated range of values. The normal value is representative of 
average conditions on the prospective contract when compared to all 
goods and services acquired by NASA. The designated range provides 
values based on above normal or below normal conditions. Values outside 
the designated range must not be used. In the negotiation 
documentation, the contracting officer need not explain assignment of 
the normal value, but must address conditions that justify assignment 
of other than the normal value.

    10. Section 1815.404-472 is added to read as follows:


1815.404-472  Payment of profit or fee under letter contracts.

    NASA's policy is to pay profit or fee only on definitized 
contracts.

PART 1825--FOREIGN ACQUISITION


1825.7003  [Amended]

    11. In section 1825.7003, amend paragraph (b) by removing the 
reference ``(pursuant to NMI 1050.9)''.

PART 1835--RESEARCH AND DEVELOP CONTRACTING


1835.016-71  [Amended]

    12. In section 1835.016-71, amend paragraph (e)(4) by removing 
``subparts 15.8 and 15.9'' and adding ``subparts 15.3 and 15.4'' in its 
place.

PART 1837--SERVICE CONTRACTING


1837.104  [Amended]

    13. In section 1837.104, amend paragraph (b) by removing ``NMI 
3304.1G'' and adding ``NPD 3000.1, Management of Human Resources'' in 
its place.

PART 1842--CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES

    14. In section 1842.270, the first sentence in paragraph (a) is 
revised to read as follows:


1842.270  Contracting officer technical representative (COTR) 
delegations.

    (a) The cognizant contracting officer may appoint a qualified 
Government employee to act as their representative in managing the 
technical aspects of a particular contract. * * *


1842.1405  [Amended]

* * * * *

    15. In section 1842.1405, amend paragraph (a) by removing ``NHB 
6200.1'' and adding ``NPG 6200.1'' in its place.

PART 1848--VALUE ENGINEERING


1848.104-2  Redesignated as 1848.104-3]

    16. Section 1848.104-2 is redesignated as 1848.104-3 and is revised 
to read as follows:


1848.104-3  Sharing collateral savings. (NASA supplements paragraph 
(a))

    (a) The contracting officer is authorized to make the determination 
that the cost of calculating and tracking collateral savings will 
exceed the benefits to be derived.

PART 1851--USE OF GOVERNMENT SOURCES BY CONTRACTORS


1851.101  [Removed]

    17. Section 1851.101 is removed.
[FR Doc. 00-5376 Filed 3-8-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510-01-P