[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56116-56117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21866]



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Part V





Department of Defense

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration





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48 CFR Parts Ch. 1, 2, 7, 8, et al.



Federal Acquisition Regulations; Final Rules

  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 169 / Friday, August 30, 2002 / Rules 
and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1


Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-09; Introduction

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration 
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Summary presentation of final and interim rules and technical 
amendments.

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SUMMARY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and 
the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council in this Federal Acquisition 
Circular (FAC) 2001-09. A companion document, the Small Entity 
Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, 
is available via the Internet at http://www.arnet.gov/far.

DATES: For effective dates and comment dates, see separate documents 
which follow.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS 
Building, Washington, DC 20405, (202) 501-4755, for information 
pertaining to status or publication schedules. For clarification of 
content, contact the analyst whose name appears in the table below in 
relation to each FAR case or subject area. Please cite FAC 2001-09 and 
specific FAR case number(s). Interested parties may also visit our 
website at http://www.arnet.gov/far.

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                 Item                                  Subject                   FAR case          Analyst
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I....................................  Task-Order and Delivery-Order              1999-303  Wise.
                                        Contracts.
II...................................  Temporary Emergency Procurement            2002-003  Moss.
                                        Authority (Interim).
III..................................  Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small        2000-302  Cundiff.
                                        Business Development Act of 1999.
IV...................................  Trade Agreements Thresholds...........     2002-009  Davis.
V....................................  Payments Under Fixed-Price                 2001-012  Olson.
                                        Construction Contracts.
VI...................................  Technical Amendments.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the 
actual revisions and/or amendments to these FAR cases, refer to the 
specific item number and subject set forth in the documents following 
these item summaries.
    FAC 2001-09 amends the FAR as specified below:

Item I--Task-Order and Delivery-Order Contracts (FAR Case 1999-303)

    This final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 
further implement subsections 804(a) and (b) of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 concerning task-order and 
delivery-order contracts.
    With respect to acquisition planning, the rule draws greater 
attention to the capital planning requirements of the Clinger-Cohen Act 
(40 U.S.C. 1422) and ensures more deliberation by agency acquisition 
planners before orders are placed under a Federal Supply Schedule 
contract, or task-order contract or delivery-order contract awarded by 
another agency (i.e., Governmentwide acquisition contract or multi-
agency contract).
    With respect to the structuring of orders and the consideration 
given to contract holders prior to order placement, the rule (1) 
increases attention to modular contracting principles to help agencies 
avoid unnecessarily large and inadequately defined orders, (2) 
facilitates information exchange during the fair opportunity process so 
that contractors may develop and propose solutions that enable the 
Government to award performance-based orders, and (3) revises existing 
documentation requirements to address tradeoff decisions as well as the 
issuance of sole-source orders as logical follow-ons to orders already 
issued under the contract. This rule also adds a separate definition 
for the terms ``Governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC)'' and 
``Multi-agency contract (MAC)'' to the FAR to clarify the difference 
between the terms and the purpose of each contract vehicle.

Item II--Temporary Emergency Procurement Authority (FAR Case 2002-003)

    This interim rule implements Section 836 of the Fiscal Year 2002 
National Defense Authorization Act which increases the amount of the 
micro-purchase threshold and the simplified acquisition threshold for 
procurements of supplies or services by or for DoD during fiscal years 
2002 and 2003, where those procurements are to facilitate the defense 
against terrorism or biological or chemical attack against the United 
States. Also, contracting officers acquiring biotechnology supplies or 
biotechnology services, for use to facilitate the defense against 
terrorism or biological or chemical attack against the United States, 
may treat the supplies or services as commercial items.

Item III--Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act 
of 1999 (FAR Case 2000-302)

    This final rule finalizes two interim rules published previously at 
65 FR 60542, October 11, 2000 (FAC 97-20), and 66 FR 53492, October 22, 
2001 (FAC 2001-01), respectively. The first interim rule implemented 
portions of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business 
Development Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-50), which added a subcontracting 
plan goal for veteran-owned small businesses and a 3 percent 
Governmentwide agency goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small 
businesses. The second interim rule implemented Section 803 of the 
Small Business Reauthorization Act of 2000 (part of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2001, Pub. L. 106-554), which added an additional 
subcontracting plan goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small 
business concerns. Both rules, and the correction published at 67 FR 
1858, January 14, 2002 (FAC 2001-01 Correction), are adopted as final 
without change.

Item IV--Trade Agreements Thresholds (FAR Case 2002-009)

    This final rule amends FAR Subparts 22.15, 25.2, 25.4, 25.6, 25.11, 
and the clauses at 52.213-4 and 52.222-19 to implement new dollar 
thresholds for application of the Trade Agreements Act and North 
American Free Trade Agreement as published by the U.S. Trade 
Representative in the Federal Register at 67 FR 14763, March 27, 2002. 
Contracting officers must review the new thresholds when acquiring 
supplies, services, or construction in order to select the appropriate 
clauses to implement the Buy American Act, trade agreements, and 
sanctions of European

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Union country end products and services.

Item V--Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts (FAR Case 
2001-012)

    This final rule amends the FAR to clarify in the certification 
language of the clause entitled Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction 
Contracts that all payments due to subcontractors and suppliers have 
been made by the prime contractor from previous progress payments 
received from the Government. The rule is of special interest to 
contracting officers that administer construction contracts.

Item VI--Technical Amendments

    These amendments update sections and make editorial changes at FAR 
22.1503, 36.606, and 52.232-16.

    Dated: August 21, 2002.
Al Matera,
Director, Acquisition Policy Division.

Federal Acquisition Circular

    Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2001-09 is issued under the 
authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General 
Services, and the Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration.
    Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 2001-09 are 
effective September 30, 2002, except for Items II and III which are 
effective August 30, 2002.

    Dated: August 15, 2002.

Deidre A. Lee,

Director, Defense Procurement.

    Dated: August 21, 2002.

Patricia A. Brooks,

Acting Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Acquisition Policy, 
General Services Administration.

    Dated: August 14, 2002.

Tom Luedtke,

Assistant Administrator for Procurement, National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-21866 Filed 8-29-02; 8:45 am]
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