[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56126-56127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21873]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Small Entity Compliance Guide

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

ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.

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SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of the 
Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the 
Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with 
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 
of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121). It consists of a summary of rules appearing 
in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2001-09 which amend the FAR. An 
asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility 
analysis has been prepared in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 604. Interested 
parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by 
referring to FAC 2001-09 which precedes this document.

[[Page 56127]]

 These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.arnet.gov/far.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurie Duarte, FAR Secretariat, (202) 
501-4225. For clarification of content, contact the analyst whose name 
appears in the table below.

                                          List of Rules in FAC 2001-09
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Item                        Subject                      FAR case                    Analyst
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I........................  Task-Order and Delivery-Order   1999-303                    Wise.
                            Contracts.
II.......................  Temporary Emergency             2002-003                    Moss.
                            Procurement Authority
                            (Interim).
III......................  Veterans Entrepreneurship and   2000-302                    Cundiff.
                            Small 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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 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.
[FR Doc. 02-21873 Filed 8-29-02; 8:45 am]
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