[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 49 (Friday, March 12, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11828-11829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5693]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 1827, 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, and 1833

RIN 2700-AC68


Re-Issuance of NASA FAR Supplement Subchapter E

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would amend the NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 
by removing from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) those portions 
of the NFS containing information that consists of internal Agency 
administrative procedures and guidance that does not control the 
relationship between NASA and contractors or prospective contractors. 
This change is consistent with the guidance and policy in FAR Part 1 
regarding what comprises the Federal Acquisition Regulations System and 
requires publication for public comment. The NFS document will continue 
to contain both information requiring codification in the CFR and 
internal Agency guidance in a single document that is available on the 
Internet. This change will reduce the administrative burden and time 
associated with maintaining the NFS by only publishing in the Federal 
Register for codification in the CFR material that is subject to public 
comment.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before May 11, 2004 to be 
considered in formulation of the final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments, identified by RIN 
number 2700-AC86, via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. 
Comments may also be submitted to Celeste Dalton, NASA, Office of 
Procurement, Contract Management Division (Code HK), Washington, DC 
20546. Comments can also be submitted by e-mail to: 
[email protected].

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Currently the NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) contains information to 
implement or supplement the FAR. This information contains NASA's 
policies, procedures, contract clauses, solicitation provisions, and 
forms that govern the contracting process or otherwise control the 
relationship between NASA and contractors or prospective contractors. 
The NFS also contains information that consists of internal Agency 
administrative procedures and guidance that does not control the 
relationship between NASA and contractors or prospective contractors. 
Regardless of the nature of the information, as a policy, NASA has 
submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) 
within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and published in the 
Federal Register all changes to the NFS. FAR 1.101 states in part that 
the ``Federal Acquisition Regulations System consists of the Federal 
Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which is the primary document, and agency 
acquisition regulations that implement or supplement the FAR. The FAR 
System does not include internal agency guidance of the type described 
in 1.301(a)(2).'' FAR 1.301(a)(2) states in part ``an agency head may 
issue or authorize the issuance of internal agency guidance at any 
organizational level (e.g., designations and delegations of authority, 
assignments of responsibilities, work-flow procedures, and internal 
reporting requirements).'' Further, FAR 1.303 states that issuances 
under FAR 1.301(a)(2) need not be published in the Federal Register. 
Based on the foregoing, NASA is not required to publish and codify 
internal Agency guidance.
    This proposed rule will modify the existing practice by only 
publishing those regulations which may have a significant effect beyond 
the internal operating procedures of the Agency or have a significant 
cost or administrative impact on contractors or offerors. The NFS will 
continue to integrate into a single document both regulations subject 
to public comments and internal Agency guidance and procedures that do 
not require public comment. Those portions of the NFS that require 
public comment will continue to be amended by publishing changes in the 
Federal Register. NFS regulations that require public comment are 
issued as Chapter 18 of Title 48, CFR. Changes to portions of the 
regulations contained in the CFR, along with changes to internal 
guidance and procedures, will be incorporated into the NASA-maintained 
Internet version of the NFS through Procurement Notices (PNs). The 
single official NASA-maintained version of the NFS will remain 
available on the Internet. NASA personnel must comply with all 
regulatory and internal guidance and procedures contained in the NFS.
    This change will result in savings in terms of the number of rules 
subject to publication in the Federal Register and provide greater 
responsiveness to internal administrative changes.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This proposed rule is not expected to have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities with the meaning of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601. et seq., because this 
proposed rule would only remove from the CFR information that is 
considered internal Agency administrative procedures and guidance. The 
information removed from the CFR will continue to be made available to 
the public via the Internet.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

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

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 1827 through 1833.

    Government Procurement.

Tom Luedtke,
Assistant Administrator for Procurement.

    Accordingly, 48 CFR parts 1827 through 1833 are amended as follows:
    1. The authority citation for 48 CFR parts 1827 through 1833 
continue to read as follows:

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

[[Page 11829]]

PART 1827--PATENTS, DATA, AND COPYRIGHTS

    2. Amend part 1827 by removing sections 1827.305-3, 1827.305-370, 
1827.305-371, paragraphs (d), (e), (f), (g)(3)(B), (g)(3)(C), 
(g)(3)(D), (h), and (i) in section 1827.404, sections 1827.405, 
1827.406, 1827.408, and paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e) in section 
1827.409.

PART 1828--BONDS AND INSURANCE

    3. Amend part 1828 by removing sections 1828.106, 1828.106-6, 
Subpart 1828.2, and sections 1828.307, 1828.307-1, 1828.307-2, and 
1828.307-70.

PART 1829--TAXES

    4. Remove part 1829.

PART 1830--COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION

    5. Amend part 1830 by removing Subpart 1830.2 and removing and 
reserving sections 1830.7001-1, 1830.7001-2, and 1830.7001-3.

PART 1831--CONTRACT COST PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES

    6. Amend part 1831 by removing sections 1831.205-6, 1831.205-670, 
and 1831.205-32, and removing the phrase ``under 1831.205-32'' in 
section 1831.205-70.

PART 1832--CONTRACT FINANCING

    7. Amend part 1832 by--
    (a) Removing sections 1832.006-2, 1832.007;
    (b) Removing ``(see 1832.402)'' in paragraph (b)(6) of section 
1832.202-1; and
    (c) Removing sections 1832.402, 1832.406, 1832.407, 1832.409, 
1832.409-1, 1832.409-170, 1832.410, 1832.501-2, 1832.502, 1832.502-2, 
1832.503, 1832.503-5, 1832.504, 1832.702, 1832.702-70, 1832.704, 
1832.704-70, Subpart 1832.9, and sections 1832.1001, 1832.1004, 
paragraph (b)(2) in section 1832.1005, and paragraph (c) in section 
1832.1110.

PART 1833--PROTESTS, DISPUTES, AND APPEALS

    8. Amend part 1833 by removing paragraph (f) in section 1833.103, 
and sections 1833.104, 1833.106, 1833.209, 1833.210, and 1833.211.

[FR Doc. 04-5693 Filed 3-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510-01-P