[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 78 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21804-21806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9013]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 1842 through 1851

RIN 2700-AC87


Re-Issuance of NASA FAR Supplement Subchapter G

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 June 21, 2004, to be 
considered in formulation of the final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments, identified by RIN 
number 2700-AC87, 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 within 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 1842 Through 1851

    Government procurement.

Tom Luedtke,
Assistant Administrator for Procurement.

    Accordingly, 48 CFR parts 1842 Through 1851 are proposed to be 
amended as follows:
    1. The authority citation for 48 CFR parts 1842 through 1851 
continues to read as follows:

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

PART 1842--CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES

    2. Amend Part 1842 by--
    (a) Removing Subpart 1842.1, sections 1842.202, 1842.202-70, 184 
2.270, Subparts 1842.3, 1842.5, 1842.7, 1842.8, 1842.12, 1842.13, 
1842.14, and 1842.15;


1842.7201  [Amended]

    (b) In section 1842.7201, removing and reserving paragraph (a) and 
removing paragraphs (b)(3) through (b)(5) and paragraph (c); and
    (c) Removing Subpart 1842.73 and section 1842.7401.

PART 1843--CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

Subpart 1843.70 [Removed]

    3. Amend Part 1843 by removing Subpart 1843.70.

PART 1844--SUBCONTRACTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

    4. Amend Part 1844 by removing sections 1844.201, 1844.201-1, 
1844.202, 1844.202-1, and Subpart 1844.3.

PART 1845--GOVERNMENT PROPERTY

    5. Amend Part 1845 by--
    (a) Removing sections 1845.102, 1845.102-70, 1845.102-71, 1845.104, 
1845.106;

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    (b) In section 1845.106-70(e), removing ``Office of the 
Headquarters Office of Management Systems and Facilities (Code JLG)'' 
and adding ``Division of the Headquarters Office of Infrastructure and 
Management (Code OJG)'' in its place;
    (c) Removing section 1845.106-71, Subpart 1845.3, and sections 
1845.402, 1845.403;
    (d) In section 1845.405-70, removing paragraphs (b), (c), and (d);
    (e) Removing sections 1845.406, and 1845.406-70;
    (f) In section 1845.407, removing paragraph (a);
    (g) Removing sections 1845.606, 1845.606-1;
    (h) In section 1845.607-170, removing and reserving paragraphs (b) 
and (c);
    (i) Removing sections 1845.608, 1845.608-1, 1845.608-6, and 
1845.610-3;
    (j) In section 1845.610-4, removing ``NPG 4300.1'' and adding ``NPR 
4300.1, NASA Personal Property Disposal Procedures and Guidelines'' in 
its place;
    (k) Removing sections 1845.613, 1845.615, and Subpart 1845.70;
    (l) Removing and reserving sections 1845.7201, 1845.7202, 
1845.7203, 1845.7204, 1845.7205, 1845.7206, 1845.7206-1, 1845.7206-2, 
1845.7207, 1845.7208, 1845.7208-1, 1845.7208-2, 1845.7209-1, and 
1845.7209-2;
    (m) In section 1845.7210-1, removing and reserving paragraphs (a), 
(b), and (d); and
    (n) Removing section 1845.7210-2.

PART 1846--QUALITY ASSURANCE

    6. Amend Part 1846 by--
    (a) Removing sections 1846.000, and 1846.401;
    (b) In section 1846.670-1,
    (i) Deleting ``assurance (CQA)'' at the end of paragraph (a); and
    (ii) In the introductory text of paragraph (b), removing ``CQA'' 
and adding ``contract quality assurance (CQA)'' in its place;
    (c) In the first sentence of the introductory text of section 
1846.672-4, removing ``or'' and adding ``of'' in its place; and
    (d) Removing Subpart 1846.7.

PART 1847--TRANSPORTATION

    7. Amend Part 1847 by removing Subpart 1847.2, sections 1847.304, 
1847.304-3, 1847.304-370, 1847.305-10, 1847.305-13, and Subpart 1847.5.

PART 1848--VALUE ENGINEERING

    8. Remove and reserve Part 1848.

PART 1849--TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS

Subpart 1849.1--[Amended]

    9. Amend Part 1849 by removing Subpart 1849.1.

PART 1850--EXTRAORDINARY CONTRACTUAL ACTIONS

    10. Amend Part 1850 by--
    (a) Removing Subparts 1850.2 and 1850.3;
    (b) In section 1850.403-1, redesignating paragraph (a) as paragraph 
(b) and adding a new paragraph (a); and
    (c) Removing sections 1850.403-2 and 1850.470.
    The new paragraph (a) to section 1850.403-1 reads as follows:


1850.403-1  Indemnification requests.

    (a) Contractor indemnification requests must be submitted to the 
cognizant contracting officer for the contract for which the 
indemnification clause is requested. Contractors shall submit a single 
request and shall ensure that duplicate requests are not submitted by 
associate divisions, subsidiaries, or central offices of the 
contractor.
* * * * *

PART 1851--USE OF GOVERNMENT SOURCES BY CONTRACTORS

    11. Amend Part 1851 by removing section 1851.102, paragraph (c) of 
section 1851.102-70, and section 1851.202.

[FR Doc. 04-9013 Filed 4-21-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510-01-P