[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 210 (Monday, November 1, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63436-63437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24231]



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Part II





Department of Transportation

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration





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48 CFR Parts 2, 5, and 7



Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Technical Data Solution; 
Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 210 / Monday, November 1, 2004 / 
Proposed Rules  

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 2, 5, and 7

[FAR Case 2004-007]
RIN 9000-AK08


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Technical Data Solution

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

ACTION:  Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY:  The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense 
Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the 
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to provide for the access and 
distribution of solicitation requirements or other documents (e.g., 
technical specifications, maps, building designs, schedules, etc.), 
when controls are necessary according to agency procedures, through the 
Federal Technical Data Solution (FedTedS) website in lieu of the 
Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE).

DATES:  Interested parties should submit comments in writing on or 
before January 3, 2005 to be considered in the formulation of a final 
rule.

ADDRESSES:  Submit comments identified by FAR case 2004-007 by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Agency Web Site: http://www.acqnet.gov/far/ProposedRules/proposed.htm. Click on the FAR case number to submit comments.
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include FAR case 2004-007 
in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 202-501-4067.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat (V), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4035, ATTN: Laurie Duarte, 
Washington, DC 20405.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite FAR case 2004-
007 in all correspondence related to this case. All comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.acqnet.gov/far/ProposedRules/proposed.htm, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  The FAR Secretariat at (202) 501-4755 
for information pertaining to status or publication schedules. For 
clarification of content, contact Mr. Gerald Zaffos, Procurement 
Analyst, at(202) 208-6091. Please cite FAR case 2004-007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Under current FAR regulations, contracting officers are required to 
use the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE) to publish information 
about proposed contract actions where the contract is estimated to be 
$25,000 or more. FAR 5.102 encourages contracting officers to use the 
GPE to disseminate additional information related to solicitations, 
where practicable and cost-effective. However, as a freely accessible 
web site, the GPE is inappropriate for disseminating information that 
requires additional controls to monitor access and distribution (e.g., 
technical specifications, maps, building designs, schedules, etc.). One 
of the e-Government Integrated Acquisition Environment's (IAE) 
initiatives is to maximize efficiency, effectiveness, and security in 
the acquisition process through the use of internet-based technology. 
As part of the IAE, a secure solution (FedTeDS) has been developed for 
this purpose.
    Agencies will still be required to synopsize and post their 
contracting opportunities at the Government Point of Entry, FedBizOpps. 
However, the agency should post information that requires additional 
controls to monitor access and distribution (e.g., technical 
specifications, maps, building designs, schedules, etc.), as determined 
by the agency, by providing a link from FedBizOpps to FedTeDS.
    By clicking on the link, a vendor will be taken to FedTeDS. Once in 
FedTeDS, a vendor can either download a copy of the information or 
request it on a compact disc (CD) (if the contracting agency is making 
the information available in that medium). In order to download the 
information or request a CD, the vendor must be registered in both the 
Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and FedTeDS. To register in 
FedTeDS, a vendor must have the Marketing Partner Identification Number 
(MPIN) it created when registering in CCR. The MPIN, together with the 
vendor's CAGE number or DUNS number, is used to register and obtain a 
password in FedTeDS. Because the vendor defines it, the MPIN in 
combination with the CAGE or DUNS number provides a unique identifier 
for authenticating the individual obtaining the information. A vendor 
user guide is available at https://www.fedteds.gov/.
    Vendors that have already downloaded solicitations from FedBizOpps 
will receive an e-mail notification when new information becomes 
available in FedTeDS. They will then have to go to FedBizOpps to click 
on the appropriate link to FedTeDS. Vendors will only have access to 
documents related to information in FedTeDS through a link from 
FedBizOpps; there is no search capability within FedTeDS.
    A feature of FedTeDS that is available to vendors is ``See My 
Colleagues.'' This allows the vendor to see who has been using the same 
CAGE code or DUNS number, thereby helping to ensure that only 
authorized people have access.
    For acquisitions that are exempt from posting in FedBizOpps, an 
agency can send specific vendors an email with a direct link to the 
information in FedTeDS. This allows an agency to avoid sending large 
attachments through an unsecured email system.
    This is not a significant regulatory action and, therefore, was not 
subject to review under Section 6(b) of Executive Order 12866, 
Regulatory Planning and Review, dated September 30, 1993. This rule is 
not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Councils do not expect this proposed rule 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 the rule does not impose any costs on either small or large 
businesses. An Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis has, therefore, 
not been performed. We invite comments from small businesses and other 
interested parties. The Councils will consider comments from small 
entities concerning the affected FAR Parts 2, 5, and 7 in accordance 
with 5 U.S.C. 610. Interested parties must submit such comments 
separately and should cite 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq. (FAR case 2004-007), 
in correspondence.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because the proposed 
changes to the FAR do not impose information collection requirements 
that 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 2, 5, and 7

    Government procurement.


[[Page 63437]]


    Dated: October 22, 2004.
Laura Auletta,
Director, Contract Policy Division.

    Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA propose amending 48 CFR parts 2, 5, 
and 7 as set forth below:
    1. The authority citation for 48 CFR parts 2, 5, and 7 is revised 
to read as follows:


    Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. chapter 137; and 42 
U.S.C. 2473(c).

PART 2--DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMS

    2. Amend section 2.101 in paragraph (b) by adding, in alphabetical 
order, the definition ``Federal Technical Data Solution (FedTeDS)'' to 
read as follows:


2.101  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    Federal Technical Data Solution (FedTeDS) is a web application 
integrated with the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE) and the Central 
Contractor Registration (CCR) system for distribution of information 
related to contract opportunities. It is designed to enhance controls 
on the access and distribution of solicitation requirements or other 
documents when controls are necessary according to agency procedures. 
FedTeDS may be found on the Internet at https://www.fedteds.gov.
* * * * *

PART 5--PUBLICIZING CONTRACT ACTIONS

    3. Amend section 5.102 by revising paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2); by 
adding a new paragraph (a)(5); and by revising the introductory text of 
paragraph (b) to read as follows:


5.102  Availability of solicitations.

    (a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(4) of this section, the 
contracting officer must make available through the GPE solicitations 
synopsized through the GPE. The contracting officer must also make 
specifications, technical data, and other pertinent solicitation 
information available through the GPE, except as provided in paragraph 
(a)(5) of this section. Transmissions to the GPE must be in accordance 
with the interface description available via the Internet at http://www.fedbizopps.gov.
    (2) The contracting officer is encouraged, when practicable and 
cost-effective, to make accessible through the GPE additional 
information related to a solicitation, except as provided in paragraph 
(a)(5) of this section.
* * * * *
    (5) When a solicitation contains information that requires 
additional controls to monitor access and distribution (e.g., technical 
specifications, maps, building designs, schedules, etc.), as determined 
by the agency, the information should be made available through the 
Federal Technical Data Solution (FedTeDS). When FedTeDS is used it must 
be used in conjunction with the GPE to meet the synopsis and 
advertising requirements of this part. Exceptions to posting on FedTeDS 
include--
    (i) Information that is classified; or
    (ii) Information that will be provided through alternative 
electronic means; or
    (iii) Information that, because of its nature (e.g., size, format) 
it is not cost-effective or practicable for contracting officers to 
make available through FedTeDS.
    (b) When the contracting officer does not make a solicitation 
available through the GPE pursuant to paragraph (a)(4) of this section 
or when the contracting officer does not make information that requires 
additional controls to monitor access and distribution available 
through FedTeDS, pursuant to paragraph (a)(5) of this section, the 
contracting officer--
* * * * *


5.207  [Amended]

    4. Amend section 5.207 in paragraph (c)(19) by removing ``if any'' 
and adding ``such as FedTeDS (https://www.fedteds.gov)'' in it place.

PART 7--ACQUISITION PLANS

    5. Amend section 7.105 by adding a sentence to the end of paragraph 
(b)(15) to read as follows:


7.105  Contents of written acquisition plans.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (15) * * * Indicate which information that requires additional 
controls to monitor access and distribution (e.g., technical 
specifications, maps, building designs, schedules, etc.), as determined 
by the agency, is to be posted via the Federal Technical Data Solution 
(FedTeDS) (see 5.102(a)(5)).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 04-24231 Filed 10-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-S