[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 28, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 77661-77663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28280]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Part 504

GSAR Amendment 2004-04; GSAR Case 2004-G509 (Change 12)
RIN 3090-AI00


General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Access to 
the Federal Procurement Data System

AGENCY:  Office of the Chief Acquisition Officer, General Services 
Administration (GSA).

ACTION:  Interim rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  The General Services Administration (GSA) is amending the 
General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) by adding 
coverage to specify the rate that will be charged to non-governmental 
entities in exchange for permitting them to establish a direct computer 
connection with the Federal Procurement Data System database.

DATES:  Effective Date: December 28, 2004.

[[Page 77662]]

    Comment Date: Interested parties should submit comments in writing 
on or before February 28, 2005, to be considered in the formulation of 
a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by GSAR Amendment 2004-04, GSAR 
case 2004-G509, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include GSAR Amendment 
2004-04, GSAR case 2004-G509, in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat (VIR), 1800 F Street, NW., Room 4035, ATTN: Laurieann 
Duarte, Washington, DC 20405.

Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite GSAR Amendment 2004-
04, GSAR case 2004-G509, in all correspondence related to this case. 
All comments received will be posted without change to http://www.acqnet.gov/GSAM/gsamcomments.htm, including any personal 
information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  The Regulatory Secretariat, Room 
4035, GS Building, Washington, DC, 20405, (202) 501-4755, for 
information pertaining to status or publication schedules. For 
clarification of content, contact Mr. Jerry Olson at (202) 501-3221. 
Please cite GSAR Amendment 2004-04, GSAR case 2004-G509.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    The Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) is the primary database 
of the Federal Government for information relating to Federal 
procurement. GSA, in keeping with its vision of providing greater 
transparency into Government contracting, announced that it will pay 
the costs to provide three years of free access to the public to data 
in the FPDS and to provide for a reduced cost for a special direct web 
services connection to the database.
    Following is a description of the methods the public will be able 
to use to get data from FPDS.
    The public will have access to the FPDS data using several methods:
     A copy of data can be made available using FTP (file 
transfer protocol) from the FPDS web site.
     Prewritten queries (that can be customized to produce data 
for specified period and organizations) can be used that will produce 
reports.
     Ad hoc queries can be written by members of the public to 
produce reports on nearly any desired set of FPDS data.
     Direct web services connection can be established between 
a public computer and the FPDS computers to use FPDS as a data source.
    The first three methods are free. This rule concerns the fee for 
the fourth.
    This interim rule establishes the one-time hook-up fee that will be 
charged to individuals, companies, or organizations wishing direct web 
services access to the database. They will be required to pay a $2,500 
fee to partially cover the cost of technical support, testing, and 
certification of direct integration to the FPDS web services. However, 
they will not be required to pay a fee for the data itself. Direct 
access to the database may be restricted to non-peak hours, depending 
on level of demand and FPDS's ability to service the demand without 
degradation of service to other users.
    We expect only a few requests for the direct integration to the 
FPDS web services. We expect that nearly all of the public users will 
use the free data and report generation tools that will also be 
available. The public will use the same report generation tools as 
Federal employees to access the database. They will have access to the 
same data as Federal employees and they can generate the same reports 
as Federal employees, with minor exceptions. Certain data may be 
delayed and will not be available in real-time in order to guard 
against inappropriate release of data that could reveal pace of 
operations information.
    GSA previously charged citizens a price for FPDS data, representing 
the costs incurred by GSA for providing the information.
    This rule 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 interim 
rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    We certify that the amendments will not 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 we do 
not expect a substantial number of small entities to request direct web 
services access to the FPDS database. Nearly all public access to the 
FPDS database is expected to occur via the free report generation tools 
and free data provided by GSA. GSA will consider comments from small 
entities concerning the affected GSAR Subpart 504.6 in accordance with 
5 U.S.C. 610. Interested parties must submit such comments separately 
and should cite GSAR case 2004-G509, in correspondence.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because this interim 
rule does not contain any information collection requirements that 
require the approval of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 
44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

D. Determination to Issue an Interim Rule

    A determination has been made under the authority of the 
Administrator of General Services that compelling reasons exist to 
promulgate this interim rule without prior opportunity for public 
comment. This rule is necessary to establish the rate of payment for 
the connection fee for direct web access to the FPDS database. Access 
is planned to begin immediately after December 31, 2004, and there is 
insufficient time to obtain public comments prior to that date. 
Comments received in response to the publication of this interim rule 
will be considered in formulating the final rule.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 504

    Government procurement.

    Dated: December 20, 2004
David A. Drabkin,
Senior Procurement Executive,General Services Administration.

0
Therefore, GSA amends 48 CFR part 504 as set forth below:

PART 504--ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

0
1. The authority citation for 48 CFR part 504 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c).

0
2. Add Subpart 504.6, consisting of section 504.602-71, to read as 
follows:

Subpart 504.6--Contract Reporting

    Sec.
    504.602-71 Federal Procurement Data System-Public Access to Data.


504.602-71  Federal Procurement Data System-Public Access to Data.

    (a) The FPDS database. The General Services Administration awarded 
a contract for creation and operation of the Federal Procurement Data 
System (FPDS) database. That database includes information reported by 
departments and agencies as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) Subpart 4.6. One of the primary purposes of the FPDS database is 
to provide information on Government procurement to the public.

[[Page 77663]]

    (b) Fee for direct hook-up. To the extent that a member of the 
public requests establishment of real-time integration of reporting 
services to run reports from another application, a one-time charge of 
$2,500 for the original integration must be paid by the requestor. This 
one-time charge covers the setup and certification required for an 
integrator to access the FPDS database and for technical assistance to 
help integrators use the web services. The fee will be paid to the FPDS 
contractor and credited to invoices submitted to GSA by the FPDS 
contractor.
[FR Doc. 04-28280 Filed 12-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-61-S