[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 11, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40131-40132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-19171]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 2, 4, 12, 39, and 52

[FAR Case 2008-019; Docket 2009-0018; Sequence 2]
RIN 9000-AL11


Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case 2008-019, Authentic 
Information Technology Products

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

ACTION: Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; notice of public 
meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense 
Acquisition Regulations Council (the Councils) are hosting a public 
meeting to continue a dialogue with industry and Government agencies 
about ways to develop greater assurance around information technology 
(IT) products acquired by the Government. The public meeting will 
include dialogues on the impact of counterfeit IT products on matters 
of performance and security; contractor liability and consequential 
damages; the competition aspects of procuring IT products from the 
original manufacturer or authorized distributors; viable means of 
representing authenticity of IT products; and contractor supply chain 
risk management requirements as an evaluation factor in the procurement 
of IT products.

DATES:  August 13, 2009, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: See Supplementary Information section for public meeting 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ernest Woodson, Procurement 
Analyst, at (202) 501-3775 for clarification of content. For 
information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the 
Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 501-4755. Please cite FAR case 2008-
019.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Public Meeting Address

    The meeting will be held at the General Services Administration 
(GSA), 1800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20405. The meeting will be 
held in the GSA Auditorium.
    Interested parties are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes 
early to accommodate security procedures.
    If you wish to make a presentation on any of the topics, please 
contact and submit a copy of your presentation prior to the meeting, to 
the General Services Administration, Contract Policy Division (VPC), 
1800 F Street, NW, Room 4040, Attn: Ernest Woodson, Washington, DC 
20405. Telephone: 202-501-3775.
    Submit electronic materials via e-mail to [email protected]. 
Please submit presentations only and cite Public Meeting IT Products 
Continued Dialogue in all correspondence related to the public meeting. 
The submitted presentations will be the only record of the public 
meeting.
    Call-in Information: Parties interested in participating by phone 
may dial (877) 924-8049, passcode 5363978. Interested parties calling 
in will not be allowed to present or participate in the question and 
answer session during a public meeting. Phone lines have been reserved 
for the first 100 callers.
    Special Accommodations: The public meeting is physically accessible 
to people with disabilities. Request for sign language interpretation 
or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Ernest Woodson, at 202-
501-3775, at least 2-working days prior to the meeting date.

B. Background

    On December 11, 2008, the Councils conducted a public meeting (see 
Federal Register notice at 73 FR 68373-68375 on November 18, 2008) to 
seek comments from both Government and industry, on among other things, 
whether the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) should be revised to 
include a requirement that contractors selling IT products (including 
computer hardware and software) represent that such products are 
authentic. The Councils were interested in comments regarding 
contractor liability if IT products sold to the Government by 
contractor are not authentic, and whether contractors who are resellers 
or distributors of computer hardware and software should represent to 
the Government that they are authorized by the original equipment 
manufacturer (OEM) to sell IT products to the Government. The comment 
period closed January 20, 2009.
    While comments received will be considered in the preparation of a 
proposed rule, the public meeting contemplated by this notice and those 
conducted June 23, July 15 and 22, 2009 (see Federal Register notice at 
74 FR 26646-26647 on June 3, 2009), will continue a dialogue with 
industry and Government agencies on the impact of counterfeit IT 
products on matters of performance and security; contractor liability 
and consequential damages; the competition aspects of procuring IT 
products from the original or authorized distributors; viable means of 
representing authenticity of IT products; and contractor supply chain 
risk management requirements as an evaluation factor in the procurement 
of IT products.
    The public meeting is intended to provide for an exchange of 
information and ideas that may be used to assist in developing greater 
assurance around information technology products acquired by the 
Government. While the focus of this notice is IT products, public 
meeting comments/presentations are invited on (1) whether the measures 
proposed herein should be expanded to include other items sold to the 
Government, such as Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical 
parts; (2) whether the rule should apply when IT is a component of a 
system or assembled product; and (3) whether vendors, distributors, and 
manufacturers of IT products and other items sold to the Government 
should be prequalified based on specific standards of testing, quality, 
traceability, integrity, and etc., before they are allowed to sell to 
the Government.
    The Councils are particularly interested in hearing how industry 
participants can maintain the integrity of the supply chain while 
providing Government customers with a variety of cost effective and 
reliable sources. Previous meetings initiated discussion of how various 
trade associations and other representative groups could propose to 
police member organizations or provide some auditable certification or 
declaration program that provides Government customers with uniform, 
reasonable assurance that purchased products and subcomponents are not 
counterfeit.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 2, 4, 12, 39, and 52

    Government procurement.


[[Page 40132]]


    Date: August 5, 2009.
Al Matera,
Director, Office of Acquisition Policy.
[FR Doc. E9-19171 Filed 8-10-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-S