[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 167 (Monday, August 30, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53169-53170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21044]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket FAR 2010-0077, Sequence 7]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-45; Small Entity Compliance Guide

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

ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.

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SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of the 
Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the 
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with 
section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 
of 1996. It consists of a summary of rules appearing in Federal 
Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-45 which amend the FAR. Interested 
parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by 
referring to FAC 2005-45, which precedes this document. These documents 
are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: For effective dates see separate documents, which follow.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The analyst whose name appears in the 
table below. Please cite FAC 2005-45 and the specific FAR case number. 
For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact 
the Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 501-4755.

                      List of Rules in FAC 2005-45
------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Item              Subject          FAR case          Analyst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I.................  Inflation                2008-024  Jackson.
                     Adjustment of
                     Acquisition-
                     Related
                     Thresholds.
II................  Definition of            2005-036  Chambers.
                     Cost or Pricing
                     Data.
III...............  American Recovery        2009-008  Davis.
                     and Reinvestment
                     Act of 2009 (the
                     Recovery Act)--
                     Buy American
                     Requirements for
                     Construction
                     Materials.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the 
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these FAR cases, refer to 
the specific item number and subject set forth in the documents 
following these item summaries.
    FAC 2005-45 amends the FAR as specified below:

Item I--Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds (FAR 
Case 2008-024)

    This final rule amends the FAR to implement section 807 of the 
Ronald W.

[[Page 53170]]

Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. Section 
807 requires an adjustment every 5 years of acquisition-related 
thresholds for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for all urban 
consumers, except for Davis-Bacon Act, Service Contract Act, and trade 
agreements thresholds. The Councils have also used the same methodology 
to adjust nonstatutory FAR acquisition-related thresholds in 2010.
    This is the second review of FAR acquisition-related thresholds. 
The Councils published a proposed rule in the Federal Register at 75 FR 
5716, February 4, 2010.
    The effect of the final rule on heavily-used thresholds is the same 
as stated in the preamble to the proposed rule:
     The micro-purchase base threshold of $3,000 (FAR 2.101) is 
not changed.
     The simplified acquisition threshold (FAR 2.101) is raised 
from $100,000 to $150,000.
     The FedBizOpps preaward and post-award notices (FAR part 
5) remain at $25,000 because of trade agreements.
     Commercial items test program ceiling (FAR 13.500) is 
raised from $5,500,000 to $6,500,000.
     The cost or pricing data threshold (FAR 15.403-4) is 
raised from $650,000 to $700,000.
     The prime contractor subcontracting plan (FAR 19.702) 
floor is raised from $550,000 to $650,000, and the construction 
threshold of $1,000,000 increases to $1,500,000.

Item II--Definition of Cost or Pricing Data (FAR Case 2005-036)

    This final rule amends the FAR by redefining ``cost or pricing 
data,'' adding a definition of ``certified cost or pricing data,'' and 
changing the term ``information other than cost or pricing data,'' to 
``data other than certified cost or pricing data.'' The rule clarifies 
the existing authority for contracting officers to require certified 
cost or pricing data or data other than certified cost or pricing data, 
and the existing requirements for submission of the various types of 
pricing data. The rule is required to eliminate confusion and 
misunderstanding, especially regarding the authority of the contracting 
officer to request data other than certified cost or pricing data when 
there is no other means to determine that proposed prices are fair and 
reasonable. Most significantly, the rule clarifies that data other than 
certified cost or pricing data may include the identical types of data 
as certified cost or pricing data but without the certification. 
Because the rule clarifies existing requirements, it will have only 
minimal impact on the Government, offerors, and automated systems.

Item III--American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery 
Act)--Buy American Requirements for Construction Materials (FAR Case 
2009-008)

    This final rule converts the interim rule published in the Federal 
Register at 74 FR 14623, March 31, 2009, to a final rule with changes. 
This final rule implements section 1605 of Division A of the American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) of 2009. It prohibits the 
use of funds appropriated for or otherwise made available by the 
Recovery Act for any project for the construction, alteration, 
maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all 
of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are 
produced in the United States. Section 1605 mandates application of the 
Recovery Act Buy American requirement in a manner consistent with U.S. 
obligations under international agreements. Least developed countries 
continue to be treated as designated countries per congressional 
direction. Section 1605 also provides for waivers under certain limited 
circumstances.

    Dated: August 18, 2010.
Edward Loeb,
Director, Acquisition Policy Division.
[FR Doc. 2010-21044 Filed 8-27-10; 8:45 am]
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