[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60174-60175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23701]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket FAR 2013-0078, Sequence 6]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-70; Small Entity Compliance Guide

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

[[Page 60175]]


ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.

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SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of DOD, GSA, 
and NASA. 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 the rules 
appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-70, which amends 
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). An asterisk (*) next to a 
rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been 
prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding 
these rules by referring to FAC 2005-70, which precedes this document. 
These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: September 30, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 
2005-70 and the FAR case number. For information pertaining to status 
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-
501-4755.

                       Rule Listed in FAC 2005-70
------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Item             Subject           FAR Case           Analyst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I *...........  Pilot Program for          2013-015  Corrigan.
                 Enhancement of
                 Contractor
                 Employee
                 Whistleblower
                 Protections
                 (Interim).
II *..........  Allowability of            2013-017  Chambers.
                 Legal Costs for
                 Whistleblower
                 Proceedings
                 (Interim).
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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 numbers and subjects set forth in the documents 
following these item summaries. FAC 2005-70 amends the FAR as specified 
below:

Item I--Pilot Program for Enhancement of Contractor Employee 
Whistleblower Protections (FAR Case 2013-015)

    This interim rule amends the FAR to implement a four-year pilot 
program to enhance the existing whistleblower protections for 
contractor employees at subpart 3.9. In accordance with FAR 
1.108(d)(3), contracting officers are encouraged to include the changes 
in these rules in major modifications to contracts and orders awarded 
prior to the effective date of this interim rule. The pilot program is 
mandated by section 828, entitled ``Pilot Program for Enhancement of 
Contractor Employee Whistleblower Protections,'' of the National 
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 (Pub. L. 
112-239, enacted January 2, 2013). This rule implements section 828 by 
amending FAR 3.900, Scope of subpart, to make FAR 3.901 through 3.906 
inapplicable to DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard and to prohibit the use 
of these sections for new awards by all other agencies subject to the 
FAR (title 41 agencies) through January 1, 2017. This rule creates a 
new FAR section 3.908 to be used by title 41 agencies through January 
1, 2017. Other exceptions: FAR 3.907, which addresses whistleblower 
protections under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, 
is unaffected by this rule. This rule does not provide any right not 
otherwise provided by law to disclose classified information, nor does 
it apply to any element of the intelligence community, as defined in 
section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
401(a)(4)). In addition, the interim rule applies to actions over the 
simplified acquisition threshold.

Item II--Allowability of Legal Costs for Whistleblower Proceedings (FAR 
Case 2013-017)

    This interim rule amends the FAR by revising the cost principle at 
FAR 31.205-47 to implement sections 827(g) and 828(d) of the NDAA for 
FY 2013 (Pub. L. 112-239). There are two new whistleblower programs for 
contractor and subcontractor employees, at 10 U.S.C. 2409 and 41 U.S.C. 
4712. The latter program is a pilot program, being addressed in FAR 
Case 2013-015, amending FAR subpart 3.9. The cost principle addresses 
the allowability of legal costs incurred by a contractor or 
subcontractor in connection with a whistleblower protection proceeding 
commenced by a contractor or subcontractor employee submitting a 
complaint of reprisal under the applicable whistleblower statute. 
Because most contracts awarded to small businesses use simplified 
acquisition procedures or are awarded on a competitive, fixed-price 
basis, thus limiting their exposure to the cost principles, the impact 
of this interim rule on small businesses will be minimal.

    Dated: September 24, 2013.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office 
of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-23701 Filed 9-27-13; 8:45 am]
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