Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 9 (Friday, January 13, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4734-4735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31500]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket No. FAR 2016-0051, Sequence No. 9]

Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular
2005-95; Small Entity Compliance Guide

AGENCY: 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 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) 2005-95, 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 2005-95, which precedes this document.
These

[[Page 4735]]

documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: January 13, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC
2005-95 and the FAR case number. For information pertaining to status
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division
at 202-501-4755.

Rules Listed in FAC 2005-95
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Item Subject FAR Case Analyst
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* I........................... Uniform Use of Line Items....... 2013-014 Francis.
* II.......................... Acquisition Threshold for 2016-004 Francis.
Special Emergency Procurement
Authority.
* III......................... Contractor Employee Internal 2015-012 Davis.
Confidentiality Agreements or
Statements.
* IV.......................... Contracts Under the Small 2012-022 Uddowla.
Business Administration 8(a)
Program.
* V........................... Prohibition on Reimbursement for 2015-016 Delgado.
Congressional Investigations
and Inquiries.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these rules, refer to the
specific item numbers and subjects set forth in the documents following
these item summaries. FAC 2005-95 amends the FAR as follows:

Item I--Uniform Use of Line Items (FAR Case 2013-014)

This final rule amends the FAR to establish standards for the
uniform use of line items in Federal procurement. These standards are
designed to improve the accuracy, traceability, and usability of
procurement data. The implementation of these standards will facilitate
the identification and traceability of spending from appropriation
through expenditure, supporting automated collection of information
using key identifiers. The implementation date for FAR 4.1002 through
4.1008 will be October 1, 2019.
The requirements in the rule have the potential to impact any
entity, small or large, that does business with the Federal Government
because the proposed rule would apply to purchases of items, including
commercial items and commercially available off-the-shelf items, and
purchases under the simplified acquisition threshold. Any small
business that contracts with a Federal agency could be impacted to at
least some extent.

Item II--Acquisition Threshold for Special Emergency Procurement
Authority (FAR Case 2016-004)

This final rule amends the FAR by increasing the simplified
acquisition threshold (SAT) for special emergency procurement authority
from $300,000 to $750,000 (within the United States) and from $1
million to $1.5 million (outside the United States) for acquisitions of
supplies or services that, as determined by the head of the agency, are
to be used to support a contingency operation or to facilitate defense
against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological
attack. This change implements Section 816 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Pub. L. 114-92). This rule
provides contracting officers with more flexibility when contracting in
support of contingency operations.
The rule is not anticipated to have a significant economic impact
on small business entities, because the rule raises the SAT for special
emergency procurements, an arena in which a smaller percentage of small
businesses participate, as compared to larger businesses. This final
rule does not place any new requirements on small entities.

Item III--Contractor Employee Internal Confidentiality Agreements or
Statements (FAR Case 2015-012)

This final rule revises the FAR to implement section 743 of
division E, title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) and successor provisions in
subsequent appropriations acts. Section 743 prohibits the use of funds
appropriated or otherwise made available by Division E or any other
act, for a contract with an entity that requires employees and
subcontractors of such entity to sign internal confidentiality
agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such
employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting waste, fraud, or
abuse, to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative
of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such
information (e.g., agency office of the Inspector General). This rule
is not expected to have a significant impact on small entities
contracting with the Government.

Item IV--Contracts Under the Small Business Administration 8(a) Program
(FAR Case 2012-022)

This final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to
implement clarifications made by the Small Business Administration in
its final rule, which published in the Federal Register at 76 FR 8222
on February 11, 2011. This final rule clarifies in the FAR the
procedures and requirements used when contracting under the 8(a)
program. Clarifications include the evaluation, offering, and
acceptance process, procedures for acquiring SBA's consent to procure
an 8(a) requirement outside the 8(a) program, and the impact of exiting
the 8(a) program in terms of the firm's ability to receive future 8(a)
requirements and its current contractual commitments.
This final rule does not place any new requirements, financial or
otherwise, on small entities, and serves mainly to provide more
explicit guidance to Federal contracting officials.

Item V--Prohibition on Reimbursement for Congressional Investigations
and Inquiries (FAR Case 2015-016)

This rule amends the FAR to implement section 857 of the Carl Levin
and Howard P. `Buck' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2015. Section 857 imposes additional requirements relative
to the allowability of costs incurred by a contractor in connection
with a congressional investigation or inquiry. Contracting officers
need to be aware of these new restrictions on certain costs, which
cannot be charged under contracts. Although small businesses subject to
FAR part 31 will need to maintain accounting records, this rule does
not place any new requirements on small entities.

Dated: December 21, 2016.
William F. Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-31500 Filed 1-12-17; 8:45 am]
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