[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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