[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 61 (Thursday, March 30, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19045-19046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06172]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 19, 42, and 52

[FAR Case 2018-003, Docket No. FAR-2018-0003, Sequence No. 1]
RIN 9000-AN61


Federal Acquisition Regulation: Credit for Lower-Tier Small 
Business Subcontracting

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: DoD, GSA, and NASA are withdrawing this proposed rule. The 
decision not to proceed with a final rule was made because the 
underlying statute has been changed. Accordingly, this proposed rule is 
withdrawn, and the FAR case is closed.

DATES: The proposed rule published on June 6, 2019, at 84 FR 30071, is 
withdrawn as of March 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW, 
7th Floor, Washington, DC 20405, 202-501-4755.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
Ms. Carrie Moore, Procurement Analyst, at 571-300-5917, or by email at 
[email protected]. For information pertaining to status, publication 
schedules, or alternate instructions for submitting comments if https://www.regulations.gov cannot be used, contact the Regulatory Secretariat 
Division at 202-501-4755 or [email protected]. Please cite ``FAR Case 
2018-003''.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On June 6, 2019, DoD, GSA, and NASA proposed to amend the FAR to 
implement section 1614 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 (Pub. L. 113-66), as implemented by the Small 
Business Administration (SBA) in its final rule published on December 
23, 2016, at 81 FR 94246. SBA's final rule and section 1614 address 
credit for lower-tier small business subcontracting. On December 19, 
2022, SBA published a proposed rule at 87 FR 77529 to amend its 
regulations to implement section 870 of the NDAA for FY 2020 (Pub. L. 
116-92),

[[Page 19046]]

which amended the requirements set forth in section 1614 of the NDAA 
for FY 2014. Section 870 of the NDAA for FY 2020 made three changes 
that require SBA to change some of the provisions set forth in its 
December 2016 final rule as follows: (1) A prime contractor may elect, 
in some instances, to receive credit toward its subcontracting plan for 
lower-tier subcontracts to small businesses; (2) Agencies are 
prohibited from setting tier-specific goals for prime contractors that 
use lower-tier credit; and (3) Subcontracting plans are required to 
recite the records that contractors will maintain to substantiate 
lower-tier credit.
    Because of the statutory changes made since the proposed rule was 
issued in 2019, the FAR Council believes further consideration of any 
amendments to the FAR related to credit for lower-tier subcontracting 
should be accomplished under a new FAR case. Accordingly, the proposed 
rule published on June 6, 2019, at 84 FR 30071 is withdrawn and FAR 
Case 2018-003 is closed. Section 1614 of the NDAA for FY 2014, as 
amended by section 870 of the NDAA for FY 2022, will be implemented via 
a new FAR case.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 19, 42, and 52

    Government procurement.

William F. Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023-06172 Filed 3-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P