[Federal Register: August 30, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 169)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 56115-56117]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30au02-24]
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Part V
Department of Defense
General Services Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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48 CFR Parts Ch. 1, 2, 7, 8, et al.
Federal Acquisition Regulations; Final Rules
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Chapter 1
Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-09; Introduction
AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Summary presentation of final and interim rules and technical
amendments.
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SUMMARY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and
the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council in this Federal Acquisition
Circular (FAC) 2001-09. A companion document, the Small Entity
Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG,
is available via the Internet at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.arnet.gov/far.
DATES: For effective dates and comment dates, see separate documents
which follow.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS
Building, Washington, DC 20405, (202) 501-4755, for information
pertaining to status or publication schedules. For clarification of
content, contact the analyst whose name appears in the table below in
relation to each FAR case or subject area. Please cite FAC 2001-09 and
specific FAR case number(s). Interested parties may also visit our
website at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.arnet.gov/far.
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Item Subject FAR case Analyst
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I.................................... Task-Order and Delivery-Order 1999-303 Wise.
Contracts.
II................................... Temporary Emergency Procurement 2002-003 Moss.
Authority (Interim).
III.................................. Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small 2000-302 Cundiff.
Business Development Act of 1999.
IV................................... Trade Agreements Thresholds........... 2002-009 Davis.
V.................................... Payments Under Fixed-Price 2001-012 Olson.
Construction Contracts.
VI................................... Technical Amendments.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the
actual revisions and/or amendments to these FAR cases, refer to the
specific item number and subject set forth in the documents following
these item summaries.
FAC 2001-09 amends the FAR as specified below:
Item I--Task-Order and Delivery-Order Contracts (FAR Case 1999-303)
This final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to
further implement subsections 804(a) and (b) of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 concerning task-order and
delivery-order contracts.
With respect to acquisition planning, the rule draws greater
attention to the capital planning requirements of the Clinger-Cohen Act
(40 U.S.C. 1422) and ensures more deliberation by agency acquisition
planners before orders are placed under a Federal Supply Schedule
contract, or task-order contract or delivery-order contract awarded by
another agency (i.e., Governmentwide acquisition contract or multi-
agency contract).
With respect to the structuring of orders and the consideration
given to contract holders prior to order placement, the rule (1)
increases attention to modular contracting principles to help agencies
avoid unnecessarily large and inadequately defined orders, (2)
facilitates information exchange during the fair opportunity process so
that contractors may develop and propose solutions that enable the
Government to award performance-based orders, and (3) revises existing
documentation requirements to address tradeoff decisions as well as the
issuance of sole-source orders as logical follow-ons to orders already
issued under the contract. This rule also adds a separate definition
for the terms ``Governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC)'' and
``Multi-agency contract (MAC)'' to the FAR to clarify the difference
between the terms and the purpose of each contract vehicle.
Item II--Temporary Emergency Procurement Authority (FAR Case 2002-003)
This interim rule implements Section 836 of the Fiscal Year 2002
National Defense Authorization Act which increases the amount of the
micro-purchase threshold and the simplified acquisition threshold for
procurements of supplies or services by or for DoD during fiscal years
2002 and 2003, where those procurements are to facilitate the defense
against terrorism or biological or chemical attack against the United
States. Also, contracting officers acquiring biotechnology supplies or
biotechnology services, for use to facilitate the defense against
terrorism or biological or chemical attack against the United States,
may treat the supplies or services as commercial items.
Item III--Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act
of 1999 (FAR Case 2000-302)
This final rule finalizes two interim rules published previously at
65 FR 60542, October 11, 2000 (FAC 97-20), and 66 FR 53492, October 22,
2001 (FAC 2001-01), respectively. The first interim rule implemented
portions of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business
Development Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-50), which added a subcontracting
plan goal for veteran-owned small businesses and a 3 percent
Governmentwide agency goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small
businesses. The second interim rule implemented Section 803 of the
Small Business Reauthorization Act of 2000 (part of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2001, Pub. L. 106-554), which added an additional
subcontracting plan goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small
business concerns. Both rules, and the correction published at 67 FR
1858, January 14, 2002 (FAC 2001-01 Correction), are adopted as final
without change.
Item IV--Trade Agreements Thresholds (FAR Case 2002-009)
This final rule amends FAR Subparts 22.15, 25.2, 25.4, 25.6, 25.11,
and the clauses at 52.213-4 and 52.222-19 to implement new dollar
thresholds for application of the Trade Agreements Act and North
American Free Trade Agreement as published by the U.S. Trade
Representative in the Federal Register at 67 FR 14763, March 27, 2002.
Contracting officers must review the new thresholds when acquiring
supplies, services, or construction in order to select the appropriate
clauses to implement the Buy American Act, trade agreements, and
sanctions of European
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Union country end products and services.
Item V--Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts (FAR Case
2001-012)
This final rule amends the FAR to clarify in the certification
language of the clause entitled Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction
Contracts that all payments due to subcontractors and suppliers have
been made by the prime contractor from previous progress payments
received from the Government. The rule is of special interest to
contracting officers that administer construction contracts.
Item VI--Technical Amendments
These amendments update sections and make editorial changes at FAR
22.1503, 36.606, and 52.232-16.
Dated: August 21, 2002.
Al Matera,
Director, Acquisition Policy Division.
Federal Acquisition Circular
Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2001-09 is issued under the
authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General
Services, and the Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 2001-09 are
effective September 30, 2002, except for Items II and III which are
effective August 30, 2002.
Dated: August 15, 2002.
Deidre A. Lee,
Director, Defense Procurement.
Dated: August 21, 2002.
Patricia A. Brooks,
Acting Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Acquisition Policy,
General Services Administration.
Dated: August 14, 2002.
Tom Luedtke,
Assistant Administrator for Procurement, National Aeronautics and
Space Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-21866 Filed 8-29-02; 8:45 am]
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