General Services Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

GSA is issuing a final rule that makes technical amendments to the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) regarding gender neutrality. These technical amendments result in more inclusive language by replacing gender-specific pronouns (e.g., he, she, his, her) with non-gendered pronouns. These changes are grammatical and technical in nature and do not result in added costs or associated policy changes.

The General Services Administration is issuing a final rule amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation to remove Small Disadvantaged Business Program requirements references to align with the Federal Acquisition Regulation for consistency.

GSA reviews its Privacy Act systems to ensure that they are relevant, necessary, accurate, up-to-date, and covered by the appropriate legal or regulatory authority. This notice is an updated Privacy Act system of records notice.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a renewal of the currently approved information collection requirement regarding FFATA Subaward and Executive Compensation Reporting Requirements.

On January 12, 2024, GSA published a final rule amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to clarify when GSAR clauses apply to Federal Supply Schedule contracts. Some text inadvertently appeared in a section revision, and inadvertently omitted amendatory text. This correction removes that text and adds the omitted language.

This agenda announces the proposed regulatory actions that GSA plans for the next 12 months and those that were completed since the spring 2023 edition. This agenda was developed under the guidelines of Executive Orders 12866 ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' and 13563 ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' respectively. GSA's purpose in publishing this agenda is to allow interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking process. GSA also invites interested persons to recommend existing significant regulations for review to determine whether they should be modified or eliminated. The public may provide comments on rules via https://www.regulations.gov. The Unified Agenda, including previous versions, are available at www.reginfo.gov. Because publication in the Federal Register is mandated for the regulatory flexibility agendas required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 602), GSA's printed agenda entries include only: (1) Rules that are in the Agency's regulatory flexibility agenda, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, because they are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities; and (2) Any rules that the Agency has identified for periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Printing of these entries is limited to fields that contain information required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act's Agenda requirements. Additional information on these entries is available in the Unified Agenda. In addition, for fall editions of the Agenda, the entire Regulatory Plan will continue to be printed in the Federal Register, as in past years, including GSA's regulatory plan.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, DoD, GSA, and NASA invite the public to comment on an extension concerning place of performance. DoD, GSA, and NASA invite comments on: whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of Federal Government acquisitions, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. OMB has approved this information collection for use through May 31, 2024. DoD, GSA, and NASA propose that OMB extend its approval for use for three additional years beyond the current expiration date.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a revision of a previously approved information collection requirement for Prohibition to Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment under Lease Acquisitions and Commercial Solution Openings. The revision now includes new information to be collected related to supply chain risk information sharing and exclusion or removal orders consistent with the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a proposed Governmentwide policy developed by the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP Administrator), pursuant to the Administrator's authority that would prohibit contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information about job applicants' compensation history when making employment decisions for certain positions. Under the proposed policy and the proposed regulatory amendments, contractors and subcontractors would also be required to disclose the compensation to be offered to the hired applicant in job announcements for certain positions.

The General Services Administration published a document in the Federal Register of December 22, 2023, concerning a Federal Management Regulation (FMR) bulletin titled ``Guidelines for Safety Station Programs in Federal Facilities.''

On January 12, 2024, GSA published a final rule amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to clarify when GSAR clauses apply to Federal Supply Schedule contracts. Some text inadvertently appeared in a section revision. This correction removes that text.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a renewal of the currently approved information collection requirement regarding implementation of GSA information technology security requirements.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulatory changes made by the Small Business Administration to update and clarify requirements associated with the limitations on subcontracting and the nonmanufacturer rule.

The General Services Administration is issuing this final rule amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to clarify when GSAR clauses apply to Federal Supply Schedule contracts.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to improve consistency between the procurement and nonprocurement procedures on suspension and debarment, based on the recommendations of the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee.

The Federal CDO Council was established by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act. The Council's vision is to improve government mission achievement and increase benefits to the nation through improving the management, use, protection, dissemination, and generation of data in government decision-making and operations. The CDO Council is publishing this Request for Information (RFI) for the public to provide input on key questions concerning synthetic data generation. Responses to this RFI will inform the CDO Council's work to establish best practices for synthetic data generation.

GSA is seeking applications to fill four membership seats on the Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee (hereinafter ``the Committee'' or ``the FSCAC''), a Federal advisory committee required by statute.

Notice of these Web-based subcommittee meetings is being provided in accordance with GSA's Federal Advisory Committee Management Program regulations. This notice provides the updated schedule for a series of Web-based meetings for three subcommittees of the GSA Acquisition Policy Federal Advisory Committee (GAP FAC): the Acquisition Workforce Subcommittee, the Industry Partnerships Subcommittee, and the Policy and Practice Subcommittee. These subcommittee meetings are open to the public. Information on attending and providing written public comment is under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, DoD, GSA, and NASA invite the public to comment on an extension concerning Implementation of Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act (FASCSA) Orders. DoD, GSA, and NASA invite comments on: whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of Federal Government acquisitions, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. OMB has approved this information collection for use through April 30, 2024. DoD, GSA, and NASA propose that OMB extend its approval for use for three additional years beyond the current expiration date.

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 rule appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2024-02, which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Interested parties may obtain further information regarding this rule by referring to FAC 2024-02, which precedes this document.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2024-02. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC.

GSA is providing notice of a public meeting on behalf of the Chief Acquisition Officers Council (CAOC) and the Senior Policy Operating Group's (SPOG) Procurement and Supply Chains Committee to build understanding and awareness about the anti-human trafficking requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), share information about U.S. government tools and reporting to assist with compliance, and to discuss actions the Federal Government can take to achieve more effective implementation.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, DoD, GSA, and NASA invite the public to comment on an extension concerning certified cost or pricing data and data other than certified cost or pricing data. DoD, GSA, and NASA invite comments on: whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of Federal Government acquisitions, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. OMB has approved this information collection for use through March 31, 2024. DoD, GSA, and NASA propose that OMB extend its approval for use for three additional years beyond the current expiration date.

GSA is responsible for implementing the Computers for Veterans and Students Act of 2022 (COVS Act), which aims to close the digital divide and provide access to surplus computers and technology equipment to eligible recipients. GSA is seeking information from nonprofit computer refurbishers and other nongovernmental entities to better understand the industry as GSA develops regulations to implement the COVS Act.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, OES is proposing new data collection activities conducted for the National Evaluation of the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The objective of this project is to provide a systematic look at the contributions of selected ARP-funded programs toward achieving equitable outcomes to inform program design and delivery across the Federal Government. The project will include in-depth, cross-cutting evaluations and data analysis of selected ARP programs, especially those with shared outcomes, common approaches, or overlapping recipient communities; and targeted, program-specific analyses to fill critical gaps in evidence needs.