Federal Acquisition Regulation: Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-98; Introduction, 19144-19145 [2018-09162]

Download as PDF 19144 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2018 / Rules and Regulations and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION ACTION: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SUMMARY: Summary presentation of final rules. 48 CFR Chapter 1 [Docket No. FAR 2018–0001, Sequence No. 2] Federal Acquisition Regulation: Federal Acquisition Circular 2005–98; Introduction Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), AGENCY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005–98. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the internet at https:// www.regulations.gov. For effective dates see the separate documents, which follow. DATES: The analyst whose name appears in the table below in relation to the FAR case. Please cite FAC 2005–98 and the specific FAR case number. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at 202– 501–4755. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: RULES LISTED IN FAC 2005–98 Item Subject I ........................................... II .......................................... III ......................................... IV ......................................... Task- and Delivery-Order Protests .............................................................................. Duties of Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization ............................. Liquidated Damages Rate Adjustment ........................................................................ Audit of Settlement Proposals ..................................................................................... 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 2005–98 amends the FAR as follows: amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with RULES2 Item I—Task- and Delivery-Order Protests (FAR Case 2017–007) This final rule amends the FAR to implement section 835 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 (Pub. L. 114–328). Section 835 amends 10 U.S.C. 2304c(e)(1)(B) to raise the threshold for task- and delivery-order protests from $10 million to $25 million (applicable to DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard). The section also amends 41 U.S.C. 4106(f) to repeal the sunset date, which was also previously repealed by the GAO Civilian Task and Delivery Order Protest Authority Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114–260). There will be an unquantifiable impact on offerors (including small businesses) that lose the right to protest awards of task or delivery orders valued between $10 million and $25 million, but the impact is expected to be de minimis, because there are very few protests of procurements in that dollar range. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:35 Apr 30, 2018 Jkt 244001 FAR case Item II—Duties of Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (FAR Case 2017–008) This final rule amends the FAR to reflect additional duties for agencies’ Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, or for DoD’s Office of Small Business Programs, which were added to section 15(k) of the Small Business Act by the NDAA for FY 2017. This rule only provides information regarding the internal operating procedures of the Government. Item III—Liquidated Damages Rate Adjustment (FAR Case 2017–004) This final rule amends the FAR to adjust for inflation the rate of liquidated damages assessed or enforced by Department of Labor (DOL) regulations for violations of the overtime provisions of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. The FAR rule implements DOL’s interim final rule published in the Federal Register at 81 FR 43430 on July 1, 2016, DOL’s final rule published in the Federal Register at 82 FR 5373 on January 18, 2017, and subsequent adjustments for inflation pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (section 701 of Pub. L. 114– 74)(28 U.S.C. 2461 Note). There is no significant impact on small entities imposed by the FAR rule. PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 2017–007 2017–008 2017–004 2015–039 Analyst Gray. Fry. Delgado. Delgado. Item IV—Audit of Settlement Proposals (FAR Case 2015–039) This final rule amends the FAR to raise the dollar threshold requirement for the audit of prime contract settlement proposals and subcontract settlements from $100,000 to $750,000 to align with the threshold in FAR 15.403–4(a)(1) for obtaining certified cost or pricing data. The requirements in the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Since the rule raises the audit threshold, even fewer small businesses will be subject to audits of their termination settlement proposals resulting in a reduction of time spent to complete termination settlements. Dated: April 25, 2018. William F. Clark, Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy. Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005– 98 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 2005–98 is effective May 1, 2018 except for items I, II, III, and IV, which are effective May 31, 2018. E:\FR\FM\01MYR2.SGM 01MYR2 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2018 / Rules and Regulations Dated: April 24, 2018. Shay D. Assad, Director, Defense Pricing/Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy. Dated: April 23, 2018. Jeffrey A. Koses, Senior Procurement Executive/Deputy CAO, Office of Acquisition Policy, U.S. General Services Administration. Dated: April 24, 2018. Monica Y. Manning, Assistant Administrator, Office of Procurement, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. [FR Doc. 2018–09162 Filed 4–30–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE This final rule amends FAR 16.505(a)(10) to raise the threshold for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard from $10 million to $25 million and remove the sunset date for the other civilian agencies. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 48 CFR Part 16 [FAC 2005–98; FAR Case 2017–007; Item I; Docket No. 2017–0007, Sequence No. 1] RIN 9000–AN41 Federal Acquisition Regulation: Taskand Delivery-Order Protests Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). AGENCY: Final rule. DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 to raise the threshold for taskand delivery-order protests from $10 million to $25 million (applicable to DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard) and to repeal the sunset date for the authority to protest the placement of an order (for the other civilian agencies), which was also previously repealed by the GAO Civilian Task and Delivery Order Protest Authority Act of 2016. DATES: Effective: May 31, 2018. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Charles Gray, Procurement Analyst, at 703–795–6328, for clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at 202–501–4755. Please cite FAC 2005– 98, FAR Case 2017–007. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with RULES2 SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:35 Apr 30, 2018 Section 835 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Pub. L. 114–328) was enacted December 23, 2016. Section 835(a) amended 10 U.S.C. 2304c(e)(1)(B) to raise the threshold for task- and delivery-order protests from $10 million to $25 million (applicable to DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard). Section 835(b) amended 41 U.S.C. 4106(f) to repeal the sunset date of September 30, 2016, of the authority to protest the placement of an order (for the other civilian agencies). The sunset date was already repealed on December 14, 2016, by the GAO Civilian Task and Delivery Order Protest Authority Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114–260). II. Discussion and Analysis GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION ACTION: I. Background Jkt 244001 III. Expected Cost Savings The rule is administrative in nature— it follows the statute exactly, raising a threshold and removing a sunset date. Currently, FAR 16.505(a)(10)(i) prohibits any protest in connection with the issuance or proposed issuance of an order under a task-order contract or delivery-order contract, except for a protest on the grounds that the order increases the scope, period, or maximum value of the contract; or the order is valued in excess of $10 million. This FAR change implements section 835 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 to— • Raise the threshold at which a protest may be filed at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for task or delivery orders from $10 million to $25 million, applicable only to DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard; and • Remove the sunset date (September 30, 2016) for the authority to protest the placement of an order for agencies other than DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard. Although, according to GAO, there are fewer than 10 protests per year of procurements between $10 million and $25 million, the higher threshold for protests of task or delivery orders for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard will result in savings for GAO and the affected Executive branch agencies, because there will no longer be protests of orders valued between $10 million and $25 million based on dollar value. While it is difficult to quantify, the lost benefit to interested parties who will PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 19145 lose the right to protest as a result of this rule is likely de minimis, given the historical data from GAO indicating a small number of protests in the affected dollar range. Further, there are some benefits to offerors or contractors who win awards and will no longer need to expend resources defending challenges to the award. Therefore, the net burden of this rule is estimated as less than zero, though the FAR Council is not able to monetize cost savings. IV. Applicability to Contracts at or Below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold and for Commercial Items, Including Commercially Available Offthe-Shelf Items This rule does not add any new solicitation provisions or clauses, or impact any existing provisions or clauses. V. Publication of This Final Rule for Public Comment Is Not Required by Statute The statute that applies to the publication of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is the Office of Federal Procurement Policy statute (codified at Title 41 of the United States Code). Specifically, 41 U.S.C. 1707(a)(1) requires that a procurement policy, regulation, procedure, or form (including an amendment or modification thereof) must be published for public comment if it relates to the expenditure of appropriated funds, and has either a significant effect beyond the internal operating procedures of the agency issuing the policy, regulation, procedure, or form, or has a significant cost or administrative impact on contractors or offerors. This final rule is not required to be published for public comment, because it follows the statute exactly, raising a threshold and removing a sunset date. VI. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. This is not a significant regulatory action and, therefore, was not subject to review under section 6(b) of E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, dated September 30, 1993. This E:\FR\FM\01MYR2.SGM 01MYR2

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[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19144-19145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09162]

[[Page 19143]]

Vol. 83

Tuesday,

No. 84

May 1, 2018

Part II

Department of Defense

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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48 CFR Chapter 1

Federal Acquisition Regulation: Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-98;
Introduction; Task- and Delivery-Order Protests; Duties of Office of
Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization; Liquidated Damages Rate
Adjustment; Audit of Settlement Proposals; and Federal Acquisition
Circular 2005-98; Small Entity Compliance Guide; Final Rules

Federal Register / Vol. 83 , No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2018 / Rules
and Regulations

[[Page 19144]]

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

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket No. FAR 2018-0001, Sequence No. 2]

Federal Acquisition Regulation: Federal Acquisition Circular
2005-98; Introduction

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

ACTION: Summary presentation of final rules.

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

SUMMARY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and
the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal
Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-98. A companion document, the Small
Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including
the SECG, is available via the internet at https://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: For effective dates see the separate documents, which follow.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The analyst whose name appears in the
table below in relation to the FAR case. Please cite FAC 2005-98 and
the specific FAR case number. For information pertaining to status or
publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at
202-501-4755.

Rules Listed in FAC 2005-98
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subject FAR case Analyst
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I....................................... Task- and Delivery-Order 2017-007 Gray.
Protests.
II...................................... Duties of Office of Small 2017-008 Fry.
and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization.
III..................................... Liquidated Damages Rate 2017-004 Delgado.
Adjustment.
IV...................................... Audit of Settlement 2015-039 Delgado.
Proposals.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 2005-98 amends the FAR as follows:

Item I--Task- and Delivery-Order Protests (FAR Case 2017-007)

This final rule amends the FAR to implement section 835 of the
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017
(Pub. L. 114-328). Section 835 amends 10 U.S.C. 2304c(e)(1)(B) to raise
the threshold for task- and delivery-order protests from $10 million to
$25 million (applicable to DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard). The section
also amends 41 U.S.C. 4106(f) to repeal the sunset date, which was also
previously repealed by the GAO Civilian Task and Delivery Order Protest
Authority Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-260). There will be an
unquantifiable impact on offerors (including small businesses) that
lose the right to protest awards of task or delivery orders valued
between $10 million and $25 million, but the impact is expected to be
de minimis, because there are very few protests of procurements in that
dollar range.

Item II--Duties of Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization (FAR Case 2017-008)

This final rule amends the FAR to reflect additional duties for
agencies' Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, or
for DoD's Office of Small Business Programs, which were added to
section 15(k) of the Small Business Act by the NDAA for FY 2017. This
rule only provides information regarding the internal operating
procedures of the Government.

Item III--Liquidated Damages Rate Adjustment (FAR Case 2017-004)

This final rule amends the FAR to adjust for inflation the rate of
liquidated damages assessed or enforced by Department of Labor (DOL)
regulations for violations of the overtime provisions of the Contract
Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. The FAR rule implements DOL's
interim final rule published in the Federal Register at 81 FR 43430 on
July 1, 2016, DOL's final rule published in the Federal Register at 82
FR 5373 on January 18, 2017, and subsequent adjustments for inflation
pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of
1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment
Act Improvements Act of 2015 (section 701 of Pub. L. 114-74)(28 U.S.C.
2461 Note). There is no significant impact on small entities imposed by
the FAR rule.

Item IV--Audit of Settlement Proposals (FAR Case 2015-039)

This final rule amends the FAR to raise the dollar threshold
requirement for the audit of prime contract settlement proposals and
subcontract settlements from $100,000 to $750,000 to align with the
threshold in FAR 15.403-4(a)(1) for obtaining certified cost or pricing
data.
The requirements in the rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Since the rule raises
the audit threshold, even fewer small businesses will be subject to
audits of their termination settlement proposals resulting in a
reduction of time spent to complete termination settlements.

Dated: April 25, 2018.
William F. Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.

Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-98 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 2005-98 is
effective May 1, 2018 except for items I, II, III, and IV, which are
effective May 31, 2018.

[[Page 19145]]

Dated: April 24, 2018.
Shay D. Assad,
Director, Defense Pricing/Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy.
Dated: April 23, 2018.
Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive/Deputy CAO, Office of Acquisition Policy,
U.S. General Services Administration.
Dated: April 24, 2018.
Monica Y. Manning,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Procurement, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.
[FR Doc. 2018-09162 Filed 4-30-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P

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