New Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment Policy for Recipients of NASA Financial Assistance Awards, 5930-5932 [2023-00890]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 2023 / Notices
the second session of the 117th
Congress, and for determining whether
a sequestration order is necessary under
such section, the debit for the budget
year on the 5-year scorecard, if any, and
the 10-year scorecard, if any, shall be
deducted from such scorecards in 2023
and added to such scorecards in 2025.’’
Accordingly, both the 5- and 10-year
scorecards deduct the debit from 2023
and add that debit to 2025.
Section 1001(d)(2) of division O of
Public Law 117–328 directs that, at the
end of the first session of the 118th
Congress, any debits on the scorecards
in 2024 be deducted from 2024 and
added to 2025. That action will be
reflected in next year’s report if such
debits exist.
V. Sequestration Order
As shown on the scorecards, the
budgetary effects of PAYGO legislation
enacted in the second session of the
117th Congress, combined with section
1001(d)(1) of division O of Public Law
117–328, resulted in no costs on either
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budget year, there is no ‘‘debit’’ on
either scorecard under section 3 of the
PAYGO Act, 2 U.S.C. 932, and a
sequestration order is not required.4
[FR Doc. 2023–01771 Filed 1–27–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110–01–P
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice: 23–001]
New Conflict of Interest and Conflict of
Commitment Policy for Recipients of
NASA Financial Assistance Awards
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of request for public
comment.
AGENCY:
To address undue foreign
influence in NASA-supported research
and ensure responsible stewardship of
taxpayer dollars, NASA has developed a
new conflict of interest (COI) and
conflict of commitment (COC)
disclosure policy and an associated term
and condition applicable to entities
implementing NASA financial
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SUMMARY:
4 Sequestration reductions pursuant to the
Balanced Budget and Deficit Control Act (BBEDCA)
Section 251A for 2023 were calculated and ordered
in a separate report and are not affected by this
determination. See: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BBEDCA_251A_
Sequestration_Report_FY2023.pdf.
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assistance awards (i.e., grants or
cooperative agreements). Grants Policy
and Compliance (GPC) in NASA’s Office
of Procurement is soliciting public
comment on the Agency’s proposed
policy and term and condition. After
obtaining and considering public
comment, it is NASA’s intention to
implement the new policy and term and
condition through a revision to the
NASA Grant and Cooperative
Agreement Manual (GCAM).
DATES: Comments must be received by
March 1, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please address comments to
Christopher Murguia, Senior Analyst,
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration Headquarters, 300 E
Street SW, Rm. 5L32, Washington, DC
20546; telephone 202–909–5918; or
email christopher.e.murguia@nasa.gov.
We encourage respondents to submit
comments via email to ensure timely
receipt. We cannot guarantee that
mailed comments will be received
before the comment closing date. Please
include ‘‘COI/COC Policy’’ in the
subject line of email messages.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christopher Murguia, email:
christopher.e.murguia@nasa.gov;
telephone 202–909–5918.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
response to U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO)
recommendations in the report GAO–
21–130 Federal Research: Agencies
Need to Enhance Policies to Address
Foreign Influence, NASA is taking steps
to address undue foreign influence in
research and ensure responsible
stewardship of taxpayer dollars. NASA
is proposing a new policy that requires
financial assistance award recipients to
(1) maintain written and enforced
policies that require covered individuals
to disclose COI and COC to the recipient
entity; (2) eliminate or, where
appropriate, manage or reduce the
disclosed conflict; and (3) disclose to
NASA any conflict that cannot be
eliminated, managed, or reduced.
NASA’s policy also describes how the
Agency will address disclosures and the
enforcement actions the Agency may
take if a covered individual knowingly
fails to disclose required information.
The policy is accompanied by a term
and condition requiring award
recipients to comply with the COI and
COC disclosure requirements that will
be placed into all NASA financial
assistance awards after the policy is
implemented.
The policy will be implemented as a
revision to GCAM section 3.3, Conflicts
of Interest Policy, and the term and
condition will be implemented as an
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addition to NASA’s standard grant and
cooperative agreement terms and
conditions template located in GCAM,
Appendix D, Award Terms and
Conditions. The full text of the policy
and term and condition is provided
below.
The GCAM, section 3.3, Conflicts of
Interest Policy, will be revised in its
entirety as follows:
[Begin Provision]
1. For the purposes of section 3.3, the
following definitions apply:
a. The term ‘‘conflict of interest,’’ or
‘‘COI,’’ means a situation in which an
individual, or the individual’s spouse or
dependent children, has a significant
financial interest or financial
relationship, whether with a domestic
or foreign entity, that could directly and
significantly affect the design, conduct,
reporting, or funding of research or
other award-related activities. Examples
of potential COI include, but are not
limited to, holding an executive
position, director position, or equity
over a certain dollar amount in a
company that stands to benefit from
award-related activities, receiving
financial compensation in the form of
consulting payments or payment for
services from a company that stands to
benefit from award-related activities, or
intellectual property rights or royalties
from such rights whose value may be
affected by the outcome of awardrelated activities.
b. The term ‘‘conflict of
commitment,’’ or ‘‘COC,’’ means a nonfinancial conflict of interest in which an
individual accepts or incurs conflicting
obligations, whether domestic or
foreign, between or among multiple
employers or other entities. COC
includes conflicting commitments of
time and effort, including obligations to
dedicate time in excess of institutional
or funding agency policies or
commitments. COC also includes
obligations to improperly share
information with, or to withhold
information from, an employer or
NASA, as well as other conflicting
obligations that threaten research
security and integrity. Examples of
potential COC include, but are not
limited to, current or pending
employment; positions, appointments,
or affiliations such as titled academic,
professional, or institutional
appointments, whether remuneration is
received and whether full-time, parttime, or voluntary (including adjunct,
visiting, or honorary positions); and
participation in or applications to
foreign government-sponsored talent
recruitment or similar programs.
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 2023 / Notices
c. The term ‘‘covered individual’’
means an individual who (a) contributes
in a substantive, meaningful way to the
scientific development or execution of a
project proposed to be carried out with
an award from a Federal research
agency and (b) is designated as a
covered individual by the Federal
research agency concerned. NASA
designates as covered individuals any
principal investigator (PI), project
director (PD), co-principal investigator
(Co-PI), co-project director (Co-PD), and/
or any other person listed as a team
member in Section VI, Team Members,
of the Cover Page for Proposal
Submitted to the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (form
NRESS–300).
2. All NASA grant and cooperative
agreement recipients shall maintain a
written and enforced policy addressing
actual, apparent, and potential COI and
COC, both foreign and domestic. A
prime or pass-through award recipient
shall be responsible for ensuring that its
subrecipients, if any, follow the
requirements of this section.
a. Each recipient entity’s policy shall
designate an official(s) to solicit and
review COI and COC disclosures from
each covered individual who is
planning to participate in, or is
participating in, a NASA-funded award.
The designated official(s) shall review
all covered individuals’ disclosures;
determine whether an actual, apparent,
or potential COI or COC exists; and, if
so, determine the actions that have been
and shall be taken to eliminate or,
where appropriate, manage or reduce
the conflict. Examples of conditions or
restrictions that a recipient or
subrecipient might impose to manage,
reduce, or eliminate a conflict include,
but are not limited to:
i. Public disclosure of the COI or COC;
ii. Monitoring of research by
independent evaluators;
iii. Modification of the research plan;
iv. Change of personnel or personnel
responsibilities, or disqualification of
personnel from participation in all or a
portion of the NASA-funded activity;
v. Divestiture of significant financial
interests that create the COI or COC
(e.g., sale of an equity interest); or
vi. Severance of relationships that
create the COI or COC.
b. The entity’s policy shall ensure that
covered individuals have provided all
required disclosures to the entity at the
time a proposal is submitted to NASA.
It shall also require that covered
individuals update those disclosures on
an annual basis or as soon as any new
actual, apparent, or potential COI or
COC arises. The policy shall include
adequate enforcement mechanisms and
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provide for sanctions where
appropriate.
3. Consistent with title 2 of the Code
of Federal Regulation (CFR) 200.112,
Conflict of interest, an entity applying
for or currently receiving NASA grant or
cooperative agreement funding shall
disclose to NASA in writing any actual,
apparent, or potential COI or COC if
such conflict cannot be eliminated or
appropriately managed or reduced in
accordance with the entity’s policy. In
addition, such entity shall disclose to
NASA in writing any actual, apparent,
or potential COI or COC involving any
foreign governments, their
instrumentalities, or any other entities
owned, funded, or otherwise controlled
by a foreign government, as well as any
measures the entity has taken to
eliminate or, where appropriate, manage
or reduce the COI or COC.
a. An entity currently implementing a
NASA grant or cooperative agreement
shall disclose via email the actual,
apparent, or potential conflict to the
cognizant NASA Grant Officer and
Technical Officer listed on their award.
If an award recipient needs to correct
inaccurate or incomplete COI or COC
disclosures, they shall inform the
cognizant NASA Grant Officer and
Technical Officer listed on their award
via email as soon as possible.
b. An entity applying for a NASA
grant or cooperative agreement shall
clearly and explicitly disclose the
conflict in its proposal. If an applicant
needs to correct inaccurate or
incomplete COI or COC disclosures in a
submitted proposal, they shall inform
the NASA technical point of contact
listed in the relevant Notice of Funding
Opportunity via email as soon as
possible.
4. When an entity discloses to NASA
a COI or COC that cannot be eliminated,
managed, or reduced, the cognizant
Grant Officer (if the conflict pertains to
an active award) or program official (if
the conflict pertains to a proposal that
is under consideration), or one of their
delegates, will report the conflict to
OGC as follows:
a. For disclosures pertaining to active
awards, the Grant Officer will report the
conflict to the NASA Shared Services
Center’s (NSSC) Office of the General
Counsel (OGC) and copy the award’s
Technical Officer. The NSSC OGC will
then inform HQ OGC of the reported
conflict. In consultation with OGC, the
Grant Officer must assess whether the
circumstances disqualify an entity or
individual from holding the award and
adhere to the policy in paragraph (i)
below if enforcement or other actions
are necessary.
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i. If a Grant Officer must take
enforcement or other actions after
conducting the review described above,
then they will do so in accordance with
the remedies for noncompliance and
termination provisions in 2 CFR 200.339
through 200.343. Remedies for
noncompliance include but are not
limited to, temporarily withholding
payment, disallowing all or part of the
cost of an award activity, wholly or
partly suspending or terminating the
award, initiating referrals for
consideration of suspension or
debarment proceedings, and
withholding further Federal awards.
ii. A Grant Officer intending to take
enforcement or other action per
paragraph (i) above will notify each
entity subject to such action about the
specific reason for the action and will
adhere to the requirements in GCAM
section 7.13, Appealing a Suspended or
Terminated Award, as necessary.
b. For disclosures pertaining to
proposals under consideration, the
program official must report the conflict
to the appropriate OGC. In consultation
with OGC, the program official will
assess whether the circumstances
disqualify an entity or individual from
participating in the competition for
award and reject the proposal if
necessary.
i. A program official intending to take
enforcement action per paragraph (b)
above will notify each entity subject to
such action about the specific reason for
the action and will adhere to the
requirements in GCAM section 7.13,
Appealing a Suspended or Terminated
Award, as necessary.
c. When an entity discloses to NASA
that it has a foreign government COI or
COC, as directed above, the cognizant
Grant Officer (if the conflict pertains to
an active award) or program official (if
the conflict pertains to a proposal that
is under consideration), or one of their
delegates, must assess and determine
whether the circumstances should
disqualify the entity from continuing to
hold the award or participating in the
competition for award. This
determination is to be made by the
relevant Grant Officer or program
official in consultation with OGC and
the NASA Office of International and
Interagency Relations (OIIR), as
appropriate. If NASA determines that an
applicant or recipient will be
disqualified from participating in a
competition for award or continuing to
hold an award due to a foreign
government conflict, then NASA will
offer the applicant or recipient an
opportunity to address the conflict or
affiliation prior to removing a proposal
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from consideration or taking action on
an award.
d. If fraud, misrepresentation, or
related misconduct is suspected in
relation to any disclosure submitted to
NASA, then the Grant Officer or
program official also will refer the
matter to the NASA Office of Inspector
General (OIG) and the OGC Acquisition
Integrity Program.
5. Enforcement.
a. If a covered individual knowingly
fails to disclose required information,
NASA may take one or more of the
following enforcement or other actions:
i. Reject a proposal,
ii. Suspend or terminate an award,
iii. Temporarily or permanently
discontinue any or all funding for the
covered individual or entity,
iv. Refer recipients for consideration
of suspension or debarment
proceedings;
v. Refer the failure to disclose to the
NASA OIG for further investigation or to
Federal law enforcement authorities to
determine whether any criminal or civil
laws were violated;
vi. Report the entity in the Contractor
Performance Assessment Reporting
System (CPARS) to alert other Federal
agencies to the noncompliance;
vii. Take one or more of the actions
described in 2 CFR 200.339, Remedies
for noncompliance; or
viii. Take such other actions against
the covered individual or entity as
authorized under applicable law or
regulations.
b. If an enforcement or other action is
necessary, NASA will adhere to the
regulations in 2 CFR 200.340,
Termination; § 200.341, Notification of
termination requirement; and § 200.342,
Opportunities to object, hearings, and
appeals.
[End Provision]
The GCAM, Appendix D, Award
Terms and Conditions, will be revised
to include the following:
[Begin Provision]
D39. Disclosure Requirements
(a) All NASA grant and cooperative
agreement recipients shall comply with
the conflict of interest and conflict of
commitment disclosure requirements in
section 3.3, Conflicts of Interest Policy,
of the NASA Grant and Cooperative
Agreement Manual (GCAM).
[End Provision]
Cheryl Parker,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023–00890 Filed 1–27–23; 8:45 am]
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of Governors, U.S. Postal Service, 475
L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC
20260–1000. Telephone: (202) 268–
4800.
Michael J. Elston,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023–01949 Filed 1–26–23; 4:15 pm]
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Rule Change To Amend the
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Conforming Changes to the Amended
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5930-5932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00890]
=======================================================================
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice: 23-001]
New Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment Policy for
Recipients of NASA Financial Assistance Awards
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of request for public comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: To address undue foreign influence in NASA-supported research
and ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, NASA has
developed a new conflict of interest (COI) and conflict of commitment
(COC) disclosure policy and an associated term and condition applicable
to entities implementing NASA financial assistance awards (i.e., grants
or cooperative agreements). Grants Policy and Compliance (GPC) in
NASA's Office of Procurement is soliciting public comment on the
Agency's proposed policy and term and condition. After obtaining and
considering public comment, it is NASA's intention to implement the new
policy and term and condition through a revision to the NASA Grant and
Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM).
DATES: Comments must be received by March 1, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please address comments to Christopher Murguia, Senior
Analyst, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters,
300 E Street SW, Rm. 5L32, Washington, DC 20546; telephone 202-909-
5918; or email [email protected]v. We encourage respondents
to submit comments via email to ensure timely receipt. We cannot
guarantee that mailed comments will be received before the comment
closing date. Please include ``COI/COC Policy'' in the subject line of
email messages.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Murguia, email:
[email protected]v; telephone 202-909-5918.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In response to U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations in the report GAO-21-130
Federal Research: Agencies Need to Enhance Policies to Address Foreign
Influence, NASA is taking steps to address undue foreign influence in
research and ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. NASA
is proposing a new policy that requires financial assistance award
recipients to (1) maintain written and enforced policies that require
covered individuals to disclose COI and COC to the recipient entity;
(2) eliminate or, where appropriate, manage or reduce the disclosed
conflict; and (3) disclose to NASA any conflict that cannot be
eliminated, managed, or reduced. NASA's policy also describes how the
Agency will address disclosures and the enforcement actions the Agency
may take if a covered individual knowingly fails to disclose required
information. The policy is accompanied by a term and condition
requiring award recipients to comply with the COI and COC disclosure
requirements that will be placed into all NASA financial assistance
awards after the policy is implemented.
The policy will be implemented as a revision to GCAM section 3.3,
Conflicts of Interest Policy, and the term and condition will be
implemented as an addition to NASA's standard grant and cooperative
agreement terms and conditions template located in GCAM, Appendix D,
Award Terms and Conditions. The full text of the policy and term and
condition is provided below.
The GCAM, section 3.3, Conflicts of Interest Policy, will be
revised in its entirety as follows:
[Begin Provision]
1. For the purposes of section 3.3, the following definitions
apply:
a. The term ``conflict of interest,'' or ``COI,'' means a situation
in which an individual, or the individual's spouse or dependent
children, has a significant financial interest or financial
relationship, whether with a domestic or foreign entity, that could
directly and significantly affect the design, conduct, reporting, or
funding of research or other award-related activities. Examples of
potential COI include, but are not limited to, holding an executive
position, director position, or equity over a certain dollar amount in
a company that stands to benefit from award-related activities,
receiving financial compensation in the form of consulting payments or
payment for services from a company that stands to benefit from award-
related activities, or intellectual property rights or royalties from
such rights whose value may be affected by the outcome of award-related
activities.
b. The term ``conflict of commitment,'' or ``COC,'' means a non-
financial conflict of interest in which an individual accepts or incurs
conflicting obligations, whether domestic or foreign, between or among
multiple employers or other entities. COC includes conflicting
commitments of time and effort, including obligations to dedicate time
in excess of institutional or funding agency policies or commitments.
COC also includes obligations to improperly share information with, or
to withhold information from, an employer or NASA, as well as other
conflicting obligations that threaten research security and integrity.
Examples of potential COC include, but are not limited to, current or
pending employment; positions, appointments, or affiliations such as
titled academic, professional, or institutional appointments, whether
remuneration is received and whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary
(including adjunct, visiting, or honorary positions); and participation
in or applications to foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment
or similar programs.
[[Page 5931]]
c. The term ``covered individual'' means an individual who (a)
contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific
development or execution of a project proposed to be carried out with
an award from a Federal research agency and (b) is designated as a
covered individual by the Federal research agency concerned. NASA
designates as covered individuals any principal investigator (PI),
project director (PD), co-principal investigator (Co-PI), co-project
director (Co-PD), and/or any other person listed as a team member in
Section VI, Team Members, of the Cover Page for Proposal Submitted to
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (form NRESS-300).
2. All NASA grant and cooperative agreement recipients shall
maintain a written and enforced policy addressing actual, apparent, and
potential COI and COC, both foreign and domestic. A prime or pass-
through award recipient shall be responsible for ensuring that its
subrecipients, if any, follow the requirements of this section.
a. Each recipient entity's policy shall designate an official(s) to
solicit and review COI and COC disclosures from each covered individual
who is planning to participate in, or is participating in, a NASA-
funded award. The designated official(s) shall review all covered
individuals' disclosures; determine whether an actual, apparent, or
potential COI or COC exists; and, if so, determine the actions that
have been and shall be taken to eliminate or, where appropriate, manage
or reduce the conflict. Examples of conditions or restrictions that a
recipient or subrecipient might impose to manage, reduce, or eliminate
a conflict include, but are not limited to:
i. Public disclosure of the COI or COC;
ii. Monitoring of research by independent evaluators;
iii. Modification of the research plan;
iv. Change of personnel or personnel responsibilities, or
disqualification of personnel from participation in all or a portion of
the NASA-funded activity;
v. Divestiture of significant financial interests that create the
COI or COC (e.g., sale of an equity interest); or
vi. Severance of relationships that create the COI or COC.
b. The entity's policy shall ensure that covered individuals have
provided all required disclosures to the entity at the time a proposal
is submitted to NASA. It shall also require that covered individuals
update those disclosures on an annual basis or as soon as any new
actual, apparent, or potential COI or COC arises. The policy shall
include adequate enforcement mechanisms and provide for sanctions where
appropriate.
3. Consistent with title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR)
200.112, Conflict of interest, an entity applying for or currently
receiving NASA grant or cooperative agreement funding shall disclose to
NASA in writing any actual, apparent, or potential COI or COC if such
conflict cannot be eliminated or appropriately managed or reduced in
accordance with the entity's policy. In addition, such entity shall
disclose to NASA in writing any actual, apparent, or potential COI or
COC involving any foreign governments, their instrumentalities, or any
other entities owned, funded, or otherwise controlled by a foreign
government, as well as any measures the entity has taken to eliminate
or, where appropriate, manage or reduce the COI or COC.
a. An entity currently implementing a NASA grant or cooperative
agreement shall disclose via email the actual, apparent, or potential
conflict to the cognizant NASA Grant Officer and Technical Officer
listed on their award. If an award recipient needs to correct
inaccurate or incomplete COI or COC disclosures, they shall inform the
cognizant NASA Grant Officer and Technical Officer listed on their
award via email as soon as possible.
b. An entity applying for a NASA grant or cooperative agreement
shall clearly and explicitly disclose the conflict in its proposal. If
an applicant needs to correct inaccurate or incomplete COI or COC
disclosures in a submitted proposal, they shall inform the NASA
technical point of contact listed in the relevant Notice of Funding
Opportunity via email as soon as possible.
4. When an entity discloses to NASA a COI or COC that cannot be
eliminated, managed, or reduced, the cognizant Grant Officer (if the
conflict pertains to an active award) or program official (if the
conflict pertains to a proposal that is under consideration), or one of
their delegates, will report the conflict to OGC as follows:
a. For disclosures pertaining to active awards, the Grant Officer
will report the conflict to the NASA Shared Services Center's (NSSC)
Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and copy the award's Technical
Officer. The NSSC OGC will then inform HQ OGC of the reported conflict.
In consultation with OGC, the Grant Officer must assess whether the
circumstances disqualify an entity or individual from holding the award
and adhere to the policy in paragraph (i) below if enforcement or other
actions are necessary.
i. If a Grant Officer must take enforcement or other actions after
conducting the review described above, then they will do so in
accordance with the remedies for noncompliance and termination
provisions in 2 CFR 200.339 through 200.343. Remedies for noncompliance
include but are not limited to, temporarily withholding payment,
disallowing all or part of the cost of an award activity, wholly or
partly suspending or terminating the award, initiating referrals for
consideration of suspension or debarment proceedings, and withholding
further Federal awards.
ii. A Grant Officer intending to take enforcement or other action
per paragraph (i) above will notify each entity subject to such action
about the specific reason for the action and will adhere to the
requirements in GCAM section 7.13, Appealing a Suspended or Terminated
Award, as necessary.
b. For disclosures pertaining to proposals under consideration, the
program official must report the conflict to the appropriate OGC. In
consultation with OGC, the program official will assess whether the
circumstances disqualify an entity or individual from participating in
the competition for award and reject the proposal if necessary.
i. A program official intending to take enforcement action per
paragraph (b) above will notify each entity subject to such action
about the specific reason for the action and will adhere to the
requirements in GCAM section 7.13, Appealing a Suspended or Terminated
Award, as necessary.
c. When an entity discloses to NASA that it has a foreign
government COI or COC, as directed above, the cognizant Grant Officer
(if the conflict pertains to an active award) or program official (if
the conflict pertains to a proposal that is under consideration), or
one of their delegates, must assess and determine whether the
circumstances should disqualify the entity from continuing to hold the
award or participating in the competition for award. This determination
is to be made by the relevant Grant Officer or program official in
consultation with OGC and the NASA Office of International and
Interagency Relations (OIIR), as appropriate. If NASA determines that
an applicant or recipient will be disqualified from participating in a
competition for award or continuing to hold an award due to a foreign
government conflict, then NASA will offer the applicant or recipient an
opportunity to address the conflict or affiliation prior to removing a
proposal
[[Page 5932]]
from consideration or taking action on an award.
d. If fraud, misrepresentation, or related misconduct is suspected
in relation to any disclosure submitted to NASA, then the Grant Officer
or program official also will refer the matter to the NASA Office of
Inspector General (OIG) and the OGC Acquisition Integrity Program.
5. Enforcement.
a. If a covered individual knowingly fails to disclose required
information, NASA may take one or more of the following enforcement or
other actions:
i. Reject a proposal,
ii. Suspend or terminate an award,
iii. Temporarily or permanently discontinue any or all funding for
the covered individual or entity,
iv. Refer recipients for consideration of suspension or debarment
proceedings;
v. Refer the failure to disclose to the NASA OIG for further
investigation or to Federal law enforcement authorities to determine
whether any criminal or civil laws were violated;
vi. Report the entity in the Contractor Performance Assessment
Reporting System (CPARS) to alert other Federal agencies to the
noncompliance;
vii. Take one or more of the actions described in 2 CFR 200.339,
Remedies for noncompliance; or
viii. Take such other actions against the covered individual or
entity as authorized under applicable law or regulations.
b. If an enforcement or other action is necessary, NASA will adhere
to the regulations in 2 CFR 200.340, Termination; Sec. 200.341,
Notification of termination requirement; and Sec. 200.342,
Opportunities to object, hearings, and appeals.
[End Provision]
The GCAM, Appendix D, Award Terms and Conditions, will be revised
to include the following:
[Begin Provision]
D39. Disclosure Requirements
(a) All NASA grant and cooperative agreement recipients shall
comply with the conflict of interest and conflict of commitment
disclosure requirements in section 3.3, Conflicts of Interest Policy,
of the NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM).
[End Provision]
Cheryl Parker,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-00890 Filed 1-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510-13-P
