General Services Administration October 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued Bulletin B-16 which provides a deviation for executive agencies to purchase premium fuel for Government owned and leased vehicles when lower grade fuels are not available due to market shortages in parts of California affected by wildfires. FMR Bulletin B-16 became effective on October 24, 2007 and will remain effective until January 24, 2008, unless extended or rescinded by GSA. This bulletin and all FMR bulletins are located at gsa.gov/bulletin.

This final rule updates the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) by making miscellaneous changes, including editorial changes and corrections. These changes are necessary to improve the accuracy, interpretation, and readability of the FTR.

The Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) will hold a vendor meeting to provide information on the Federal Acquisition Certification in Program/Project Management (FAC-P/PM) to include program details, and opportunities for vendors to support the training of federal program and project managers. The purpose of this certification program is to establish the competencies, training, and experience requirements for program and project managers in civilian agencies. The FAC-P/PM focuses on essential competencies needed for program and project managers; the program does not include functional or technical competencies, such as those for information technology, or agency-specific competencies. The certification requirements will be accepted by, at minimum, all civilian agencies as evidence that an employee meets the core competencies, training and experience requirements. The FAC-P/PM was announced by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) on April 25, 2007. At this vendor meeting, FAI will present its approach for partnering with vendors on this initiative. WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Training developers, vendors with Commercial-Off-The- Shelf (COTS) training products, vendors with capabilities related to the full Instructional System Design (ISD) methodologies, professional associations, educational institutions and acquisition training experts. The meeting will be held October 30, 2007 from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, GSA Auditorium located at 1800 F Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Register by email: mariahernandez@sra.com, or call (703) 284- 6988.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning environmentally sound products. The clearance curently expires on January 31, 2008.

The General Services Administration (GSA) announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for Improvements to the Nogales Mariposa U.S. Port of Entry, Nogales, Arizona, for public review and comment. The EA provides GSA and its stakeholders an analysis of the environmental impacts resulting from ongoing operations as well as reasonable alternatives for new operations and facilities at the Nogales Mariposa U.S. Port of Entry, located in southern Arizona.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning duty-free entry. The clearance currently expires on February 29, 2008. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the FAR, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning Standard Form 28, affidavit of individual surety. The clearance currently expires on February 29, 2008. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the FAR, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.