General Services Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 Subcontract Consent. This OMB Clearance expires on June 30, 2006. 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 pollution prevention and right-to-know information. This OMB clearance expires on June 30, 2006. 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.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is announcing a public meeting of the GSA Small Business Advisory Committee (the Committee).

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 service contracting. This OMB clearance expires on June 30, 2006. 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.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed to withdraw the proposed rule, FAR case 2003-008, Share-in-Savings Contracting, which was published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2004. The rule proposed amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) as it pertains to types of contracts and acquisition of information technology to address the inclusion of Share-in-Savings (SIS) contracting. However, the SIS concept was not reauthorized by Congress.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning progress payments. A request for public comments was published in the Federal Register at 70 FR 59727, October 13, 2005. No comments were received. 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 Buy American ActFree Trade AgreementsIsraeli Trade Act Certificate. The clearance currently expires on April 30, 2006. 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.

The General Services Administration (GSA) has reviewed the lodging rates for the District of Columbia, as well as certain non- standard locations in the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas using more current lodging industry data, as well as data on where Federal travelers actually stay when visiting these locations. Also, GSA has reviewed the meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) rate of certain non-standard locations in the States of Illinois, Michigan, Montana, and New Mexico. Finally, GSA is combining Stateline, Nevada with Carson City, Nevada (currently a standard continental United States (CONUS) location), so Carson City's per diem rate will be the same rate that Stateline currently has. The per diems prescribed in Bulletin 06-04 may be found at https:// www.gsa.gov/perdiem.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is announcing the 2006 Travel and Relocation Innovation Award. The purpose of the award is to recognize the professionals of travel and/or relocation management.

This final rule amends the mileage reimbursement rate for use of a privately owned automobile (POA) on official travel to reflect the decrease in the single standard mileage rate established by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 5 U.S.C. 5704(a)(1) prohibits GSA from exceeding the single standard mileage rate established by the IRS. Accordingly, the FTR is revised to decrease the reimbursement of operating a POA from $0.485 to $0.445 per mile.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-08. 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.acqnet.gov/far.

This document is issued under the joint authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 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 rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005- 07 which amend the FAR. An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis has been prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2005-07 which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https://www.acqnet.gov/far.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to modify the provision regarding Annual Representations and Certifications to include a section whereby the contracting officer can insert the appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard for the procurement. Its exclusion in the original drafting of the subject provision was an oversight. When the FAR provision is included in a solicitation, the provision regarding Small Business Program Representations, where this information is normally placed, is not included. Without this change, there is no standard way in which the NAICS code and small business size standard can be communicated to the vendor.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Executive Order 13357, which removed sanctions against Libya.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Section 637 of Division H of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005. Section 637 provides that no funds made available under the Consolidated Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2005, or under any other Act for fiscal year 2005 and each fiscal year thereafter, shall be expended for purchase of a product or service offered by Federal Prison Industries, Inc., unless the agency making the purchase determines that the offered product or service provides the best value to the buying agency.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed to convert the interim rule published in the Federal Register at 69 FR 77870, December 28, 2004, to a final rule with changes. This rule implemented new Free Trade Agreements with Australia and Morocco as approved by Congress (Public Laws 108-286 and 108-302). These Free Trade Agreements were scheduled to become effective on or after January 1, 2005. However, the Moroccan Free Trade Agreement has not yet been implemented and is therefore removed from this final rule. The rule also established a table of services excluded from the coverage of the various trade agreements, corrected the threshold for Canadian services, revised the list of Least Developed Countries, revised FAR terminology relating to international trade agreements and the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), and revised the FAR clauses that implement application of the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a, 10b, 10b- 1, and 10c) and trade agreements to construction material.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to address the contractor personal identification requirements in Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12), ``Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors,'' and Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS PUB) Number 201, ``Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors.''

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) 2005-07. 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.acqnet.gov/far.

GSA is extending the comment period ten days for its proposal to change the Freight Management Program (FMP), Standard Tender of Service (STOS), to establish a transaction fee for transportation services provided to the Eastern Distribution Center (EDC), Burlington, NJ, Western Distribution Center (WDC), French Camp, CA, and the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and National Industries for the Severely Handicapped (NISH). The proposed transaction fee of 4% of the total transportation charges will be deducted from transportation service provider (TSP) invoices prior to payment via the GSA Transportation Management Services Solution (TMSS). The notice was previously published in the Federal Register at 70 FR 73248, December 9, 2005.

This notice announces GSA Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) Bulletin 05-08. This Bulletin informs agencies that in accordance with the OMB Circular A-123 (revised), Appendix B, issued August 5, 2005, new travel charge card policies and guidance are issued to Executive Branch departments and agencies in order to help reduce the risk of fraud, misuse, and late payments. OMB Circular A-123 (revised), Appendix B is effective October 1, 2005. Bulletin FTR 05-08 may be found at www.gsa.gov/ftrbulletins. An amendment to the FTR on the use of the government issued travel charged card is forthcoming.

GSA proposes a change to the Freight Management Program (FMP), Standard Tender of Service (STOS), to establish a transaction fee for transportation services provided to the Eastern Distribution Center (EDC), Burlington, NJ, Western Distribution Center (WDC), French Camp, CA, and the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and National Industries for the Severely Handicapped (NISH). The proposed transaction fee of 4% of the total transportation charges will be deducted from transportation service provider (TSP) invoices prior to payment via the GSA Transportation Management Services Solution (TMSS).

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the General Services Administration will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a renewal of a currently approved information collection requirement regarding tax adjustments under leasehold acquisitions. This collection requires contractors to submit information to the Government to substantiate an increase or decrease in real estate taxes under a leasehold acquisition so that the Government can make tax adjustments as necessary to the leasehold acquisition. Information collected under this authority is necessary to assess proper tax adjustments against each leasehold acquisition. The clearance currently expires on April 30, 2006. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the function of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents including through the use of automated 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 General Services Administration has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a renewal of a currently approved information collection requirement regarding zero burden information collection reports. A request for public comments was published at 70 FR 24043, May 6, 2005. No comments were received. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary 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.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have extended the due date by two weeks for public comments on their proposed rule that would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 1432 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004. Title XIV of the Act, referred to as the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 (SARA), amended section 8002(d) of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (FASA) to expressly authorize the use of time- and-materials (T&M) and labor-hour (LH) contracts for certain categories of commercial services under specified conditions. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register at 70 FR 56318, September 26, 2005.

The General Services Administration (GSA) announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 to assess the potential impacts of the construction of a Central Records Complex in the delineated area of Frederick County, Virginia. At the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the GSA is proposing to provide for lease construction of up to 947,000 rentable square feet (RSF) for the creation of a Central Records Complex in the delineated areas of Frederick County, Virginia. The project proposes new construction of a records storage facility, a data center for the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ), an administrative offices building and a common support building. This facility will consolidate the FBI's various records management activities in Washington, DC and around the country into a state-of-the-art records storage facility to comply with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) standards. This project will provide for the consolidation of FBI's various records management activities and relieve overcrowding at existing facilities by providing 947,000 rentable square feet for approximately 1200 employees: Office Building 150,000 usable square feet Archive Building 495,000 usable square feet Data Centers 227,000 usable square feet A public advertisement was placed in the local newspapers and Fed BizOps on September 20, 2005 expressing the government's interest in acquiring an assignable land option for this project. The following three sites will serve as alternatives in the Environmental Impact Statement, including the No Action Alternative: Alternative 1: Construct a Central Records Complex at 831 Shady Elm Road, Winchester, Virginia. Alternative 2:Construct a Central Records Complex at the Carpers Valley Golf course (Route 50), Winchester,Virginia. Alternative 3: Construct a Central Records Complex at 200-299 Woodbine Rd, Clear Brook, Virginia. No Action Alternative: Under the no action alternative, the Central Records Facility will not be constructed in the delineated area of Frederick County, VA. This alternative is included to provide a basis for comparison to the action alternatives described above as required by NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1002.14(d)). GSA invites individuals, organizations and agencies to submit comments concerning the scope of the EIS. The public scoping period starts with the publication of this notice in the Federal Register and will continue for forty five (45) days from the date of this notice. GSA will consider all comments received or postmarked by that date in defining the scope of the EIS. GSA expects to issue a Draft EIS in Spring 2006 at which time its availability will be announced in the Federal Register and local media. A public comment period will commence upon publication of the Notice of Availability. The GSA will consider and respond to comments received on the Draft EIS in preparing the Final EIS.