National Aeronautics and Space Administration March 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a meeting of the Commercial Space Committee of the NASA Advisory Council.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB) 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 place of performance. 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; and ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB) 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 certification of independent price determination and parent company and identifying data. 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.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a meeting of the Aeronautics Committee of the NASA Advisory Council. The meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting from the aeronautics community and other persons research and technical information relevant to program planning.

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 rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-50, which amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (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 2005-50, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https:// www.regulations.gov.

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The interim rule aligned the FAR with the revised Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board standards ``Cost Accounting Standard for composition and measurement of pension cost,'' and ``Accounting for the cost of deferred compensation.''

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to incorporate increased thresholds for application of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and the Free Trade Agreements, as determined by the United States Trade Representative.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 1347 of the ``Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.'' Section 1347 clarifies the contracting officer's ability to use discretion when determining whether an acquisition will be restricted to small businesses participating in the 8(a), HUBZone, or service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) programs. There is no order of priority among small businesses in the 8(a) Business Development Program, the HUBZone Program, or the SDVOSB Program.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 811 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. This FAR change encourages agencies to maximize the effective use of competition by making certain that the proper Justification and Approval (J&A) is obtained prior to award of 8(a) sole-source contracts over $20 million, as required by section 811.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 864 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. This law aligns with the Presidential Memorandum on Government Contracting, issued on March 4, 2009, which directed agencies to save $40 billion in contracting annually by Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 and to reduce the use of high-risk contracts. This rule provides regulatory guidance on the proper use and management of other than firm-fixed-price contracts (e.g., cost-reimbursement, time-and-material, and labor-hour).

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Astrophysics Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This Subcommittee reports to the Science Committee of the NAC. The Meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting from the scientific community and other persons scientific and technical information relevant to program planning.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB) 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 acquisition of helium. 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), are hosting the first of at least two public meetings to start a dialogue with industry and Government agencies about ways for the acquisition community to transition to Secure Hash Algorithm SHA-256. SHA-256 is a cryptographic hash function that is used in digital signatures, and authentication protocols.