Department of Defense January 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

DoD, GSA, and NASA issued an interim rule on November 2, 2011, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 1331 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Jobs Act). Section 1331 addresses set-asides of task- and delivery-orders under multiple-award contracts, partial set-asides under multiple-award contracts, and the reserving of one or more multiple-award contracts that are awarded using full and open competition. Within this same context, section 1331 also addresses the Federal Supply Schedules Program managed by GSA. DoD, GSA, and NASA are coordinating with the Small Business Administration (SBA) on the development of an SBA proposed rule that will provide greater detail regarding implementation of section 1331 authorities. The comment period is being extended to provide additional time for interested parties to review the FAR changes of FAR Case 2011- 024, Set-Asides for Small Business, to February 13, 2012.

Under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. Appendix, as amended) and the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended) the Department of Defense announces the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Threat Reduction Advisory Committee (hereafter referred to as ``the Committee'').

Under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. Appendix, as amended), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b), and 41 CFR 102-3.50d (agency authority), the DoD gives notice that it is renewing the charter for the Defense Business Board (hereafter referred to as ``the Board''). The Board is a discretionary Federal advisory committee that at the direction of the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and according to DoD policy shall examine and advise on overall DoD management and governance. The Board shall report to the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Deputy Secretary of Defense is authorized to act upon the Board's advice and recommendations. The Board shall be composed of not more than twenty-five members, who possess: (a) A proven track record of sound judgment in leading or governing large, complex private or public sector corporations or organizations; and (b) a wealth of top-level, global business experience in the areas of executive management, corporate governance, audit and finance, human resources, economics, technology and healthcare. Board members shall be appointed by the Secretary of Defense, with annual renewals. Board members appointed by the Secretary of Defense, who are not full-time or permanent part-time Federal officers or employees, shall be appointed to serve as experts and consultants under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 3109, and to serve as special government employees. Board members, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense, may serve a term of service on the Board of one to four years; however, no member shall serve more than two consecutive terms of service on the Board. Regardless of the individual's approved term of service, all appointments to the Board shall be renewed on an annual basis. The Secretary of Defense shall select and appoint the Board's chairperson from the total membership. With the exception of travel and per diem for official travel, Board members shall serve without compensation. Board members are appointed to provide advice on behalf of the government on the basis of their best judgment without representing any particular point of view and in a manner that is free from conflict of interest. The Chairpersons of the Defense Policy Board and the Defense Science Board may serve as non-voting ex-officio members of the Board. These individuals, when they attend, may provide advice to the Board membership only on the areas governed by their respective Boards and provided the information has been voted on by their membership and it is available to the general public. The Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense may appoint former Board members to serve as non-voting Senior Fellows. These individuals are appointed based upon their subject matter expertise and based upon the matters under deliberation by the Board. The Board may utilize non-voting Senior Fellows who, as former members, assist with institutional knowledge and provide continuity of operations. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Comptroller General of the General Accounting Office shall serve as non-voting observers of the Board. According to DoD policy and procedures, the Secretary of Defense may invite or appoint experts or consultants, with special expertise, to assist the Board on an ad hoc basis. These experts and consultants, appointed under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 3109, shall serve as special government employees; however, they shall have no voting rights on the Board. Non-voting ex-officio members, non-voting senior fellows, non- voting observers and those non-voting experts and consultants appointed by the Secretary of Defense shall not count toward the Board's total membership. The Department, when necessary, and consistent with the Board's mission and DoD policies and procedures may establish subcommittees, task groups, or working groups deemed necessary to support the Board. These subcommittees or working groups shall operate under the provisions of the FACA, the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), other governing Federal statutes and regulations, and governing DoD policies and procedures. Such subcommittees or task groups shall not work independently of the chartered Board, and shall report all their recommendations and advice to the Board for full deliberation and discussion. Subcommittees have no authority to make decisions on behalf of the chartered Board; nor can any subcommittee or its members update or report directly to the Department of Defense or any Federal officers or employees. All subcommittee members shall be appointed in the same manner as the Board members; that is, the Secretary of Defense shall appoint subcommittee members even if the member in question is already a Board member. Subcommittee members, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense, may serve a term of service on the subcommittee of one to four years; however, no member shall serve more than two consecutive terms of service on the subcommittee. Subcommittee members, if not full-time or part-time government employees, shall be appointed to serve as experts and consultants under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 3109, and to serve as special government employees, whose appointments must be renewed on an annual basis. With the exception of travel and per diem for official travel, subcommittee members shall serve without compensation.

The invention provides extraction and detection of pathogens using carbohydrate-functionalized biosensors. Specific analyte can be achieved with an analyte probe having a detection moiety and a binding pair member specific to the target analyte of interest. Announcement is made of the availability for licensing of the invention set forth in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/528,892, entitled ``Extraction and Detection of Pathogens Using Carbohydrate- Functionalized Biosensors,'' filed on August 30, 2011. The United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Army, has rights to this invention. U.S. and selected foreign rights are available.

On December 27, 2011 (76 FR 80744-80747), Department of Defense published a final rule titled DoD Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) Program, which assigns responsibilities and provides procedures for members of the public to request a declassification review of information classified under the provisions of Executive Order 13526, or predecessor orders. This rule corrects a paragraph identification error in the regulations.

The Department of the Air Force proposes to alter a system of records in its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

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 the rule appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-55, which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Interested parties may obtain further information regarding this rule by referring to FAC 2005-55, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to update references to authoritative accounting standards owing to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Accounting Standards Codification of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations to: ensure that time-and- materials and labor-hour contracts are used to acquire commercial services only when no other contract type is suitable; and instill discipline in the determination of contract type with a view toward managing the risk to the Government.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to update certain definitions and clauses pertaining to three procurement systems included in the Integrated Acquisition Environmentthe Central Contractor Registration database, the Excluded Parties List System, and the Online Representations and Certifications Application. These three Integrated Acquisition Environment systems and the Disaster Response Registry will now be accessed through a single Web site.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by DoD, GSA, and NASA in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-55. 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.