Executive Office of the President – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Public Law 112-25, the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, ``the Act'') amended the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA) by reinstating the discretionary spending limits that had expired after 2002. Section 254 of the BBEDCA requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue a Sequestration Update Report on August 20th of each year on the overall status of discretionary legislation. This report provides OMB's current estimates of the spending limits set in the Act and OMB's scoring of pending appropriations legislation against those limits as of August 2012. As required, these estimates rely on the same economic and technical assumptions used in the President's 2013 Budget, which the Administration transmitted to the Congress on February 13, 2012.

The Federal Government is starting the process of developing a new Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement. By committing to common goals, the U.S. Government will more effectively and efficiently combat intellectual property infringement. In this request for comments, the U.S. Government, through the Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (``IPEC''), invites public input and participation in shaping the Administration's intellectual property enforcement strategy. The Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator was established within the Executive Office of the President pursuant to the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, Public Law 110-403 (Oct. 13, 2008) (the ``PRO IP Act''). Pursuant to the PRO IP Act, IPEC is charged with developing the Administration's Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement for submission to Congress every three years. In carrying out this mandate, IPEC chairs an interagency intellectual property enforcement advisory committee comprised of Federal departmental and agency heads whose respective departments and agencies are involved in intellectual property enforcement. This request for comments and recommendations as IPEC develops a new enforcement strategy is divided into three parts. In the first section titled ``Strategy Recommendations,'' IPEC requests detailed recommendations from the public regarding specific recommendations for improving the U.S. Government's intellectual property enforcement efforts. In the second section titled ``Threat Assessment,'' IPEC seeks written submissions from the public regarding existing and emerging threats to the protection of intellectual property rights and the identification of threats to public health and safety and the U.S. economy resulting from intellectual property infringement. In the third section titled ``Optional Questions,'' IPEC seeks written submissions from the public to assist IPEC and agencies in the development of specific action items. Responses to this request for comments may be directed to either, or both, of the two sections described above. This request for comments was previously published in the Federal Register on June 26, 2012 (77 FR 38088). This notice extends the period for public comments to August 10, 2012.

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is publishing this notice to advise the public that it has developed a Request for Comment to invite comment from the public on whether changes to current regulations and other guidance might improve contracting officers' access to relevant information about contractor business ethics in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). FAPIIS is designed to facilitate the Government's ability to evaluate the business ethics of prospective contractors and protect the Government from awarding contracts to contractors that are not responsible sources.