GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
DoD, GSA, and NASA Issue Final Rule to Amend FAR Uniform Procurement Identification
The Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a uniform Procurement Instrument Identification (PIID) numbering system, which will require the use of Activity Address Codes (AACs) as the unique identifier for contracting offices and other offices, in order to standardize procurement transactions across the Federal Government, 79 Fed. Reg. 61739. The final rule will be effective November 13, 2014.
DoD, GSA, and NASA Issue the Small Entity Compliance Guide
The Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued the Small Entity Compliance Guide, 79 Fed. Reg. 61743. 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 rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-77, which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
Small Business Contracting On the Rise
The Department of Defense (DoD) has exceeded departmental goals for small-business contracting for the first time. Small businesses made up 23% of DoD’s prime contracts in fiscal year 2014, receiving about $53 billion in work. The DoD also exceeded its goal of 3% for contracts with small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, about $9 billion in contract value. Small-Business Contracting on the Rise.
Contractor Past Performance Assessment Reporting, 4th Quarter Fiscal Year 2014
The Department of Defense (DoD) issued Contractor past performance assessment reporting for the 4th quarter of fiscal year 2014. The past performance data identifies the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) compliance metrics as of October 3, 2014, and compares the fiscal year 2014 fourth quarter data of 79.82% against the third quarter data of 80.33%. DoD did not meet the goal set by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy of 95% in fiscal year 2014. Contractor Past Performance Assessment Reporting, 4th Quarter Fiscal Year 2014.
Publication of August 2014 Contract Data and Contact Reporting Scorecards
The Department of Defense (DoD) issued the August 2014 Contract Data and Contract Reporting Scorecards. The scorecards display compliance with sending contract actions to the Electronic Document Access (EDA) system in accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Procedures, Guidance, and Information. Publication of August 2014 Contract Data and Contract Reporting Scorecards.
DoD Issues Final Rule to Amend DFARS Flowdown of Specialty Metals Restrictions (DFARS Case 2014-D011)
The Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to clarify the flowdown requirements for the DFARS clause entitled “Restriction on Acquisition of Certain Articles Containing Specialty Metals”, 79 Fed. Reg. 61584. The final rule was effective October 14, 2014.
Treasury Issues Final Rule Regarding Surety Companies Doing Business with the United States
The Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Treasury), issued a final rule regarding the Federal corporate surety program, 79 Fed. Reg. 61992. Treasury issues certificates of authority to qualified sureties to underwrite and reinsure Federal bond obligations. Bonds underwritten by Treasury-certified sureties satisfy bonding requirements, provided such bonds are accepted by the agency bond-approving official. Treasury is amending its regulation to expressly provide that an agency may decline to accept a bond underwritten by a Treasury-certified surety for cause, provided the agency satisfies the requirements specified in the final rule. Treasury is also revising the procedures it uses to adjudicate any complaint received from an agency requesting that a surety's certificate of authority be revoked. The final rule will be effective December 15, 2014.
A New Way to Find Federal Contracting Information
A new website, GovTribe.com, an alternative to FedBizOpps, was soft-launched on October 13, 2014 and is set to be officially announced during the week of October 20th. The site was created by a four-man team of former federal contractors, that aims to make it easier to track projects, competitors, agencies, contracting officers and much more. The site pulls from FBO, USASpending.gov, the federal System for Award Management and other locations. Unlike FBO, the GovTribe keyword search function pulls from Word, PDF and other documents attached to procurement notices. The site's archive goes back to 2009, with quality improving after 2010. The site also uses descriptive categories instead of the numerical North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). A New Way to Find Federal Contracting Information.
SMALL BUSINESS
SBA Issues Proposed Rule Regarding Agent Revocation and Suspension Procedures
The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a proposed rule regarding the procedures for the suspension and revocation of an Agent's privilege to do business with the SBA within a single Part of the Code of Federal Regulations, remove 8(a) program specific procedures for Agent suspension and revocation, clarify existing and related regulations as to suspension, revocation, and debarment, and remove Office of Hearings and Appeals jurisdiction over Agent suspensions and revocations and government-wide debarment and suspension actions, 79 Fed. Reg. 62060. This proposed rule would also conform SBA suspension and revocation procedures for Agents with general government-wide non-procurement suspension and debarment procedures. Comments on the proposed rule are due December 15, 2014.
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
The Following Notice Was Issued:
79 Fed. Reg. 61296, October 10, 2014, proposing to add products (Rice, Long Grain, Parboiled, Laminating Pouch, Thermal, 3 Mil Thickness, Letter size) and a service (Internal Mail and Messenger Service, U.S. Department of State, Harry S. Truman Building, 2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC) to the Procurement List. Comments on the proposed additions and deletion are due November 10, 2014.
