[Federal Register: November 22, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 225)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 67780-67781]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22no06-17]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Chapter 1
[Docket FAR--2006--0023, Sequence 7]
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular
2005-14; Small Entity Compliance Guide
AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.
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SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of the
Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the
Administrator of 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) 2005-14 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 2005-14 which precedes this
document. These documents are also available via the Internet at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.regulations.gov
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurieann Duarte, FAR Secretariat,
(202) 501-4225. For clarification of content, contact the analyst whose
name appears in the table below.
List of Rules in FAC 2005-14
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Item Subject FAR case Analyst
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*I............. Common Identification Standard for 2005-015 Jackson.
Contractors.
II............. Removal of Sanctions Against Certain EU 2005-045 Olson.
Countries.
III............ Free Trade Agreements--Bahrain and Guatemala 2006-017 Parnell.
(Interim).
IV............. Free Trade Agreements--Morocco............... 2006-001 Parnell.
V.............. Technical Amendments......................... ....................... .......................
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the
actual revisions and/or amendments to these FAR cases, refer to the
specific item number and subject set forth in the documents following
these item summaries.
FAC 2005-14 amends the FAR as specified below:
Item I--Common Identification Standard for Contractors (FAR Case 2005-
015)
This rule converts the interim rule published at 71 FR 208, January
3, 2006, to a final rule with changes. The rule amends the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR) by addressing 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.'' The primary
objectives of HSPD-12 are to establish a process to enhance security,
increase Government efficiency, reduce identity fraud, and protect
personal privacy by establishing a mandatory, Governmentwide standard
for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the Federal
Government to its employees and contractors who require routine
physical access to Federally-controlled facilities, and/or routine
access to Federally-controlled information systems.
Item II--Removal of Sanctions Against Certain EU Countries (FAR Case
2005-045)
This rule converts the interim rule published at 71 FR 20305, April
19, 2006, to a final rule without change. The interim rule removed the
sanctions in FAR Part 25 against Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland,
France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the
United Kingdom on acquisitions not covered by the World Trade
Organization Government Procurement Agreement. These sanctions did not
apply to small business set-asides, to acquisition below the simplified
acquisition threshold using simplified acquisition procedures, or to
acquisitions by the Department of Defense. Contracting officers may now
consider offers of end products,
[[Page 67781]]
services, and construction that were previously prohibited by the
sanctions.
Item III--Free Trade Agreements--Bahrain and Guatemala (FAR Case 2006-
017) (Interim)
This interim rule allows contracting officers to purchase the goods
and services of Guatemala and Bahrain without application of the Buy
American Act if the acquisition is subject to the Free Trade
Agreements. These trade agreements with Guatemala and Bahrain join the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Australia, Chile,
Morocco, and Singapore Free Trade Agreements, and the CAFTA-DR with
respect to El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, which are already in
the FAR. The threshold for applicability of the Dominican Republic--
Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement is $64,786 for
supplies and services (the same as other Free Trade Agreements to date
except Morocco and Canada) and $7,407,000 for construction (the same as
all other Free Trade Agreements to date except NAFTA). The threshold
for applicability of the Bahrain Free Trade Agreement is $193,000 (the
same as the Morocco FTA and the WTO GPA) and $8,422,165 for
construction (the same as NAFTA).
Item IV--Free Trade Agreements--Morocco (FAR Case 2006-001)
This final rule converts the interim rule published in the Federal
Register at 71 FR 20306, April 19, 2006, to a final rule without
change. This rule allows contracting officers to purchase the products
of Morocco without application of the Buy American Act if the
acquisition is subject to the Morocco Free Trade Agreements. The U.S.
Trade Representative negotiated a Free Trade Agreement with Morocco,
which went into effect January 1, 2006. This agreement joins the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Australia, Chile, and
Singapore Free Trade Agreements, which are already in the FAR. The
threshold for applicability of the Morocco Free Trade Agreement is
$193,000 for supplies and services and $7,407,000 for construction.
Item V--Technical Amendments
Editorial changes are made at FAR 15.404-1, 22.1006, 22.1304,
28.202, 52.212-5, 52.222-43, 52.228-15, and 52.228-16, in order to
update references.
Dated: November 15, 2006.
Ralph De Stefano,
Director, Contract Policy Division.
[FR Doc. 06-9302 Filed 11-21-06; 8:45 am]
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