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97-71

Procurement Notice

May 22, 2002

CONFORMANCE WITH FACS 01-01, 01-02 AND 01-06; AND

MISCELLANEOUS ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL REVISIONS

 

BACKGROUND:  This PN revises the NASA FAR Supplement to conform with FAR changes made by FAC’s 01-01, 01-02, and 01-06; and to make editorial and miscellaneous changes dealing with NASA internal and administrative matters.

 

Item IV of FAC 01-01 amended various FAR subparts and clauses to implement recent statutory and regulatory changes relating to veterans’ employment opportunities and reporting.  Item II of FAC 01-02 amended various FAR subparts to implement Executive Order 13123 of June 3, 1999, Greening the Government through Efficient Energy Management.  Item III of FAC 01-02 amended various FAR subparts and clauses to reflect changes to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prompt payment requirements and clarify existing FAR prompt payment coverage.  Item V of FAC 01-06 amended various FAR subparts to rewrite procurement integrity coverage in plan language.  This final rule makes changes to the NFS Parts 1803, 1811, 1822, 1823, and 1832 necessary to conform to the changes in FACs 01-01,01-02, and 01-06.   Additional changes dealing with NASA internal and administrative matters included in this rule clarify the approval authority for letter contracts; that  “instrument” means the award document when referring to contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other agreements; and that term/level-of-effort, time-and-materials and labor hour contracts are not considered performance based contracts (PBC).  Changes are made to Subparts 1806.3 and 1819.70 to delete text duplicative of the FAR. Changes are made to clauses in Part 1852 to identify optional (though preferable) forms for submission of information about technology innovations under NASA contracts and to identify the web site where these forms are available.  Editorial changes are made throughout the NFS to reflect title changes.  Lastly, technical amendments are made to Subpart 1804.74 and Part 1852 to update url listings.

 

ACTION REQUIRED BY CONTRACTING OFFICERS:  All solicitations issued after May 22, 2002, must include the revised clauses if applicable.  Solicitations issued before May 22, 2002, may be amended to include the revised clauses if including it would not unduly delay the acquisition.

 

Clause/PROVISION Changes:  This PN makes the following clause changes:

   (a) 1852.204-74, Central Contractor Registration, in paragraph (d) the url has been updated;

   (b) 1852.227-11, Patent Rights--Retention by the Contractor (Short Form), the text has been revised for clarity and to indicate NASA’s preference for contractor use of either the electronic or paper version of NASA Form 1679, Disclosure of Invention and New Technology (Including Software) to disclose subject inventions;

   (c) 1852.227-70, New Technology, paragraphs (e)(3) through (e)(5) are redesignated as 

(e)(4) through (e)(6) respectively; and a new paragraph (e)(3) is added to indicate NASA’s preference for contractor use of either the electronic or paper version of NASA Form 1679, Disclosure of Invention and New Technology (Including Software) to disclose reportable items;

   (c) 1852.235-72, Instructions for Responding to NASA Research Announcements, in the second sentence of paragraph (a)(4), the word “award” is added immediately after the word “appropriate”; and

   (d) The title “Associate Administrator” has been changed to “Assistant Administrator” in 1852.233-70, Protests to NASA.

 

PARTS AFFECTED:  Changes are made in Parts 1801 through 1809, 1811, 1812, 1815 through 1817, 1819, 1822, 1823, 1825, 1828 through 1830, 1832, 1833, 1835, 1837, 1842, 1845, 1848 through 1850, and 1852.

 

REPLACEMENT PAGES:  You may use the enclosed pages to replace Part 1801, Part 1802, Part 1803, 4:3, 4:4, 4:11, 4:12, 4:13, 4:14, 5:3, 5:4, 6:3, 6:4, 6:5 (page 6:6 is removed), 7:5, 7:6, 8:5, 8:6, 9:3, 9:4, 9:5, 9:6, Part 1811, Part 1812, 15:3, 15:4, 15:11, 15:12, 15:29, 15:30, 16:1, 16:2, 16:11, 16:12, 16:13, 17:1, 17:2, 17:3, 17:4, 19:1, 19:2, 19:3, 19:4, 19:5, 19:6, 19:7, 19:8, Part 1822, Part 1823, 25:1, 25:2, 28:3, 28:4, 28:5, Part 1829, 30:1, 30:2, Part 1832, 33:1, 33:2, 35:1, 35:2, 35:3, 35:4, Part 1837, 42:3, 42:4, 45:5, 45:6, 45:7, 45:8, 45:9, 45:10, Part 1948, 49:3, 49:4, Part 1850, 52:5, 52:6, 52:31, 52:32, 52:33, 52:34, 52:35, 52:36, 52:37, 52:38, 52:39, 52:40, 52:41, 52:42, 52:57, 52:58, 52:61, 52:62, 52-91, 52-92, 52-93, 52-94, 52-95, and 52-96.

 

TYPE OF RULE AND PUBLICATION DATE:  This PN was published as a final rule in the Federal Register (67 FR 30602 - 30604) on May 7, 2002.

 

HEADQUARTERS CONTACT:  Celeste Dalton, Code HK, (202) 358-1645, e-mail: cdalton@hq.nasa.gov.

 

 

R. Scott Thompson

Director, Contract Management Division

 

Enclosures

 

PART 1801

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

1801.000                                 Scope of part.

 

SUBPART      1801.1             PURPOSE, AUTHORITY, ISSUANCE

1801.103                                 Authority.

1801.104                                 Applicability.

1801.105                                 Issuance.

1801.105-1                              Publication and code arrangement.

1801.105-2                              Arrangement of regulations.

1801.106                                 OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

 

SUBPART      1801.2             ADMINISTRATION

1801.270                                 Amendment of the NFS.

1801.271                                 NASA procedures for FAR and NFS changes.

1801.272                                 Procurement Information Circulars.

 

SUBPART      1801.3             AGENCY ACQUISITION REGULATIONS

1801.301                                 Policy.

1801.303                                 Publication and codification.

 

SUBPART      1801.4             DEVIATIONS FROM THE FAR

1801.400                                 Scope of subpart.

1801.471                                 Procedure for requesting deviations.

 

SUBPART      1801.6             CAREER DEVELOPMENT, CONTRACTING                                                                                                    AUTHORITY,  AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1801.601                                 General.

1801.602-3                              Ratification of unauthorized commitments.

1801.603                                 Selection, appointment, and termination of appointment.

1801.603-2                              Selection.

1801.670                                 Delegations to contracting officer's technical representatives

                                                   (COTRs).

 

SUBPART      1801.7             DETERMINATIONS AND FINDINGS

1801.707                                 Signatory authority.

1801.770                                 Legal review.

 

 

PART 1801

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM

 

1801.000    Scope of part.

This part sets forth general informa­tion about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Supplement, also referred to as the NFS.

 

Subpart 1801.1--Purpose, Authority, Issu­ance

 

1801.103 Authority.

(a)  Under the following authorities, the Ad­minis­tra­tor has delegated to the Assistant Administrator for Procurement authori­ty to prepare, issue, and main­tain the NFS:

(i)  The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (Pub. L. 85-568; 42 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.).

(ii) 10 U.S.C. chapter 137.

     (iii) Other statutory authority.

     (iv)  FAR Subpart 1.3.

 

1801.104 Applicability.

   The NFS ap­plies to all acquisitions as defined in FAR Part 2 ex­cept those express­ly excluded by the FAR or this regulation.

 

1801.105 Issuance.

 

1801.105-1 Publication and code arrange­ment.

   (a)  The single official NASA-maintained version of the NFS is on the Internet  (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/nfstoc.htm).

   (b)  The NFS is issued as chapter 18 of title 48, CFR.

 

1801.105-2 Arrangement of regulations.

   (b)(1)(A)  Numbering of NFS text imple­menting the FAR shall be the same as that of the related FAR text, except when the NFS coverage exceeds one para­graph.  In such case the NFS text is num­bered by skipping a unit in the FAR 1.105-2(b)(2) pre­scribed numbering sequence.  For exam­ple, two paragraphs implementing FAR 1.105-2(b)(1) are numbered 1801.105-2(b)(1)(A) and (B), rather than (1)(i) and (ii).  Further subdivision of the NFS imple­menting paragraphs would follow the pre­scribed sequence in FAR 1.105(b)(2).

            (B)  NFS text that supplements the FAR part is num­bered the same as its FAR counterpart with the addi­tion of a number 70 and up.  For example, NFS supple­ment of FAR subsection 1.105-3 is numbered 1801.105-370.  Sup­plemental text ex­ceeding one para­graph is numbered using the FAR 1.105-2(b)(2) prescribed numbering sequence with­out skipping a unit.

         (2)  Subdivision numbering below the fourth level repeats the numbering sequence using itali­cized letters and numbers.

 

1801.106 OMB approval under the Paper­work Reduction Act.

   (1)  NFS requirements.  The following OMB control numbers apply:

NFS  Segment

OMB Control Number

1804.470

2700-0098

1804.74

2700-0097

1819

2700-0073

1819.72

2700-0078

1827

2700-0052

1831

2700-0080

1843

2700-0054

1843.71

2700-0094

NF 533

2700-0003

NF 1018

2700-0017

 

   (2)  Solicitations and contracts.  Various require­ments in a solicitation or contract, generally in the statement of work, are not tied to specific para­graphs cleared in para­graph (1) of this section, yet require infor­mation collection or recordkeeping.  The following OMB control numbers ap­ply to these requirements:  2700-0086 (acquisitions up to $25,000), 2700-0087 (solicitations that may result in bids or proposals not exceed­ing $500,000), 2700-0085 (solicita­tions that may result in bids or propos­als exceeding $500,000), 2700-0088 (con­tracts not exceed­ing $500,000), and 2700-0089 (contracts exceed­ing $500,00­0).

 

Subpart 1801.2--Administration

 

1801.270 Amendment of the NFS.

   (a)  The NFS is amended by publishing changes in the Federal Register.  These changes are then incorporated into the NASA-maintained Internet version of the NFS through

Procure­ment Notices  (PNs).  PNs are numbered consecu­tively, prefixed by the last two digits of the calendar year of issuance of the current edition of the NFS.

   (b)  Compliance with a revision to the NFS shall be in accor­dance with the PN containing the revision. Unless otherwise stated, solicita­tions that have been issued, and bilateral agree­ments for which negotiations have been completed, before the receipt of new or revised contract clauses need not be amend­ed to include the new or revised clauses if including them would unduly delay the acquisition.

 

1801.271 NASA procedures for FAR and NFS changes.

   (a)  Informal suggestions for improving the NFS, includ­ing correction of errors, should be directed to the Headquarters Office of Procurement (Code HK).

   (b)(1)  Formal requests for changes to the FAR or the NFS should be written and contain (i) a descrip­tion of the problem the suggested revision is de­signed to cure,  (ii) the revision in the form of a marked-up copy of the current FAR or NFS lan­guage or the text of any additional language,  (iii) the consequences of making no change and the benefits to be expected from a change, and  (iv) any other information necessary for understanding the situa­tion, such as relationship between FAR and NFS cover­age, legal opinions, coordination with other offices, and existing agreements.      

     (2)  Formal requests for FAR and NFS changes should be sent to Code HK.  Re­quests from Headquar­ters offices should originate at the division level or higher, while installation requests should be signed at the procurement officer or higher level.

1801.272 Procurement Information Circulars.

   (a)  The Procurement Information Cir­cu­lar (PIC) is used for internal dissemina­tion of procure­ment-related information and direc­tives not suitable for inclusion in the NFS.  Code HK is responsible for issuing PICs.

   (b)  PICs are numbered on a calendar year basis, beginning with number 1, pre­fixed by the last two digits of the year.

 

Subpart 1801.3--Agency Acquisi­tion Regu­lations

 

1801.301    Policy.

   (a)(2)  Heads of NASA field installations may pre­scribe policies and procedures that do not have a signifi­cant effect beyond the internal operating proce­dures of their installations.  All other poli­cies, proce­dures, and solicitation and contract provi­sions and clauses must be for­warded to the Head­quar­ters Office of Procurement (Code HK) for approval in accor­dance with 1801.271(b).

   (b) (i)   41 U.S.C. 418b requires publica­tion of NFS changes for public comment where there will be a significant effect beyond the internal oper­ating procedures of the agency or a signifi­cant cost or adminis­trative impact on con­tractors or offerors.  Howev­er, it does not define "sig­nifi­cant effect beyond the internal operat­ing proce­dures" or "signifi­cant cost or ad­minis­trative im­pact."  Exam­ples of policies or procedures that fall in either of these cate­gories are:

          (A)  A contract clause requiring con­trac­tors to take precautions to avoid injury to Flori­da mana­tees, which have been desig­nated as an endangered species, has a sig­nificant cost impact for contractors who must obtain protective devices for boat propel­lers and take other safety actions.

          (B)  A contract clause requiring con­trac­tors to follow the Government's holiday sched­ule, thereby disallowing premium pay for work on contractor-designated holidays, will have an effect outside the internal operating procedures of the agency.

          (C)  A contract clause requiring con­trac­tors to segregate costs by appropriations will affect the contractor's internal accounting system and have a significant impact.

          (D)  Requiring contractor compliance with NASA's Space Transportation System Per­sonnel Reliability Program will have an effect outside the internal operating proce­dures of the agency.

     (ii)  In contrast, the following would not have to be publicized for public comment:

          (A)  Security procedures for identify­ing and badging contractor personnel to obtain access at a NASA installation.

          (B)  A one-time requirement in a con­struc­tion contract for the contractor to develop a place­ment plan and for inspection prior to any concrete being placed.  (This is part of the specification or state­ment of work.)

          (C)  A policy that requires the NASA instal­lation to maintain copies of unsuccess­ful offers.

 

1801.303 Publication and codification.

   (a)  Part, subpart, and section numbers 70 through 89 are reserved for NFS supplemen­tary material for which there is no FAR counterpart.

 

Subpart 1801.4--Deviations from the FAR

 

1801.400 Scope of subpart.

   This subpart prescribes the policies and procedures for authorizing deviations from the FAR and the NFS.

 

1801.471 Procedure for requesting devia­tions.

   (a)  Requests for authority to deviate from the FAR or the NFS shall be sub­mitted by the Procurement Officer to the Headquar­ters Office of Procurement (Code HS).

   (b)  Each request for a deviation shall contain, as a minimum --

     (1)  Identification of the FAR or the NFS re­quirement from which a devia­tion is sought;

     (2)  A full description of the deviation, the cir­cum­stances in which it will be used, and the specific contract action(s) to which it applies;

     (3)  A description of its intended effect;

     (4)  A statement as to whether the devia­tion has been requested previously and, if so, the circum­stances of the previous re­quest;

     (5)  Identification of the contrac­tor(s) and the con­tract(s) affected, includ­ing dollar    val­ue(s);

     (6)  Detailed reasons supporting the re­quest, including any pertinent back­ground information; and

     (7)  A copy of counsel's concurrence or com­ments.

   (c)  In addition to the information required by 1801.471(b), requests for individual devi­a­tions from FAR cost prin­ciples under FAR 31.101 should include a copy of the contractor's request for cost allowance.

 

Subpart 1801.6--Career Development, Contracting Authority, and Responsibili­ties

 

1801.601 General.

   The authority to contract for authorized supplies and services is delegat­ed to the Assistant Administrator for Procurement and installation officials by NPD 5101.32.

 

1801.602-3 Ratification of unauthorized commit­ments.

   (b)  Policy.  Individuals making unautho­rized commitments may be subject to disci­plinary action, and the issue may be re­ferred to the Office of Inspector General.

   (c) (7)  The authority in FAR 1.602-3 may be exercised only when ‑‑

               (A)  The Government employee who made the unauthorized commitment, or his/her supervisor, if  appropriate, initiates a pro­curement request in accordance with 1804.7301.

               (B)  The procurement request and/or ac­compa­nying documentation iden­tifies the individual who made the unautho­rized commitment, and includes a statement signed by the individual that explains why normal acquisition procedures were not fol­lowed, explains why the firm was select­ed, lists other sources considered, describes the work, and esti­mates or states the agreed price.  If the Govern­ment representative who made the unautho­rized commit­ment is no longer available, appropriate program personnel shall provide the information described in this paragraph.

               (C)  The procurement request is submit­ted through the director of the cogni­zant program office at the contracting activity, or compara­ble official.  In the procurement request, the director shall describe measures taken to prevent the recur­rence of the unauthorized commitment.

 

1801.603 Selection, appointment, and termi­nation of appointment.

 

1801.603-2 Selection.

   Normally, only GS-1102 and -1105 personnel with the proper training and experi­ence may be appointed contracting officers and only when a valid organizational need can be demonstrated.

 

1801.670 Delegations to contracting officer's techni­cal representatives (COTRs).

   A COTR delegation may be made only by the con­tracting officer cognizant of that con­tract at the time the delegation is made.  If the cognizant contracting officer is absent, the delegation letter may be signed by a war­ranted contracting officer at any level above the cognizant contracting offi­cer.  An individual COTR may have only the duties specifically identi­fied in a writ­ten delegation to him or her by name (i.e., COTR duties may not be delegated to a posi­tion) and has no authority to exceed them.  COTRs should be informed that they may be personally liable for unauthorized commit­ments.  Contracting officer authori­ty to sign or authorize contractual instru­ments shall not be dele­gated through a COTR designation or by any means other than a contracting officer warrant.

  

Sub­part 1801.7--Determinations and Find­ings

 

1801.707 Signatory authority.

   Signatory authority for determinations and findings (D&Fs) is specified in the FAR or the NFS text for the associat­ed subject matter.  The Administrator may make any of the D&Fs that may be made by the Assistant Administrator for Procurement or by a contracting officer.

 

1801.770 Legal review.

   Each D&F, including class D&Fs, shall be reviewed by counsel for form and legality before signa­ture by the approving authority.

PART 1802

DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMS

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

1802.000                                 Scope of part.

 

SUBPART     1802.1            DEFINITIONS

1802.101                                 Definitions.

 

 

PART 1802

DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMS

 

1802.000    Scope of part.

   Commonly used words and terms are defined in FAR Subpart 2.1.  This Part 1802 gives NASA-specific meanings for some of these words and terms and defines other words and terms commonly used in the NASA acquisition process.

 

Subpart 1802.1--Definitions

 

1802.101 Definitions.

   “Administrator” means the Administrator or Deputy Administrator of NASA.

   “Senior Procurement Executive” means the Assistant Administrator or Deputy Assistant Administrator for Procurement, Office of Procurement, NASA Headquarters (Code H).

   “Contracting activity” in NASA includes the NASA Headquarters installation and the following field installations:  Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Center, Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Langley Research Center, Marshall Space Flight Center and Stennis Space Center.

   “Head of the agency” or “agency head” means the Administrator or Deputy Administrator of NASA.

   “Head of the contracting activity” means, for field installations, the Director or other head and, for NASA Headquarters, the Director for Headquarters Operations.

   “Procurement officer” means the chief of the contracting office, as defined in FAR 2.101.

   “NASA Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS)” means the Internet service  (URL: http://procurement.nasa.gov) NASA uses to broadcast its business opportunities, procurement regulations, and associated information.

PART 1803
IMPROPER BUSINESS PRACTICES
AND PERSONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUBPART         1803.1          SAFEGUARDS
1803.101                                 Standards of conduct.
1803.101-1                              General.
1803.101-2                              Solicitation and acceptance of gratuities by Government
                                                   personnel.
1803.104                                 Procurement integrity.
1803.104-1                              Definitions.
1803.104-4                              Disclosure, protection, and marking of contractor bid or proposal

                                                  information and source selection information.
1803.104-7                              Violations or possible violations.

SUBPART         1803.2          CONTRACTOR GRATUITIES TO GOVERNMENT
                                                  PERSONNEL
1803.203                                 Reporting suspected violations of the Gratuities clause.

SUBPART         1803.3          REPORTS OF SUSPECTED ANTITRUST
                                                  VIOLATIONS
1803.303                                 Reporting suspected antitrust violations.

SUBPART         1803.5          OTHER IMPROPER BUSINESS PRACTICES
1803.502                                 Subcontractor kickbacks.

SUBPART         1803.6          CONTRACTS WITH GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
                                                  OR ORGANIZATIONS OWNED OR
                                                  CONTROLLED BY THEM
1803.602                                 Exceptions.

SUBPART         1803.7         VOIDING AND RESCINDING CONTRACTS
1803.704                                 Policy.
1803.705                                 Procedures.

SUBPART         1803.8          LIMITATION ON THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS TO                                                                                                                                                  INFLUENCE  FEDERAL TRANSACTIONS
1803.804                                 Policy.
1803.806                                 Processing suspected violations.

SUBPART       1803.70          IG HOTLINE POSTERS
1803.7000                               Policy.
1803.7001                               Contract cla