Weekly Update Report for August 9, 2013

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

• DoD, GSA and NASA Issue Proposed Rule Regarding Contractor Comment Period, Past Performance Evaluations
• DFARS
• DoD Issues Guidance for Use of AbilityOne Base Supply Center Program
• Rule Would Boost Consideration of Contractor Past Performance
• DoD Cuts Furlough Days to Six
• Vendor Settles in Case Over Chinese-Made Supplies
• Notices Issued by the Committee for the Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled

SMALL BUSINESS

• SBA Publishes Notice for SBIR/STTR Commercialization Benchmark

Scroll down to read this week’s report or click here to download.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

DoD, GSA and NASA Issue Proposed Rule Regarding Contractor Comment Period, Past Performance Evaluations

DoD, GSA and NASA are proposing to amend the FAR to implement new mandates limiting the periods allowed for contractor comments on past performance evaluations and requiring past performance evaluations to be available to source selection officials sooner, 78 Fed. Reg. 48123, August 7, 2013. Comments on the proposed rule are due October 7, 2013. For more information, see the article below from Government Executive.

DFARS

DoD issued the following Defense Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) rules, August 8, 2013. Effective and comment dates are noted below:

• Least Developed Countries That Are Designated Countries, 78 Fed. Reg. 48333. This final rule amends the DFARS to implement a revision by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to the list of least developed countries that are designated countries under the Trade Agreements Act of 1979. This final rule is effective August 8, 2013.
   
• Release of Fundamental Research Information, 78 Fed. Reg. 48331. This final rule amends the DFARS to provide guidance relating to the release of fundamental research information. This rule was previously published as part of the proposed rule 2011-D039, Safeguarding Unclassified DoD Information. This final rule is effective August 8, 2013.
   
• Clauses With Alternates-Quality Assurance, 78 Fed. Reg. 48407. This proposed rule would amend the DFARS to create an overarching prescription for each set of quality assurance-related provisions/clauses with one or more alternates. In addition, the proposed rule would include the full text of each provision and/or clause alternate. Comments on the proposed rule are due October 7, 2013.
   
• Clauses With Alternates-Contract Financing, 78 Fed. Reg. 48404. This proposed rule would amend the DFARS to create an overarching prescription for the set of contract financing related clauses with one or more alternates. The rule also proposes to add a separate prescription for the basic clause as well as the alternate. In addition, the proposed rule would include the full text of the clause alternate. Comments on the proposed rule are due October 7, 2013.
   
• Clauses With Alternates-Transportation, 78 Fed. Reg. 48397. This proposed rule would amend the DFARS to create an overarching prescription for each set of transportation-related provisions/clauses with one or more alternates. The rule also proposes to add a separate prescription for the basic clause as well as each alternate. In addition, the proposed rule would include the full text of each provision and/or clause alternate. Comments on the proposed rule are due October 7, 2013.

DoD Issues Guidance for Use of AbilityOne Base Supply Center Program

The Department of Defense (DoD) issued a memorandum dated July 26, 2013, regarding guidance for use of the AbilityOne Base Supply Center Program. AbilityOne is a supplier for the Program and generates employment for Americans who are blind or who have other significant disabilities, including wounded veterans and military dependents.

Rule Would Boost Consideration of Contractor Past Performance

According to an article in Government Executive of August 7, 2013, a proposed rule published August 7, 2013, 78 Fed. Reg. 48123, would update the FAR to help agencies consider past performance of contractors in awarding new work while shortening the comment period available to affected firms. As required by the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that President Obama signed on January 2, 2013, DoD, GSA and NASA drafted a rule to allow data on contractor past performance to be added to two databases, the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System and the Past Performance Information Retrieval System. The rule would also give contractors 14 days to submit comments, rebuttals or additional information in the database, shortening the current 30-day time frame, reports the article.

DoD Cuts Furlough Days to Six

An article in Government Executive of August 6, 2013, reports DoD Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that DoD will reduce the number of furlough days for civilian employees to six days through the end of September. DoD officials found other ways to meet the budget cuts mandated by sequestration, enabling DoD to reduce forced unpaid leave from 11 days to six days in FY 2013, he said. However, Hagel warned recently that civilian layoffs are possible if sequestration continues into FY 2014.

Vendor Settles in Case Over Chinese-Made Supplies

According to an article in Federal Times of August 5, 2013, a vendor has settled in a case over Chinese made supplies. When contractor Malcolm Wilson lost out in a competition to outfit four federal buildings in Illinois with lamps, he suspected the winning vendor of supplying products made in China, a violation of the Trade Agreements Act. To find out, he filed a Freedom of Information Act with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversaw the project, to learn the model of lamp the competitor was supplying, then sent an email to the lamp maker asking where the product as made. China, the manufacturer responded. One year after Wilson filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against the competitor, Supplies Now Inc., the company agreed to pay $270,000 to resolve the case, according to the GSA’s Inspector General, which announced the July 30, 2013 settlement on August 5, 2013, reports the article.

The Committee for the Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled Issued the Following Notices:

• 78 Fed. Reg. 46926, August 2, 2013, to add products (aircraft floor board kits) and services (janitorial/custodial services; grounds and tree maintenance service) to and delete products (yardsticks; headover scarves; scouring powder; chemical protective socks and gloves; lead test sets; typewriter ribbons) from the Procurement List. This Notice is effective September 2, 2013.
   
• 78 Fed. Reg. 46927, August 2, 2013, to delete products (file folders; pre-inked custom stamps; tile-stamp stamp kits; tapes & treads safety-walk) and services (custodial service; microfilming tax forms service) from the Procurement List. Comments on the proposed deletions are due September 2, 2013.

SMALL BUSINESS

SBA Publishes Notice for SBIR/STTR Commercialization Benchmark

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is publishing for public comment the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program Commercialization Benchmark for the 11 participating agencies, 78 Fed. Reg. 48537, August 8, 2013. This benchmark establishes the commercialization results a Small Business Concern (SBC) that has been awarded multiple prior Phase II awards is required to achieve from work it performed under its prior Phase II awards in order to be eligible to receive a new Phase I award. This requirement is described in Section 4(a) of the SBIR Policy Directive and the STTR Policy Directive, which implements section 5165 of the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011, Public Law 112-81, 125-Stat. 1298. This notice is effective October 7, 2013, and when published on http://www.sbir.gov/. Comments on the notice are due September 9, 2013.