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Tag: FAR Council

FAR Revisions – making it simple

FAR Reform: What Contractors Need to Know About the Latest Proposed Changes

The FAR Council continues to update the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in response to the executive order “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement.” These proposed changes aim to simplify and streamline federal buying. So far, updates target FAR Parts 1, 10, 11, 18, 34, 39, 43, and 52.

Although these changes are still in the review stage, many agencies have already started applying them. Here’s what federal contractors should know:

New Proposed FAR Revisions – In Plain Terms

Part 10: Market Research

  • Agencies now have more flexibility in how they conduct market research at any dollar level.
  • They must still research larger buys (above the simplified acquisition threshold).
  • They no longer have to research smaller buys if good pricing info is available.
  • The FAR removes suggested research steps.
  • New clause FAR 52.210-1 (Market Research) will appear in solicitations and contracts for noncommercial buys over $6 million.

Part 11: Describing Agency Needs

  • Agencies no longer need to prioritize green products listed in the Green Procurement Compilation.
  • Agencies can rely on commercial market acceptance to decide if an item fits their needs.
  • Removes measures controlling the identification and availability of specifications.
  • The FAR drops specific rules for specs and delivery schedules.
  • It keeps rules under DPAS for contracts tied to national defense and emergency programs.

Part 18: Emergency Acquisitions

  • Agencies no longer need to prioritize sustainable options during emergency buys.
  • Emergency flexibilities remain in place for disasters, security events, and contingency operations.

Part 39: Buying IT and Communications Tech

  • Contracting officers do not need to evaluate every stage of modular IT contracts for the best contract vehicle.
  • Agencies will no longer need IT vendors to list minimum education or experience for proposed staff.

Part 43: Contract Modifications

  • The FAR clarifies how agencies should document and define change orders.
  • Contracting officers won’t have to list every major event when reviewing requests for pricing adjustments.

What This Means for Contractors

These changes mark a shift toward faster, more practical procurement. Even though the FAR updates are not finalized, agencies are already putting many into action. Contractors should track these changes closely to stay ahead, and stay compliant, to stay competitive.

Questions regarding the latest proposed revisions to the FAR? Give us a call.

The Navy is looking to end Small Business subcontractor baiting

The Department of the Navy (DoN) has exceeded all of its small business goals for fiscal year 2021, spending more than $17 billion with small business prime contractors. The Navy is, however, wrestling with small business subcontractors getting their fair share. (Federal News Network October 21, 2021)

An updated effort to enforce small business contracting plans is in the works, according to Jimmy Smith, the director of the Office of Small Business Programs for the Department of the Navy. (ibid)

According to Smith, “the Navy executed a Navy audit, service audit on subcontracting on our 10 major buying commands. The Naval Sea Systems Command was the first of those 10 audits. The audit has concluded. We’ve already seen the results of that and now we’re sharing that information across the entire enterprise to go off and correct problems. We don’t think we’re going to learn anything more from going over the same information in the other audits, so now is the time to get into corrective actions and the steps that we need in order to execute solutions to problems instead of continuing to admire problems.” (ibid)

The first audit has provided some changes to be made Navy-wide, according to Smith. “First is reporting back to our industry partners. We have to make that something that’s pretty standard, maybe use a machine learning technology to help contracting officers identify problems that are in contractor performance assessment reporting (CPARs) when it comes to how well our industry partners are doing meeting their own subcontract and goals, that they can communicate it to us. We would love to have a system that flashed bright red lights when an industry partner wasn’t living up to the plan in the document that they provide to us about the health of their effort. Right now, it’s all hand-over-hand reading to see if you find that someone is off and then go do the analysis. I think we have to come up with a mechanism that brings the importance level of subcontract and compliance up to a higher level to raise it to the attention that it’s deserved.” (ibid)

Government agencies and prime contractors, need to hold up their side of the bargain and be held accountable. In 2018, the Inspector General for the Defense Department found it to be a challenge for five contracting commands to monitor prime contractors’ compliance with individual subcontracting plans. He told the House Small Business Committee the individual contractors who held subcontracting plans, did not meet their small business subcontracting goals. (ibid)

The Federal Acquisition Regulations Council issued a final rule in August. The rule requires large businesses to make “good faith efforts” to meet subcontracting goals. A few examples of actions that are a failure to make a good-faith effort can be found in the SBA’s guidance list. (ibid)

The final rule spells out what encompasses not making a “good faith effort”. The rule includes turning in subcontracting plan reports late, not designating an employee to monitor the subcontracting plan, and not completing market research. (ibid)

Smith said the Navy has met all of its small business goals for the past four years. He added, the Navy’s goals are not just the numbers, but providing the correct capability to the warfighter at the best value. (ibid)

Smith noted that the Navy is finding small businesses that meet their needs by an extended outreach effort. The move to virtual events has also extended their outreach. Virtual events are more cost-effective and reach more people. Smith plans to continue to do some live events, however, webinars will complement these and hopefully reach even more small business contractors. (ibid)

Questions about your small business subcontract plan? Give us a call.