View Rule

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 839 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. Section 839 requires a review of each existing determination to not exempt contracts and subcontracts for commercial products, commercial services, and commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items from certain laws when these contracts would otherwise have been exempted under 41 U.S.C. 1906(d) or 1907(b), and a new determination whether to provide exemptions for those products, services, or items and revisions to the FAR, as necessary. This rule will also assess every FAR regulation that does not originate from a law or Executive Order, but establishes a clause to be used in contracts for commercial products or commercial services, and eliminate those regulations, unless a new determination is made not to do so. The rule will also assess each FAR regulation that requires a contractor to include a specific clause in subcontracts for COTS items, unless such inclusion is required by law or Executive Order. As a result this rule attempts to streamline the application of rules and requirements to commercial acquisitions.