63436 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 210 / Monday, November 1, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 2, 5, and 7

[FAR Case 2004–007]

RIN 9000–AK08

Federal Acquisition Regulation; 

Federal Technical Data Solution

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council 

(Councils) are proposing to amend the 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 

provide for the access and distribution 

of solicitation requirements or other 

documents (e.g., technical 

specifications, maps, building designs, 

schedules, etc.), when controls are 

necessary according to agency 

procedures, through the Federal 

Technical Data Solution (FedTedS) 

website in lieu of the Governmentwide 

Point of Entry (GPE).

DATES: Interested parties should submit 

comments in writing on or before 

January 3, 2005 to be considered in the 

formulation of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

identified by FAR case 2004–007 by any 

of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments.

• Agency Web Site: http://

www.acqnet.gov/far/ProposedRules/

proposed.htm. Click on the FAR case 

number to submit comments.

•E-mail: farcase.2004–007@gsa.gov. 

Include FAR case 2004–007 in the 

subject line of the message.

• Fax: 202–501–4067.

• Mail: General Services 

Administration, Regulatory Secretariat 

(V), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4035, 

ATTN: Laurie Duarte, Washington, DC 

20405.

Instructions: Please submit comments 

only and cite FAR case 2004–007 in all 

correspondence related to this case. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http://

www.acqnet.gov/far/ProposedRules/

proposed.htm, including any personal 

information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

FAR Secretariat at (202) 501–4755 for 

information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules. For clarification 

of content, contact Mr. Gerald Zaffos, 

Procurement Analyst, at(202) 208–6091. 

Please cite FAR case 2004–007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

Under current FAR regulations, 

contracting officers are required to use 

the Governmentwide Point of Entry 

(GPE) to publish information about 

proposed contract actions where the 

contract is estimated to be $25,000 or 

more. FAR 5.102 encourages contracting 

officers to use the GPE to disseminate 

additional information related to 

solicitations, where practicable and 

cost-effective. However, as a freely 

accessible web site, the GPE is 

inappropriate for disseminating 

information that requires additional 

controls to monitor access and 

distribution (e.g., technical 

specifications, maps, building designs, 

schedules, etc.). One of the eGovernment Integrated Acquisition 

Environment’s (IAE) initiatives is to 

maximize efficiency, effectiveness, and 

security in the acquisition process 

through the use of internet-based 

technology. As part of the IAE, a secure 

solution (FedTeDS) has been developed 

for this purpose.

Agencies will still be required to 

synopsize and post their contracting 

opportunities at the Government Point 

of Entry, FedBizOpps. However, the 

agency should post information that 

requires additional controls to monitor 

access and distribution (e.g., technical 

specifications, maps, building designs, 

schedules, etc.), as determined by the 

agency, by providing a link from 

FedBizOpps to FedTeDS.

By clicking on the link, a vendor will 

be taken to FedTeDS. Once in FedTeDS, 

a vendor can either download a copy of 

the information or request it on a 

compact disc (CD) (if the contracting 

agency is making the information 

available in that medium). In order to 

download the information or request a 

CD, the vendor must be registered in 

both the Central Contractor Registration 

(CCR) and FedTeDS. To register in 

FedTeDS, a vendor must have the 

Marketing Partner Identification 

Number (MPIN) it created when 

registering in CCR. The MPIN, together 

with the vendor’s CAGE number or 

DUNS number, is used to register and 

obtain a password in FedTeDS. Because 

the vendor defines it, the MPIN in 

combination with the CAGE or DUNS 

number provides a unique identifier for 

authenticating the individual obtaining 

the information. A vendor user guide is 

available at https://www.fedteds.gov/.

Vendors that have already 

downloaded solicitations from 

FedBizOpps will receive an e-mail 

notification when new information 

becomes available in FedTeDS. They 

will then have to go to FedBizOpps to 

click on the appropriate link to 

FedTeDS. Vendors will only have access 

to documents related to information in 

FedTeDS through a link from 

FedBizOpps; there is no search 

capability within FedTeDS.

A feature of FedTeDS that is available 

to vendors is ‘‘See My Colleagues.’’ This 

allows the vendor to see who has been 

using the same CAGE code or DUNS 

number, thereby helping to ensure that 

only authorized people have access.

For acquisitions that are exempt from 

posting in FedBizOpps, an agency can 

send specific vendors an email with a 

direct link to the information in 

FedTeDS. This allows an agency to 

avoid sending large attachments through 

an unsecured email system.

This is not a significant regulatory 

action and, therefore, was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of Executive 

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 

804.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Councils do not expect this 

proposed rule to have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities within the 

meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because the 

rule does not impose any costs on either 

small or large businesses. An Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis has, 

therefore, not been performed. We invite 

comments from small businesses and 

other interested parties. The Councils 

will consider comments from small 

entities concerning the affected FAR 

Parts 2, 5, and 7 in accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 610. Interested parties must 

submit such comments separately and 

should cite 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq. (FAR 

case 2004–007), in correspondence.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

not apply because the proposed changes 

to the FAR do not impose information 

collection requirements that require the 

approval of the Office of Management 

and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et 

seq.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 2, 5, 

and 7

Government procurement.

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 210 / Monday, November 1, 2004 / Proposed Rules 63437

Dated: October 22, 2004.

Laura Auletta,

Director, Contract Policy Division.

Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA 

propose amending 48 CFR parts 2, 5, 

and 7 as set forth below:

1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

parts 2, 5, and 7 is revised to read as 

follows:

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. 

chapter 137; and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c).

PART 2—DEFINITIONS OF WORDS 

AND TERMS

2. Amend section 2.101 in paragraph 

(b) by adding, in alphabetical order, the 

definition ‘‘Federal Technical Data 

Solution (FedTeDS)’’ to read as follows:

2.101 Definitions.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

Federal Technical Data Solution 

(FedTeDS) is a web application 

integrated with the Governmentwide 

Point of Entry (GPE) and the Central 

Contractor Registration (CCR) system for 

distribution of information related to 

contract opportunities. It is designed to 

enhance controls on the access and 

distribution of solicitation requirements 

or other documents when controls are 

necessary according to agency 

procedures. FedTeDS may be found on 

the Internet at https://www.fedteds.gov.

* * * * *

PART 5—PUBLICIZING CONTRACT 

ACTIONS

3. Amend section 5.102 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2); by adding a 

new paragraph (a)(5); and by revising 

the introductory text of paragraph (b) to 

read as follows:

5.102 Availability of solicitations.

(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph 

(a)(4) of this section, the contracting 

officer must make available through the 

GPE solicitations synopsized through 

the GPE. The contracting officer must 

also make specifications, technical data, 

and other pertinent solicitation 

information available through the GPE, 

except as provided in paragraph (a)(5) of 

this section. Transmissions to the GPE 

must be in accordance with the interface 

description available via the Internet at 

http://www.fedbizopps.gov.

(2) The contracting officer is 

encouraged, when practicable and costeffective, to make accessible through the 

GPE additional information related to a 

solicitation, except as provided in 

paragraph (a)(5) of this section.

* * * * *

(5) When a solicitation contains 

information that requires additional 

controls to monitor access and 

distribution (e.g., technical 

specifications, maps, building designs, 

schedules, etc.), as determined by the 

agency, the information should be made 

available through the Federal Technical 

Data Solution (FedTeDS). When 

FedTeDS is used it must be used in 

conjunction with the GPE to meet the 

synopsis and advertising requirements 

of this part. Exceptions to posting on 

FedTeDS include—

(i) Information that is classified; or

(ii) Information that will be provided 

through alternative electronic means; or

(iii) Information that, because of its 

nature (e.g., size, format) it is not costeffective or practicable for contracting 

officers to make available through 

FedTeDS.

(b) When the contracting officer does 

not make a solicitation available 

through the GPE pursuant to paragraph 

(a)(4) of this section or when the 

contracting officer does not make 

information that requires additional 

controls to monitor access and 

distribution available through FedTeDS, 

pursuant to paragraph (a)(5) of this 

section, the contracting officer—

* * * * *

5.207 [Amended]

4. Amend section 5.207 in paragraph 

(c)(19) by removing ‘‘if any’’ and adding 

‘‘such as FedTeDS (https://

www.fedteds.gov)’’ in it place.

PART 7—ACQUISITION PLANS

5. Amend section 7.105 by adding a 

sentence to the end of paragraph (b)(15) 

to read as follows:

7.105 Contents of written acquisition 

plans.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(15) * * * Indicate which 

information that requires additional 

controls to monitor access and 

distribution (e.g., technical 

specifications, maps, building designs, 

schedules, etc.), as determined by the 

agency, is to be posted via the Federal 

Technical Data Solution (FedTeDS) (see 

5.102(a)(5)).

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 04–24231 Filed 10–29–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S