GAO-01-687R

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548

B-287638

May 11, 2001

The Honorable Fred Thompson

Chairman

The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman

Ranking Member

Committee on Governmental Affairs

United States Senate

The Honorable Dan Burton

Chairman

The Honorable Henry A. Waxman

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Government Reform

House of Representatives

Subject: Department of Defense, General Services Administration, National

Aeronautics and Space Administration: Federal Acquisition Regulations;

Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility

Pursuant to section 801(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, this is our report on a

major rule promulgated by the Department of Defense, General Services

Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, entitled

“Federal Acquisition Regulations; Electronic and Information Technology

Accessibility” (RIN: 9000-AI69). We received the rule on April 26, 2001. It was

published in the Federal Register as a final rule on April 25, 2001. 66 Fed. Reg. 20894.

The final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulations to implement section 508

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of

1998. Section 508 requires that when federal departments or agencies develop,

procure, maintain, or use Electronic and Information Technology (EIT), they must

ensure that the EIT allows federal employees with disabilities to have access to and

use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by other federal

employees.

Enclosed is our assessment of the agencies’ compliance with the procedural steps

required by section 801(a)(1)(B)(i) through (iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule.

Our review indicates that the agencies complied with the applicable requirements.
Page 2 GAO-01-687R

If you have any questions about this report, please contact James W. Vickers,

Assistant General Counsel, at (202) 512-8210. The official responsible for GAO

evaluation work relating to the subject matter of the rule is Cindy Fagnoni, Managing

Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security. Ms. Fagnoni can be reached

at (202) 512-7215.

signed

Kathleen E. Wannisky

Managing Associate General Counsel

Enclosure

cc: Mr. David A. Drabkin

Deputy Associate Administrator

Office of Acquisition Policy

General Services Administration
GAO-01-687R

ENCLOSURE

ANALYSIS UNDER 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(1)(B)(i)-(iv) OF A MAJOR RULE

ISSUED BY THE

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE,

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION,

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

ENTITLED

"FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS;

ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY"

(RIN: 9000-AI69)

(i) Cost-benefit analysis

An Economic Assessment of the final rule was made. It estimates that the total

anticipated costs to society will range from $177 million to $1,068 million annually.

The federal proportion of these costs is estimated to range from $85 million to $691

million. The range of costs results from uncertainty of manufacturers to distribute

these costs over the general consumer population. If the addition of the accessibility

features add value to the products outside the federal government, the costs will be

distributed across society.

The benefit of the final rule is increased access to electronic and information

technology for federal employees and members of the public with disabilities

seeking federal information provided using electronic and information technology.

(ii) Agency actions relevant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 603-605,

607, and 609

A Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was prepared and is summarized in the

preamble to the final rule. The Analysis complies with the requirements of the Act

and notes that it was not possible to exempt small entities from the requirements of

the final rule to ease the economic impact on them because the statute permits

private enforcement.

(iii) Agency actions relevant to sections 202-205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform

Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. §§ 1532-1535

The final rule does not contain either an intergovernmental or private sector

mandate, as defined in title II, of more than $100 million in any one year.
Page 2 GAO-01-687R

(iv) Other relevant information or requirements under acts and executive orders

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.

The final rule was issued using the notice and comment procedures contained at

5 U.S.C. 553. On January 22, 2001, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published

in the Federal Register. 66 Fed. Reg. 7166. The preamble to the final rule contains a

discussion of the comments received.

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3520

The final rule does not contain any information collections that are subject to review

by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction

Act.

Statutory authorization for the rule

The final rule is promulgated under the authority contained in section 508 of the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) and 40 U.S.C. 486(c), 10 U.S.C. chapter

137, and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c).

Executive Order No. 12866

The final rule was reviewed by OMB and found to be an “economically significant”

regulatory action under the order.