Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Notices 50333 

Dated: September 2, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19380 Filed 9–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB402] 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of web conference. 

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) Halibut 

and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota 

Committee (IFQ Committee) will meet. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Monday, September 27, 2021, from 9 

a.m. to 4 p.m., Alaska Time. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be a web 

conference. Join online through the link 

at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/ 

Details/2500. 

Council address: North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council, 1007 W 

3rd Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501–2252; 

telephone: (907) 271–2809. Instructions 

for attending the meeting via video 

conference are given under 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Marrinan, Council staff; phone; 

(907) 271–2809; email: sarah.marrinan@

noaa.gov. For technical support please 

contact our admin Council staff, email: 

npfmc.admin@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Agenda 

Monday, September 27, 2021 

The IFQ Committee agenda will 

include the review of the Initial Review 

Analysis of an Omnibus IFQ 

amendment package. Under 

consideration in this package are 

proposed changes to regulations 

regarding the sablefish pot fishery: 

Including gear specifications, buoy 

requirements, pot limits, and gear 

retrieval. Additionally, this package 

considers authorizing jig gear as a legal 

gear type to harvest sablefish IFQ and 

temporarily removing the Adak CQE 

residency requirement. There will be 

time scheduled on the agenda for NMFS 

update on IFQ related issues and the 

Committee may also address other items 

of business as necessary. The agenda is 

subject to change, and the latest version 

will be posted at https://

meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/ 

2500 prior to the meeting, along with 

meeting materials. 

Connection Information 

You can attend the meeting online 

using a computer, tablet, or smart 

phone; or by phone only. Connection 

information will be posted online at: 

https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/ 

Details/2500. 

Public Comment 

Public comment letters will be 

accepted and should be submitted 

electronically to https://

meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/ 

2500. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: September 3, 2021. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19486 Filed 9–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket ID: DoD–2021–OS–0077] 

Notice of Request for Comments on 

Barriers Facing Small Businesses in 

Contracting With the Department of 

Defense 

AGENCY: Office of Small Business 

Programs, Office of the Deputy Assistant 

Secretary of Defense (Industrial Policy), 

Department of Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Notice of request for public 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The participation of dynamic, 

resilient, and innovative small 

businesses in the defense industrial base 

is critical to the United States’ efforts to 

maintain its technological superiority, 

military readiness, and warfighting 

advantage. In furtherance of its efforts to 

maximize opportunities for small 

businesses to contribute to national 

security, the Department seeks public 

input on the barriers that small 

businesses face in working with the 

Department. This input will be used to 

update the Department’s Small Business 

Strategy led by the DoD Office of Small 

Business Programs. 

DATES: The due date for submitting 

comments is October 25, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number and title, 

by any of the following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Mail: DoD cannot receive written 

comments at this time due to the 

COVID–19 pandemic. Comments should 

be sent electronically to the docket 

listed above. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name, docket 

number and title for this Federal 

Register document. The general policy 

for comments and other submissions 

from members of the public is to make 

these submissions available as they are 

received, without change, including any 

personal identifiers or contact 

information for public viewing on the 

internet at http://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Victoria Mundt, Associate Director, of 

the Office of Small Business Programs, 

at (703) 697–0051 or 

osd.business.defense@mail.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

President Biden issued Executive 

Order (E.O.) 14017, ‘‘America’s Supply 

Chains’’; E.O. 13985, ‘‘Advancing Racial 

Equity and Support for Underserved 

Communities Through the Federal 

Government’’; and E.O. 14036, 

‘‘Promoting Competition in the 

American Economy.’’ E.O. 14017 

focuses on the need for resilient, 

diverse, and secure supply chains to 

ensure U.S. economic prosperity and 

national security. E.O. 13985 focuses on 

identifying potential barriers that 

underserved communities and 

individuals may face in taking 

advantage of agency procurement and 

contracting opportunities. E.O. 14036 

focuses on reviewing the state of 

competition within the defense 

industrial base, including areas where a 

lack of competition may be of concern. 

In support of E.O.s and through DoD’s 

Small Business Strategy, DoD is 

focusing on reducing barriers to entry 

that can reduce critical manufacturing 

capacity, competition and the 

availability and integrity of vital goods, 

products, and services. 

Small businesses play a major role in 

the DoD’s supply chains, and they allow 

the U.S. to maintain its technological 

superiority, military readiness, and 

warfighting advantages. These 

companies also play a crucial role in 

ensuring supply chain resilience. Last 

year, the Department awarded a record 

$80 billion dollars to small businesses 

through prime contracts, of which over 

$30 billion dollars was awarded to small 

disadvantaged businesses. 

Still, over the last decade small 

businesses in the defense industrial base 


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50334 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Notices 

have decreased by more than 40%. 

Further, a recent survey of small 

businesses conducted by the National 

Defense Industrial Association found 

that nearly four out of five (77.3%) 

businesses reported that the COVID–19 

pandemic impacted them, with 85% of 

those saying the pandemic had 

negatively affected them. The 

Department seeks additional insight 

from the public in understanding the 

impact of the pandemic, as well as other 

negative influences, on small businesses 

in the defense industrial base. 

This notice requests comments and 

information from the public 

(specifically small business currently in, 

or interested in becoming part of, the 

defense industrial base) to assist the 

DoD in updating its Small Business 

Strategy. 

Written Comments 

The DoD is particularly interested in 

comments and information directed to 

the policy objectives listed in E.O. 

14017, E.O. 14036, and E.O. 13985 as 

they affect the U.S. and global supply 

chains. The Department is seeking input 

from small businesses as well as from 

those with relevant expertise on the 

following topics: 

i. Government business practices that 

might inhibit or deter small businesses’ 

from producing and/or providing goods, 

services, and materials for DoD 

requirements, to the detriment of the 

small business sector and in turn the 

defense industrial base; 

ii. Regulations and business practices 

which may strain rather than strengthen 

the relationship between the 

Department and small businesses; 

iii. The impact of the Department’s 

major programs to support small 

business participation in the defense 

industrial base, specifically, the MentorProte ́ge ́ Program, Indian Incentive 

Program, Procurement Technical 

Assistance Centers, the Rapid 

Innovation Fund, Small Business 

Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small 

Business Technology Transfer (STTR); 

iv. The use of past performance 

information during the periods of source 

selection, ongoing performance, and 

collection of information; 

v. Increasing the Department’s 

utilization of small business 

innovations; 

vi. The Department’s efforts to assist 

small businesses that seek to do 

business with the government, 

including experiences in working with 

the Department’s contracting workforce; 

vii. Contracting timelines and the 

impact of those timelines on small 

businesses; 

viii. The availability of skilled labor 

and other personnel to sustain a 

competitive small business ecosystem; 

ix. Research, development, and 

demonstration priorities to support 

production and an advanced 

manufacturing base for the Department’s 

requirements; 

x. Policy recommendations or 

suggested executive, legislative, 

regulatory action to foster more resilient 

supply chains, greater competition in 

the defense industrial base, and/or more 

small business participation during the 

procurement process; 

xi. Any additional comments from 

small businesses relevant to the 

assessment of supply chain resilience 

required by E.O. 14017, E.O. 14036, and 

E.O. 13985. 

The DoD encourages respondents to 

structure their comments using the same 

text above as identifiers for the areas of 

inquiry to which they are responding. 

This will assist the DoD in more easily 

reviewing and summarizing the 

comments received in response to these 

specific areas. For example, a 

commenter submitting comments 

responsive to (i), ‘‘Government business 

practices that might cause deterioration 

in capabilities, to the detriment of the 

small business sector and in turn the 

defense industrial base,’’ would use that 

same text as a heading in the public 

comment followed by the commenter’s 

specific comments in this area. The 

Department encourages the use of an 

Executive Summary at the beginning of 

all comments and information to affect 

a more efficient Departmental review of 

the submitted documents. 

Requirements for Written Comments 

The http://www.regulations.gov 

website allows users to provide 

comments by filling in a ‘‘Type 

Comment’’ field, or by attaching a 

document using an ‘‘Upload File’’ field. 

The DoD prefers that comments be 

provided in an attached document. The 

Department prefers submissions in 

Microsoft Word (.doc files) or Adobe 

Acrobat (.pdf files). If the submission is 

provided in a format other than 

Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat, 

please indicate the name of the 

application in the ‘‘Type Comment’’ 

field. Please do not attach separate cover 

letters to electronic submissions; rather, 

include any information that might 

appear in a cover letter within the 

comments. Similarly, to the extent 

possible, please include any exhibits, 

annexes, or other attachments in the 

same file, so the submission consists of 

one file instead of multiple files. 

Comments (both public comments and 

non-confidential versions of comments 

containing business confidential 

information) will be placed in the 

docket and open to public inspection. 

Comments may be viewed on http://

www.regulations.gov by entering docket 

number DoD–2021–OS–0077 in the 

search field on the home page. 

All filers should name their files 

using the name of the person or entity 

submitting the comments. Anonymous 

comments are also accepted. 

Communications from agencies of the 

United States Government will not be 

made available for public inspection. 

Anyone submitting business 

confidential information should clearly 

identify the business confidential 

portion at the time of submission, file a 

statement justifying nondisclosure and 

referring to the specific legal authority 

claimed, and provide a non-confidential 

version of the submission. The nonconfidential version of the submission 

will be placed in the public file on 

http://www.regulations.gov. For 

comments submitted electronically 

containing business confidential 

information, the file name of the 

business confidential version should 

begin with the characters ‘‘BC.’’ Any 

page containing business confidential 

information must be clearly marked 

‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ on the 

top of that page. The non-confidential 

version must be clearly marked 

‘‘PUBLIC.’’ The file name of the nonconfidential version should begin with 

the character ‘‘P.’’ The ‘‘BC’’ and ‘‘P’’ 

should be followed by the name of the 

person or entity submitting the 

comments or rebuttal comments. If a 

public hearing is held in support of this 

assessment, a separate Federal Register 

notice will be published providing the 

date and information about the hearing. 

The Office of the Deputy Assistant 

Secretary of Defense (Industrial Policy) 

does not maintain a separate public 

inspection facility. Requesters should 

first view the Department’s web page, 

which can be found at https://https://

open.defense.gov/ (see ‘‘Electronic 

FOIA’’ heading). The records related to 

this assessment are made accessible in 

accordance with the regulations 

published in part 4 of title 15 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (15 CFR 4.1 

through 4.11). 

Dated: September 1, 2021. 

Aaron T. Siegel, 

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison 

Officer, Department of Defense. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19352 Filed 9–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 


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