[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 56 (Thursday, March 23, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 15288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-7201]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Deviation from the Department of Energy Assistance Regulations

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of class deviation.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) hereby announces a class 
deviation from its Financial Assistance Regulations. This deviation 
removes, on a pilot basis for noncompetitive financial assistance 
awards of $1 million or less, the requirements to publish a Federal 
Register announcement prior to award and, then, to delay 14 calendar 
days before making the award. This deviation will save public funds and 
reduce paperwork by allowing smaller financial assistance actions to be 
awarded in a more timely fashion involving fewer DOE offices and 
employees.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 7, 1995.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In this notice, the Department of Energy 
announces that, pursuant to 10 CFR 600.4, the Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Procurement and Assistance Management has made a 
determination of the need for a class deviation to the Department's 
Financial Assistance Rules. A deviation to 10 CFR 600.7 has been 
approved which provides that, on a Department-wide two year pilot 
basis, noncompetitive financial assistance awards under $1 million are 
not required to be published in the Federal Register 14 calendar days 
prior to making an award. This deviation was approved to avoid the time 
consuming and labor intensive efforts involved in preparation and 
review of the announcements, and the 14 days of publication before 
award could be made for relatively low dollar value actions. 
Publication of these pending noncompetitive award announcements have 
not resulted in their intended purpose which was to make potentially 
qualified recipients aware of pending noncompetitive financial 
assistance awards so they might make their qualifications known to the 
awarding office, and possibly compete for the award. During the many 
years that the Department has published these announcements, only a 
very few responses have been received, and, of those, most had nothing 
to do with the noncompetitive nature of the awards. This deviation will 
result in streamlining the process of awarding noncompetitive financial 
assistance actions, thereby saving the Government resources of time and 
money. It is anticipated that, by the time the deviation expires, DOE 
will have completed a rulemaking to remove the publication requirement 
on a permanent basis.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen D. Mournighan, Office of 
Management Review and Analysis, [HR-523], U.S. Department of Energy, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 30, 1994.
Richard H. Hopf,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Procurement and Assistance Management.
    Editorial note: This document was received at the Office of the 
Federal Register on March 20, 1995.
[FR Doc. 95-7201 Filed 3-22-95; 8:45 am]
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