Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/09/04/2019-17824/va-acquisition-regulation-contracting-by-negotiation-service-contracting
Timestamp: 2019-09-19 02:13:19
Document Index: 175475259

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 815', 'art 815', 'art 837', 'art 815', 'art 815', 'art 816', 'art 837', 'art 837', 'art 837', 'art 849', 'art 852', 'art 871', 'art 819', 'art 1', 'art 801', 'art 837', 'art 852', 'art 837', 'art 852', 'arts 801', 'art 815', 'art 815', 'art 837', 'art 873', 'art 13', 'art 813', 'art 849', 'art 849', 'art 852', 'art 871']

A Rule by the Veterans Affairs Department on 09/04/2019
This rule is effective on October 4, 2019.
84 FR 46448
46448-46457 (10 pages)
Subpart 815.4 [Removed and Reserved]
Subpart 815.6 [Removed and Reserved]
Subpart 837.2 [Removed and Reserved]
Requirements—Supplement for Mortuary Services (Oct 2019)
Nonsmoking Policy for Children's Services (Oct 2019)
Crime Control Act—Reporting of Child Abuse (Oct 2019)
Crime Control Act—Requirement for Background Checks (Oct 2019)
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2019-17824 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2019-17824
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending and updating its VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) in phased increments to revise or remove any policy superseded by changes in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), to remove procedural guidance internal to VA into the VA Acquisition Manual (VAAM), and to incorporate any new agency specific regulations or policies. These changes seek to streamline and align the VAAR with the FAR and remove outdated and duplicative requirements and reduce burden on contractors. The VAAM incorporates portions of the removed VAAR as well as other internal agency acquisition policy. VA will rewrite certain parts of the VAAR and VAAM, and as VAAR parts are rewritten, VA will publish them in the Federal Register. In particular, this rulemaking revises VAAR concerning Contracting by Negotiation and Service Contracting, as well as affected parts covering the Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation System, Types of Contracts, Termination of Contracts, Solicitation Provisions and Contract Clauses, and Loan Guaranty and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Programs.
On September 7, 2018, VA published a proposed rule in the Federal Register (83 FR 45384) which announced VA's intent to amend regulations for VAAR Case RIN 2900-AQ20—VA Acquisition Regulation: Contracting by Negotiation; Service Contracting. VA provided a 60-day comment period for the public to respond to the proposed rule and submit comments. The comment period for the proposed rule ended on November 6, 2018 and VA received three comments from one commenter. This rule adopts as a final rule, with changes, the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on September 7, 2018, with minor formatting and/or grammatical edits, as well as the non-substantive changes described below. VA reviewed and considered the comments raised by the one commenter in the development of this final rule. A discussion of the issues raised in the comments as well as the changes made to the rule as a result of those comments, and the technical non-substantive changes to the final rule are provided as follows:
In particular, this final rule revises the table at 801.106 to reflect the addition of new VAAR clause 852.237-73, Crime Control Act—Requirement for Background Checks and the corresponding new OMB control number 2900-0863. This final rule also removes 815.303, Responsibilities, and 815.304, Evaluation factors and significant subfactors, and moves them to the VAAM as they contain procedural guidance that is internal to the VA.
This rule adds a new section, 815.370, Only one offer. The inclusion of this policy gives the contracting officer the ability to re-solicit for an action if they only receive one offer and if the solicitation gave offerors less than 30 days to submit a proposal. This final rule removes subpart 815.4, Contract Pricing, as it contains procedural guidance that is internal to the VA and the content has been moved to the VAAM.
This final rule removes subpart 815.6, Unsolicited Proposals, as it contains procedural guidance. This rulemaking adds subpart 816.5 and section 816.506-70, Requirements—supplement for mortuary services, which prescribes clause 852.216-76, Requirements—Supplement for Mortuary Services, for all contracts for mortuary services.
Under part 837, this final rule removes section 837.103, Contracting officer responsibility, as this internal procedural guidance is more suitable for the VAAM. This rule also removes the title and text at section 837.110, Solicitation provisions and contract clauses, since FAR 52.237-2, Protection of Government Buildings, Equipment and Vegetation, and 852.228-71, Indemnification and Insurance, outline contractor liabilities and required insurance levels and provides sufficient coverage in this area.
This final rule amends section 837.110-70, Services provided to eligible beneficiaries, by retitling it “VA solicitation provisions and contract clauses,” by removing the prescription for the clause, 852.271-70, Non-Discrimination in Services Provided to Beneficiaries, and by adding the prescriptions for the new clauses 852.237-74, Non-Discrimination in Service Delivery, and 852.237-75, Key Personnel. This final rule removes subpart 837.2, Advisory and Assistance Services, since it duplicates coverage in FAR.
This rule amends section 837.403, Contract clause, to redesignate it as section 837.403-70, VA contract clauses, and adds prescriptions for three new clauses that address protection of children under contracts providing child care services as required by FAR 37.103(d): 852.237-71, Nonsmoking Policy for Children Services; 852.237-72, Crime Control Act—Reporting of Child Abuse; and 852.237-73, Crime Control Act—Requirement for Background Checks.
Under subpart 837.70, Mortuary Services, this rule adds section 837.7000, Scope, which cites the statutory basis for the mortuary service benefits covered. This final rule also removes sections 837.7002, List of qualified funeral directors; 837.7003, Funeral authorization; 837.7004, Administrative necessity; and 837.7005, Unclaimed remains—all other cases, because this material was based on internal VA guidance that has been rescinded.
This final rule adds subpart 849.5, Contract Termination Clauses, section 849.504, Termination of fixed-price contracts for default (no text), and section 849.504-70, Termination of mortuary services, to prescribe a new clause 852.249-70, Termination for Default—Supplement for Mortuary Services. Under subpart 852.2, this Start Printed Page 46449regulatory action amends clause 852.215-70, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business Evaluation Factors to add language to comply with the statute requiring any business concern determined by VA to have willfully and intentionally misrepresented a company's SDVOSB/VOSB status to be subject to debarment for a period of not less than five years.
This final rule amends 852.215-71, Evaluation Factor Commitments, by adding language requiring that any business concern determined by VA to have willfully and intentionally misrepresented a company's SDVOSB/VOSB status be subject to debarment for a period of not less than five years.
This final rule adds clause 852.215-72, Notice of Intent to Re-Solicit, which informs offerors that in the event that only one offer is received in response to a solicitation that allows offerors fewer than 30 days to submit their proposal, the Contracting Officer may cancel the solicitation and re-solicit for an additional period of at least 30 days in accordance with 815.370-2.
This rulemaking adds clause 852.216-76, Requirements—Supplement for Mortuary Services, for all requirements contracts for mortuary services. Under part 871, this rule revises section 871.212, to redesignate the first paragraph as (a); to remove the prescription of clause 852.271-70, Non-Discrimination in Services Provided to Beneficiaries; to renumber the remaining paragraphs as (1) through (4); and to add new paragraph (b) to refer the contracting officer to section 837.110-70(a) for the prescription of the new clause 852.237-74, Non-Discrimination in Service Delivery.
VA provided a 60-day comment period for the public to respond to the proposed rule. The comment period for the proposed rule ended on November 6, 2018 and VA received comments from one commenter. The issues raised in the comments as well as the changes made to the proposed rule on the basis of those comments are provided as follows:
The commenter believes VAAR 815.370-4(b) could be misread to suggest that, even when the exception applies, the contracting officer must still consider maximizing competition when only one offer has been received—which in many cases would mean considering whether to re-solicit the requirement. The commenter commends VA for its thoughtful development of this rule and of the agency's overarching goal of revising and streamlining the VAAR, stating that SDVOSBs and VOSBs, as well as VA contracting officers, will benefit from the clarity this rulemaking provides.
VA concurs with the commenter in that a set-aside or any of the other exemptions should not be subject to additional competition if the contracting officer determines the price is fair and reasonable. Therefore, we will retain the paragraph, but will modify the statement related to additional competition in the first part of the sentence. Paragraph (b) will read:
“(b) The applicability of an exception in paragraph (a) of this section does not eliminate the need for the contracting officer to ensure adequate time for competition is allotted or that the price is fair and reasonable.”
The commenter believes that the SDVOSB/VOSB evaluation preference at 15.304 should be applied in all instances a set-aside is not performed, even on a lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) contract action. The commenter also recommends that when applying the full and partial credit for SDVOSBs and VOSBs under subsection (b) in a procurement where price is the only factor or that uses a lowest price technically acceptable source selection process as described in FAR 15.101-2, the contracting officer must deem the price offered by a verified SDVOSB to be 10% lower than its proposed price for evaluation purposes, and the price offered by a verified VOSB to be 5% lower than its proposed price for evaluation purposes.
VA appreciates the comment. However, the commenter recommends VA apply a price evaluation preference. VA does not possess statutory authority for a price evaluation preference. Therefore, no changes to the proposed rule will be made.
Beyond the contracting priority to be used when setting a contract or order aside, the commenter further believes that VA also must give an evaluation preference to SDVOSBs and VOSBs, with greater evaluation preference for SDVOSBs, then VOSBs, then all other small businesses consistent with Veterans First. In this regard, the commenter is recommending that VA should revise the proposed language at VAAR 815.304-71(a), which currently says that contracting officers shall insert VAAR 852.215-70, SDVOSB and VOSB Evaluation Factors, “in competitively negotiated solicitations that are not set aside for SDVOSBs or VOSBs.” 83 FR at 45379. The commenter recommends that this should be revised to exclude only SDVOSB set-asides.
VA appreciates the comment. It is VA policy that SDVOSBs have priority over VOSBs when contracting under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 8127(i). However, the intent of the evaluation preference is to provide additional preference to veteran-owned small businesses when a procurement is performed outside of the authority under 38 U.S.C. 8127. This is in recognition of the requirement in 38 U.S.C. 8128(a) that small business concerns “owned and controlled by veterans” have a priority over other small businesses. 38 U.S.C. 8128(a) does not make a distinction between SDVOSB or VOSB. Therefore, the proposed language will remain unchanged.
In addition, this final rule also includes two technical non-substantive changes to the proposed rule at section 815.370-4(a)(2) and (a)(3) which will be finalized in this final rule as described below. It updates language to comport with the FAR that was issued as FAR Class Deviations and does not significantly change the intent or meaning of the originally proposed language.
Under section 815.370-4, Exceptions, in this final rule, two technical corrections are made to the proposed rule language—
1. At paragraph (a)(2), the exception is corrected to remove “humanitarian or peacekeeping” and to add the word “cyber” as one of the exceptions permitted for acquisitions to facilitate defense against or recovery from, and to add the phrase at the end of the sentence, “or to support response to an emergency or major disaster.” “Humanitarian or peacekeeping” is removed as VA supports emergencies or major disasters and recovery therefrom. This update comports with two FAR Class Deviations that adds new definitions for “Emergency,” and “Major Disaster,” as well as adds “cyber” to the list of actions to facilitate defense against or recovery from when referring to the updated “micro-purchase threshold” and “simplified acquisition threshold” amounts authorized by an existing FAR Class Deviation and for which a FAR case is in progress. Therefore, 815.370-4, Exceptions, paragraph (a)(2) would now read: “(2) Acquisitions in support of emergency operations, or to facilitate defense against or recovery from cyber, nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack; or to support response to an emergency or major disaster;”.
2. Under paragraph (a)(3), the reference to “VAAR 19” is updated to reflect a more accurate citation of “VAAR subpart 819.70.”Start Printed Page 46450
Under section 837.7001, Solicitations provisions and contract clauses, one technical change is made to the proposed rule language—
Under paragraph (b), the text is revised to remove a reference to ALT VI for the clause FAR 52.216-21, Requirements. Paragraph (b) now reads as follows: “The contracting officer shall insert in addition to FAR 52.216-21, Requirements, the following VA clauses in all mortuary service solicitations and contracts:” The rest of paragraph (b) and section 837.7001 remain unchanged as a result of this rulemaking.
Title 48, Federal Acquisition Regulations System, Chapter 8, Department of Veterans Affairs, of the Code of Federal Regulations, as proposed to be revised by this rulemaking, would represent VA's implementation of its legal authority and publication of the Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) for the cited applicable parts. Other than future amendments to this rule or governing statutes for the cited applicable parts, or as otherwise authorized by approved deviations or waivers in accordance with FAR subpart 1.4, Deviations from the FAR, and as implemented by VAAR subpart 801.4, Deviations from the FAR or VAAR, no contrary guidance or procedures would be authorized. All existing or subsequent VA guidance would be read to conform with the rulemaking if possible or, if not possible, such guidance would be superseded by this rulemaking as pertains to the cited applicable VAAR parts.
Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review defines “significant regulatory action” to mean any regulatory action that is likely to result in a rule that may: “(1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal Governments or communities; (2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in this Executive Order.”
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has determined that this rule is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.
VA's impact analysis can be found as a supporting document at http://www.regulations.gov, usually within 48 hours after the rulemaking document is published. Additionally, a copy of the rulemaking and its impact analysis are available on VA's website at http://www.va.gov/​orpm by following the link for VA Regulations Published from FY 2004 Through Fiscal Year to Date. This final rule is not an E.O. 13771 regulatory action because this rule is not significant under E.O. 12866.
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (at 44 U.S.C. 3507) requires that VA consider the impact of paperwork and other information collection burdens imposed on the public. Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a), an agency may not collect or sponsor the collection of information, nor may it impose an information collection requirement unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. See also 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3)(vi). This final rule amends one information collection requirement and imposes one new information collection requirement. Accordingly, under 44 U.S.C. 3507(d), VA has submitted a copy of this rulemaking action to OMB for its review.
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), a current collection of information, OMB No. 2900-0590, that will now be contained in part 837 at section 837.403-70 and in part 852 at section 852.237-70, was revised as set forth in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION portion of this final rule. The clause number that appears in the table at 801.106 is also revised accordingly.
Summary of collection of information:
This final rule contains provisions constituting an existing information collection at 48 CFR 837.403 and 852.237-7, under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521) and has been assigned OMB control number 2900-0590. This final rule revises 837.403 to renumber it as 837.403-70, to retitle it as “VA contract clauses,” and to renumber the clause as 852.237-70 while retaining the title, “Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance.”
Clause 852.237-70 is used in lieu of FAR clause 52.237-7, Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance, in solicitations and contracts for the acquisition of non-personal health care services. It requires the apparent successful bidder/offeror, upon the request of the contracting officer, prior to contract award, to furnish evidence of insurability of the offeror and/or all health-care providers who will perform under the contract. In addition, the clause requires the contractor, prior to commencement of services under the contract, to provide Certificates of Insurance or insurance policies evidencing that the firm possesses the types and amounts of insurance required by the solicitation. This final rule modifies the collection to require the contractor to notify the contracting officer within five days of becoming aware of a change in insurance providers during the performance period of this contract for all health-care providers performing under this contract, and to provide to the contracting officer evidence of such insurance for any subcontractor at least five days before commencement of work by that subcontractor.
Description of need for information and proposed use of information:
The information is required in order to protect VA by ensuring that the firm to which award may be made and the individuals who may provide health care services under the contract are insurable and that, following award, the contractor and its employees will continue to possess the types and amounts of insurance required by the solicitation. It helps ensure that VA will not be held liable for any negligent acts of the contractor or its employees and ensures that VA and VA beneficiaries will be protected by adequate insurance coverage. The clause number is changed to 852.237-70 to conform to the FAR guidance for numbering of clauses. The burden imposed by this collection remains unchanged as follows:
Estimate of the total annual hour burden of the collection of information: 750 hours.Start Printed Page 46451
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), a new collection of information is prescribed, under OMB No. 2900-0863, that is contained in Part 837 at section 837.403-70 (d) and Part 852 at clause 852.237-73, as set forth in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION portion of this final rule. The clause number and the OMB clearance number are added to the table at 801.106.
Under the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13041), each agency of the Federal Government, and every facility operated by the Federal Government, or operated under contract with the Federal Government, that hires, or contracts for hire, individuals involved with the provision of child care services to children under the age of 18 shall assure that all existing and newly-hired employees undergo a criminal history background check.
Description of need for information and use of information:
The contract clause requires the contractor to perform the background checks on behalf of VA to assure the safety of children under the age of 18 that are recipients of services under a VA program. It is intended to assure their safety by avoiding hiring individuals with a history of criminal acts and especially acts of child abuse. The following estimated annual burden has been revised and reduced from that in the proposed rule based on contract data from the last three fiscal years which reflect a pool of awarded contracts which include child care services to arrive at a revised estimated annual burden amount. In the proposed rule, the estimated number of respondents annually were based on health service contracts awarded, whereas in this final rule, the estimated number of respondents was calculated based on contracts awarded under NAICS codes associated with child care services. An average of 10 responses per contract is a reasonable estimate for an awarded child care services contract.
Estimated number of respondents annually: 150.
Estimated frequency of responses: 10 per contract awarded.
Estimate of the total annual hour burden of the collection of information: 1,500 hours.
Annual cost to all respondents: $74,550 ($49.70 rate including fringe benefits and assuming Bureau of Labor Statistics wage code 11-3011, Administrative Services Managers.)
This clause enables the VA to be in compliance with the Crime Control Act of 1990 and to protect children that are within its health care systems.
Notice regarding this information collection requirement was posted to the Federal Register via the preamble of Proposed Rule RIN 2900-AQ20 on September 7, 2018 (83 FR 45374) with comment period closing date of November 6, 2018. VA didn't receive any public comments related to this information collection. As a result, OMB issued a tentative control number 2900-0863 to this new information collection to be used for final rule publication. After the publication of this final rule, VA will resubmit this information collection (2900-0863) to OMB for its final approval.
This final rule does not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-612. The overall impact of the rule is of benefit to small businesses owned by Veterans or service-disabled Veterans as the VAAR is being updated to remove extraneous procedural information that applies only to VA's internal operating processes or procedures. VA estimates no cost impact to individual business will result from these rule updates. On this basis, the final rule does not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-612. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this regulatory action is exempt from the initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of sections 603 and 604.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Robert L. Wilkie, Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this document on July 25, 2019, for publication.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, VA revises 48 CFR parts 801, 815, 816, 837, 849, 852 and 871 as follows:
Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 41 U.S.C. 1121; 42 U.S.C. 1303; 41 U.S.C. 1702; and 48 CFR 1.301-1.304.
End Authority Start Printed Page 46452
2. Revise the table in section 801.106 to read as follows:
Current OMB No.
809.504(d) 2900-0418 852.232-70-852.232-71 2900-0422
852.207-70 2900-0590 852.236-88 2900-0422
852.209-70 2900-0418 852.237-70 2900-0590
852.211-70 2900-0587 852.237-73 2900-0863
852.211-72 2900-0586 852.246-76 2900-0589
852.270-3 2900-0589
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128; 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 41 U.S.C. 1121(c)(3); 41 U.S.C. 1702; and 48 CFR 1.301 through 1.304.
7. Section 815.304-71 is revised to read as follows:
(a) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 852.215-70, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and Veteran-Owned Small Business Evaluation Factors, in competitively negotiated solicitations and contracts that are not set aside for SDVOSBs or VOSBs.
(b) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 852.215-71, Evaluation Factor Commitments, in solicitations and contracts that include VAAR clause 852.215-70, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and Veteran-Owned Small Business Evaluation Factors.
(2)(i) Obtain from the offeror cost or pricing data necessary to determine a Start Printed Page 46453fair and reasonable price and comply with the requirement for certified cost or pricing data at FAR 15.403-4. For acquisitions that exceed the cost or pricing data threshold, if no exception at FAR 15.403-1(b) applies, the cost or pricing data shall be certified; and
14. Subpart 815.4, consisting of sections 815.404, 815.404-1, and 815.404-2, is removed and reserved.
15. Subpart 815.6, consisting of sections 815.604, 815.606, and 815.606-1, is removed and reserved.
Authority: Pub. L. 101-647; 20 U.S.C. 7181-7183; 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 41 U.S.C. 1121(c)(3); 41 U.S.C. 1702; and 48 CFR 1.301 through 1.304.
(a) Contracting officers shall include the clause at 852.237-74, Non-Discrimination in Service Delivery, in all solicitations and contracts covering services provided to eligible beneficiaries.
22. Subpart 837.2, consisting of section 837.203, is removed and reserved.
[Redesignated as 837.403-70 and Amended]
23. Section 837.403 is redesignated as 837.403-70 and the newly redesignated section is revised to read as follows:
(a) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 852.237-70, Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance, in lieu of FAR clause 52.237-7, in solicitations and contracts for nonpersonal health care services, including contracts awarded under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7409, 38 U.S.C. 8151-8153, and part 873. The contracting officer may include the clause in bilateral purchase orders for nonpersonal health care services awarded under the procedures in FAR part 13 and part 813.
(d) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 852.237-73, Crime Control Act—Requirement for Background Checks, in solicitations, contracts, and orders that involve providing child care services to children under the age of 18, including social services, health and mental health care, child- (day) care, education (whether or not directly involved in teaching), and rehabilitative Start Printed Page 46454programs covered under the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13041).
24. Section 837.7000 is added to read as follows:
25. Section 837.7001 is revised to read as follows:
(b) The contracting officer shall insert in addition to FAR 52.216-21, Requirements, the following VA clauses in all mortuary service solicitations and contracts:
26. Section 837.7002 is removed.
27. Section 837.7003 is removed.
28. Section 837.7004 is removed.
29. Section 837.7005 is removed.
30. The authority citation for part 849 is revised to read as follows:
31. Subpart 849.5 is added to read as follows:
32. The authority citation for part 852 is revised to read as follows:
33. Section 852.215-70 is revised to read as follows:
34. Section 852.15-71 is revised to read as follows:
(a) The offeror agrees, if awarded a contract, to use the service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) or veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) proposed as subcontractors in accordance with 852.215-70, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business Evaluation Factors, or to substitute one or more SDVOSBs or VOSBs for subcontract work of the same or similar value.
35. Section 852.215-72 is added to read as follows:
36. Section 852.216-71 is amended by revising the section heading and clause heading to read as follows:
37. Section 852.216-72 is amended by revising the section heading and clause heading to read as follows:
Start Printed Page 46455
38. Section 852.216-73 is amended by revising the section heading and clause heading to read as follows:
39. Section 852.216-74 is amended by revising the section heading and clause heading to read as follows:
40. Section 852.216-75 is amended by revising the section heading and clause heading to read as follows:
Economic Price Adjustment-Fuel Surcharge.
41. Section 852.216-76 is added to read as follows:
42. Section 852.228-71 is amended by revising the section heading and clause heading to read as follows:
43. Section 852.228-73 is amended by revising the section heading and clause heading to read as follows:
Indemnification of Contractor—Hazardous Research Projects.l
44. Section 852.237-70 is removed.
45. Section 852.237-7 is redesignated as section 852.237-70 and the newly redesignated section is revised to read as follows:
46. Section 852.237-71 is added to read as follows:
Start Printed Page 46456
(a) Smoking in facilities where certain federally funded children's services are provided shall be prohibited. The Pro-Children Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. 7181-7183) prohibits smoking within any indoor facility (or portion thereof), whether owned, leased, or contracted for, that is used for the routine or regular provision of health or day care services that are provided to children under the age of 18. The statutory prohibition also applies to indoor facilities that are constructed, operated, or maintained with Federal funds.
47. Section 852.237-72 is added to read as follows:
48. Section 852.237-73 is added to read as follows:
49. Section 852.237-74 is added to read as follows:
50. Section 852.237-75 is added to read as follows:
51. Section 852.237-76 is added to read as follows:
52. Section 852.237-77 is added to read as follows:
(d) If remains are located outside the area of performance, the Contracting Officer may Start Printed Page 46457place an order with the Contractor under this contract or may obtain the services elsewhere. If the Contracting Officer requires the Contractor to transport the remains into the area of performance, the Contractor shall be paid the amount per mile in the schedule for the number of miles required to transport the remains by a reasonable route from the point where located to the boundary of the area of performance.
53. Section 852.237-78 is added to read as follows:
54. Section 852.237-79 is added to read as follows:
55. Section 852.237-80 is added to read as follows:
56. Section 852.249-70 is added to read as follows:
57. Section 852.271-70 is removed and reserved.
58. The authority citation for part 871 continues to read as follows:
59. Section 871.212 is revised to read as follows:
(1) 852.271-72, Time Spent by Counselee in Counseling Process.
(2) 852.271-73, Use and Publication of Counseling Results.
(3) 852.271-74, Inspection.
(4) 852.271-75, Extension of Contract Period.
[FR Doc. 2019-17824 Filed 9-3-19; 8:45 am]