Submission for OMB Review; Subcontract Consent

AGENCIES:

Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION:

Notice of request for public comments regarding an extension to an existing OMB clearance.

SUMMARY:

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement concerning subcontract consent. A notice was published in the Federal Register at 80 FR 41501 on July 15, 2015. No comments were received.

DATES:

Submit comments on or before December 2, 2015.

ADDRESSES:

Submit comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for GSA, Room 10236, NEOB, Washington, DC 20503. Additionally submit a copy to GSA by any of the following methods:

• Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching the OMB control number. Select the link “Submit a Comment” that corresponds with “Information Collection 9000-0149, Subcontract Consent”. Follow the instructions provided at the “Submit a Comment” screen. Please include your name, company name (if any), and “Information Collection 9000-0149, Subcontract Consent” on your attached document.
• Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20405. ATTN: Ms. Flowers/IC 9000-0149, Subcontract Consent.

Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite “Information Collection 9000-0149, Subcontract Consent,” in all correspondence related to this collection. Comments received generally will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal and/or business confidential information provided. To confirm receipt of your comment(s), please check www.regulations.gov,, approximately two to three days after submission to verify posting (except allow 30 days for posting of comments submitted by mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Mahruba Uddowla, Procurement Analyst, Office of Government-wide Policy, contact via telephone 703-605-2828 or email at mahruba.uddowla@gsa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Purpose

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.244-2, Subcontracts, requires prime contractors to provide contracting officers notification before the award of any cost-plus-fixed-fee subcontract, or certain fixed-price subcontracts. This requirement for advance notification is driven by statutory requirements in 10 U.S.C. 2306 and 41 U.S.C. 3905. FAR clause 52.244-2 also requires prime contractors to get consent to subcontract for cost-reimbursement, time-and-materials, labor-hour, or letter contracts, and also for unpriced actions under fixed-price contracts that exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.

The objective of requiring consent to subcontract, as discussed in FAR Part 44, is to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness with which the contractor spends Government funds, and complies with Government policy when subcontracting. The Government requires a contractor to provide certain information (e.g., subcontractor's name, type of subcontract, price, description of supply or services, etc.) reasonably in advance of placing a subcontract to ensure that the proposed subcontract is appropriate for the risks involved and consistent with current policy and sound business judgment. The information provides the Government a basis for granting, or withholding consent to subcontract.

B. Annual Reporting Burden

Based on information from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) regarding contracts that would be required to provide information pursuant to FAR clause 52.244-2, an upward adjustment is being made to the number of respondents. As a result, an upward adjustment is being made to the estimated annual reporting burden hours since the notice regarding the previous extension to this clearance was published in the Federal Register at 77 FR 56644, on September 13, 2012.

Number of Respondents: 6,601.

Responses per Respondent: 3.

Total Responses: 19,803.

Average Burden Hours per Response: 1.846.

Total Burden Hours: 36,557.

C. Public Comments

Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information collection documents from the General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20405, telephone 202-501-4755.

Please cite OMB Control No. 9000-0149, Subcontract Consent, in all correspondence.