The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has issued new model deviation text as part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, or RFO, initiative in compliance with an executive order and an Office of Management and Budget memorandum.
In mid-April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to amend the FAR to streamline the federal procurement process and remove barriers to doing business with the government.
The FAR Council said Friday the overhauled FAR parts include sections related to emergency acquisitions, contract modifications and acquisition of information and communication technology, or ICT.
The council will accept feedback on the updated FAR parts through July 28.
ICT Acquisition
FAR Part 39 concerning ICT procurement has been streamlined to highlight strategies that promote faster acquisition and secure deployment of new or emerging technology.
Under the updated section, agencies should continue to use modular contracting for incremental and successive contracts when acquiring IT. In addition to IT, Part 39 covers Internet of Things devices and operational technology.
The prohibition on describing minimum experience or educational requirements is now discretionary. Information regarding risk management has been streamlined.
Part 39 still requires accessibility standards, including Section 508 compliance, to ensure federal employees and members of the public with disabilities have comparable access and use of information and data.
Contract Modifications
The council has streamlined FAR Part 43 concerning contract modifications to provide essential standards for the workforce to mitigate risk to the government and the public.
The updated section retained non-statutory definitions and procedures for contract modifications to maintain uniformity across the government and clarified instructions for documenting change orders.
Emergency Acquisitions
The council has updated FAR Part 18 to streamline the acquisition flexibilities for emergency acquisitions.
The overhauled section retained increased thresholds for contingency operations; defense or recovery from certain events to include cyber, nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological attacks; international disaster assistance; emergency or major disaster response; and humanitarian or peacekeeping operations.
The document also retained statutory requirements related to emergency and major disaster declarations; humanitarian or peacekeeping operations; and award preference for local organizations. It also retained the waiver of provisions for ocean transportation by U.S. flag vessels.
