The Professional Services Council (PSC) has backed the supply chain regulatory change that reduces the reporting burden on federal contractors in Section 889(a), the company reported on Monday.
“Allowing offerors to annually certify in SAM, rather than having to make that declaration on an offer-by-offer basis, is a productive step. This interim rule will assist those companies that are not otherwise impacted by the prohibition but are affected by its reporting requirements,” said Alan Chvotkin, PSC Executive Vice President and Counsel as well as a GovCon expert for Executive Mosaic.
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s second interim rule now allows offerors to annually certify in the System for Award Management (SAM) database in Dec. 2019. The council has stated that they are not using products or services from certain Chinese companies.
Section 889 of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, P.L. 115-232) has imposed prohibitions on the government’s purchase of certain telecommunications products and services and use of those products and services in a federal contractor’s supply chain.
PSC has supported the rule, commending the government for listening to the feedback within the GovCon sector and acting to address the challenges in the Section 889(a) implementation.
PSC led a coalition of associations in commenting on the August 2019 interim FAR rule titled, “Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment” in Oct. 2019.
The coalition’s first recommendation has requested expeditious implementation of the one-time SAM certification. As that letter stated in part: "A one-time, annual certification, rather than offer-by-offer representation, would dramatically reduce the administrative burden on, and the compliance costs for, both the government and federal contracting community.
The document stated that the SAM certification would also allow contracting officers and agencies to focus on offerors, including covered equipment or supply chain services. The implementation will additionally provide more time for contractors to prepare information, effective in Aug. 2020.
“Accordingly, we urge the government to issue proposed regulations for phase two as expeditiously as possible, to expand outreach to the impacted communities, and to assist the contractor community with implementing this very expansive and challenging mandate,” concluded Chvotkin.
About PSC
PSC is the voice of the government technology and professional services industry. PSC’s more than 400 member companies represent small, medium and large businesses that provide federal agencies with services of all kinds, including information technology, engineering, logistics, facilities management, operations and maintenance, consulting, international development, scientific, social, environmental services, and more. Together, the trade association’s members employ hundreds of thousands of Americans in all 50 states.
