IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration certify that this final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities within the meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq. The interim rule removed requirements relating to subcontracts for COTS items. In the case of commercial items, the requirement extends only to the first-tier subcontracts. This rule will impact small entities that are awarded a lower-tier subcontract for a non-COTS item that exceeds $30,000, in that these entities must now disclose to the higher-tier subcontractor whether they are debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment.

Although a substantial number of small entities may be impacted by this rule, the impact is not significant. It will probably take only minimal time to include the required information with an offer. For the other impact of the rule, which will require the higher-tier subcontractor to provide an explanation if desiring to subcontract with an entity that has been debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment, DoD, GSA, and NASA have determined that this will not impact a substantial number of small entities, because it should be a rare occurrence that a subcontractor would potentially jeopardize performance or integrity by knowingly contracting with an entity that is debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment. No public comments were received with regard to the impact of this rule on small entities.