III.  Regulatory Flexibility Act

The change may 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 Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) is summarized as follows:

The Administrator of the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy requested that DoD, GSA, and NASA amend the FAR to provide preliminary implementation of section 1331 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Jobs Act).

DoD, GSA, and NASA are amending the FAR to implement the authority to (1) set aside part or parts of a multiple-award contract for small business concerns; (2) set aside orders placed against multiple-award contracts, including Federal Supply Schedules, for small business concerns; and (3) reserve one or more contract awards under full and open multiple-award procurements, for small business concerns.

The objective of this rule is to provide an additional tool for agencies to increase opportunities for small business to compete in the Federal marketplace. The statutory authority for this action is Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-240, 15 U.S.C. 644(r).

This rule may have a significant positive economic impact on any small business entity that wishes to participate in the Federal procurement arena. Analysis of the Central Contractor Registration database indicates there are over 351,203 small business registrants that can potentially benefit from the implementation of this rule.

This rule does not impose any new reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements. The rule does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any other Federal rules.

The Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting a copy of the IRFA to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. A copy of the IRFA may be obtained from the Regulatory Secretariat. DoD, GSA, and NASA invite comments from small business concerns and other interested parties on the expected impact of this rule on small entities.

DoD, GSA, and NASA will also consider comments from small entities concerning the existing regulations in subparts affected by this rule in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 610. Interested parties must submit such comments separately and should cite 5 U.S.C. 610 (FAC 2005-54, FAR Case 2011-024) in correspondence.