III.  Regulatory Flexibility Act

DoD expects this rule to have a significant positive economic impact on all small entities within the meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because it extends accelerated payments to all small business concerns. An initial regulatory flexibility analysis has been completed and is summarized as follows:

This interim rule revises DFARS 232.903 and 232.906(a)(ii) to allow accelerated payments to all small business concerns. This rule allows DoD to exercise greater flexibility offered by 5 CFR 1315.5 and FAR 32.903 which permit the use of accelerated payment procedures for small business concerns.

Analysis of the Federal Procurement Data System indicates that approximately 60,000 small businesses had active contracts in Fiscal Year 2010. It is reasonable to assume a similar number of small businesses will be positively affected by the use of accelerated payment procedures.

There are no information collection requirements associated with this rule. This rule does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any other Federal rules.

The desired outcome is best achieved by the implementation of the rule as stated herein and there are no other alternatives available to achieve the desired outcome. This rule is expected to have a positive impact on small entities.

DoD invites comments from small business concerns and other interested parties on the expected impact of this rule on small entities.

DoD 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 (DFARS Case 2011-D008) in correspondence.