IV.  Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., applies to this rule. DoD prepared a final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) that is summarized as follows:

The objective of this rule is to implement section 1038 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Pub. L. 111-84). This statute provides that no enemy prisoner of war, civilian internee, retained personnel, other detainee, or any other individual who is in the custody or under the effective control of DoD, or otherwise under detention in a DoD facility in connection with hostilities, may be interrogated by contractor personnel. It also allows the Secretary of Defense to waive the prohibition for a limited period of time, with limited redelegation authority, if determined necessary to the national security interests of the United States.

In Fiscal Year 2009, the latest year for which complete information is available, DoD awarded contracts for intelligence-related requirements to only 255 unique Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) numbers. Of this total, there were 143 unique DUNS numbers for small business concerns.

This rule only prescribes policies that prohibit interrogation of detainees by contractor personnel. DoD anticipates that there will be no additional costs imposed on small businesses.

There is no reporting or recordkeeping requirement established by this rule. This rule does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any other Federal rules.

Interested parties may obtain a copy of the FRFA from the point of contact named herein. A copy of the FRFA has been submitted to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.