IV.  Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department of Defense certifies 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. Its purpose is internal to the Government only by alerting Government quality-assurance activities to existing heightened surveillance requirements that are imposed by DoD requiring activities. The process for identifying an item as a critical safety item occurs entirely outside the acquisition process, as does the process of approving a source for production of a critical safety item. No comments from small entities were received in response to publication of the proposed rule.