PubKLaw™

Competitive Sourcing Items of Interest

OMB-Notice of Public Availability of Agency Inventory of Activities That Are Not Inherently Governmental and of Activities That Are inherently governmental, 73 Fed. Reg. 34349, June 17, 2008.
SUMMARY: The Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act, Public Law 105Ð270, requires agencies to develop inventories each year of activities performed by their employees that are not inherently governmentalÑ i.e., inventories of commercial activities. The FAIR Act further requires OMB to review the inventories in consultation with the agencies and publish a notice of public availability in the Federal Register after the consultation process is completed. In accordance with the FAIR Act, OMB is publishing this notice to announce the availability of inventories from the agencies listed below. These inventories identify both commercial activities and activities that are inherently governmental.
This is the first release of the FAIR Act inventories for FY 2007. Interested parties who disagree with the agency’s initial judgment may present a challenge to the agency regarding the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental within 30 working days and, if not satisfied with this review, may appeal to a higher level within the agency.
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy has made available a FAIR Act User’s Guide through its Internet site: http:// www.whitehouse.gov/omb/ procurement/fair-index.html. This User’s Guide will help interested parties review FY 2007 FAIR Act inventories.

March 11, 2008 MEMORANDUM FOR CHIEF ACQUISITION OFFICERS
FROM: Paul A. Denett Administrator
SUBJECT: Guidance on Agency Fiscal Year 2007 Strategic Sourcing Reports
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) continues to focus on strategic sourcing as a sound business principle that should be applied wherever possible. OMB’s memorandum of May 20, 2005, requires Chief Acquisition Officers to develop collaborative strategic sourcing plans and to report on implementation strategies for sourcing goods and services more effectively. Guidance on the content and format of the report is provided below.

OMB-Performance of Commercial Activities, 73 Fed. Reg. 14856, March 19, 2008.
SUMMARY: OMB is updating the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor used to compute the estimated cost of government performance in publicprivate competitions conducted pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76. The civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor is comprised of four separate elements: (1) Insurance and health benefits, (2) standard civilian retirement benefits, (3) Medicare benefits, and (4) miscellaneous fringe benefits. OMB is updating the insurance and health benefits and standard civilian retirement benefits cost elements based on actuarial analyses provided by the Office of Personnel Management.
    OMB is also updating the annual Federal pay raise assumptions and inflation cost factors used for computing the government’s personnel and nonpay costs in Circular A-76 publicprivate competitions. These annual pay raise assumptions and inflation factors are based on the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2009.
Dates: Effective date: These changes are effective immediately and shall apply to all public-private competitions performed in accordance with OMB Circular A-76, as revised in May 2003, where the performance decision has not been certified by the government before this date.

OFPP Memo M-08-13, March 11, 2008.
SUBJECT Update to Civilian Position Full Fringe Benefit Cost Factor, Federal Pay Raise Assumptions, and Inflation Factors used in OMB Circular No. A-76, “Performance of Commercial Activities”

SUBJECT: Report to Congress on FY 2007 Competitive Sourcing Efforts, October 31, 2007, M-08-02, MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES FROM: Paul A. Denett Administrator

OMB-Public Availability of Fiscal Year 2006 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act, 72 Fed. Reg. 52399, September 13, 2007.
SUMMARY: The Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act, Public Law 105Ð270, requires agencies to develop inventories each year of activities performed by their employees that are not inherently governmentalÑ i.e., inventories of commercial activities. The FAIR Act further requires OMB to review the inventories in consultation with the agencies and publish a notice of public availability in the Federal Register after the consultation process is completed. In accordance with the FAIR Act, OMB is publishing this notice to announce the availability of inventories from the agencies listed below. These inventories identify both commercial activities and activities that are inherently governmental.
   This is the third and final release of the FAIR Act inventories for FY 2006. Interested parties who disagree with the agency’s initial judgment may challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental within 30 working days and, if not satisfied with this review, may appeal to a higher level within the agency.

OMB-Public Availability of Fiscal Year 2006 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act, 72 Fed. Reg. 38548, July 13, 2007.
SUMMARY: The Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act, Public Law 105-270, requires agencies to develop inventories each year of activities performed by their employees that are not inherently governmental- i.e., inventories of commercial activities. The FAIR Act further requires OMB to review the inventories in consultation with the agencies and publish a notice of public availability in the Federal Register after the consultation process is completed. In accordance with the FAIR Act, OMB is publishing this notice to announce the availability of inventories from the agencies listed below. These inventories identify both commercial activities and activities that are inherently governmental.
      This is the second release of the FAIR Act inventories for FY 2006. Interested parties who disagree with the agency’s initial judgment may challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental within 30 working days and, if not satisfied with this review, may appeal to a higher level within the agency.

OMB-Public Availability of Fiscal Year 2006 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act, 72 Fed. Reg. 24340, May 02, 2007.
SUMMARY: The Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act, Public Law 105-270, requires agencies to develop inventories each year of activities performed by their employees that are not inherently governmental- i.e., inventories of commercial activities. The FAIR Act further requires OMB to review the inventories in consultation with the agencies and publish a notice of public availability in the Federal Register after the consultation process is completed. In accordance with the FAIR Act, OMB is publishing this notice to announce the availability of inventories from the agencies listed below. These inventories identify both commercial activities and activities that are inherently governmental.
  This is the first release of the FAIR Act inventories for FY 2006. Interested parties who disagree with the agency’s initial judgment may challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental within 30 working days and, if not satisfied with this review, may appeal to a higher level within the agency.

OMB, Performance of Commercial Activities, Update to civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor, Federal pay raise assumptions, inflation factors, and tax rates used in OMB Circular No. A-76, “Performance of Commercial Activities.” 71 Fed. Reg. 64320, November 01, 2006.
SUMMARY: OMB is updating the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor used to compute the estimated cost of government performance in publicprivate competitions conducted pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76. The civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor is comprised of four separate elements: (1) Insurance and health benefits, (2) standard civilian retirement benefits, (3) Medicare benefits, and (4) miscellaneous fringe benefits. OMB is updating the insurance and health benefits and standard civilian retirement benefits cost elements based on actuarial analyses provided by the Office of Personnel Management.
OMB is also updating the annual Federal pay raise assumptions and inflation cost factors used for computing the government’s personnel and nonpay costs in Circular A-76 publicprivate competitions. These annual pay raise assumptions and inflation factors are based on the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2007. The tax rate tables used in connection with Circular A-76 competitions have also been revised. 2
DATES: Effective date: These changes are effective immediately and shall apply to all public-private competitions performed in accordance with OMB Circular A-76, as revised in May 2003, where the performance decision has not been certified by the government before this date.

COMPETITIVE SOURCING, Report on the Use of Best Value Tradeoffs in Public-Private Competitions, April 2006.
Section 842 of the Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, FY 2006, P.L. 109-115, precludes an agency from converting work currently performed by more than 10 federal employees to private sector performance absent a showing, through competition, that performance by a contractor would be less costly to the agency by an amount that equals or exceeds the lesser of 10 percent of the personnel-related costs associated with performance by the agency’s most efficient organization (MEO) or $10 million. Under section 842, an agency may not convert work to private sector performance if this differential is not met, even if the agency can demonstrate that private sector performance would provide a superior solution, considering both cost and quality. In the absence of section 842, OMB Circular A-76 would authorize an agency to consider this conversion, but only if certain procedures are followed to ensure an impartial and properly justified decision.
   In passing section 842, the Conferees requested that OMB advise them of the impact of this section “on the Federal government’s ability to obtain value for the taxpayer, both in terms of cost and quality, through the use of competitive sourcing.” The Conference report states that this information will be considered by the Conferees in deciding whether this restriction should be continued in FY 2007.
   This report discusses the impact of section 842. As the report explains, OMB believes the limitation in section 842 inappropriately precludes taxpayers from receiving significant benefits generated by public-private competition. For the reasons stated below, section 842 should be repealed, or at least modified to permit decisions on the basis of both cost and quality.

OMB-Public Availability of Fiscal Year 2005 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act, 71 Fed. Reg. 13188, March 14, 2006.
SUMMARY: The Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act, Public Law 105-270, requires agencies to develop inventories each year of activities performed by their employees that are not inherently governmental - i.e., inventories of commercial activities. The FAIR Act further requires OMB to review the inventories in consultation with the agencies and publish a notice of public availability in the Federal Register after the consultation process is completed. In accordance with the FAIR Act, OMB is publishing this notice to announce the availability of inventories from the agencies listed below. These inventories identify both commercial activities and activities that are inherently governmental.
This is the first release of the FAIR Act inventories for FY 2005. Interested parties who disagree with the agency’s initial judgment may challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental within 30 working days and, if not satisfied with this review, may appeal to a higher level within the agency.

OMB-Performance of Commercial Activities, 70 FR 44130, August 01, 2005.
SUMMARY: OMB is updating the annual federal pay raise assumptions and inflation cost factors used for computing the government’s personnel and nonpay costs in public-private competitions conducted pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76. These annual pay raise assumptions and inflation factors are based on the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2006. OMB is also providing notice of an update to “COMPARE,” the costing software agencies use when conducting public-private competitions.
DATES: Effective date: These changes are effective immediately and shall apply to all public-private competitions performed in accordance with OMB Circular A-76, as revised in May 2003, where the performance decision has not been certified by the government before this date.

OFPP Releases Revised Inventory Guidance, May 26, 2005. This week, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) released revised guidance for the workforce inventory submissions process, commonly referred to as “FAIR Act guidance.” The guidance clarifies the workforce inventory process by explaining how agencies can best apply classifications, such as “inherently governmental,” “commercial,” or “suitable for competition,” to functions performed by its workforce. Agencies are required by statute to submit workforce inventories annually to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The guidance also notes that agencies have discretion when classifying commercial functions performed by disabled individuals. The guidance specifically notes that agencies may categorize these functions as unsuitable for competition.

OMB Promotes Use of Strategic Sourcing in Acquisitions May 25, 2005.—The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a memorandum requiring agencies to leverage the government’s buying power by applying strategic sourcing principles to acquisitions. Strategic sourcing is the collaborative and structured process of analyzing an organization’s spending and using the information to develop strategies that reduce the purchase price for goods.

Agency Chief Acquisition Officers (CAOs) will lead the government-wide strategic sourcing initiative in coordination with agency Chief Financial Officers, Chief Information Officers, agency small business advocates, and other organization leaders. CAOs will spearhead agency efforts to analyze spending data, identify high-volume commodity purchases, and develop strategies to minimize acquisition prices for each agency.[Go directly to Memorandum]

Public Availability of Fiscal Year 2004 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-270) (“FAIR Act”), 70 FR 22930, May 03, 2005.
Summary: In accordance with the FAIR Act, agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental are now available to the public from the agencies listed below. The FAIR Act requires that OMB publish an announcement of public availability of agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental upon completion of OMB’s review and consultation process concerning the content of the agencies’ inventory submissions. After review and consultation with OMB, agencies make their inventories available to the public, and these inventories also include activities that are inherently governmental. This is the fourth and final release of the FAIR Act inventories for FY 2004. Interested parties who disagree with the agency’s initial judgment can challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental within 30 working days and, if not satisfied with this review, may demand a higher agency review/ appeal.
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy has made available a FAIR Act User’s Guide through its Internet site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/procurement/fair-index.html. This User’s Guide will help interested parties review FY 2004 FAIR Act inventories, and gain access to agency inventories through agency Web site addresses.

Public Availability of Fiscal Year 2004 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-270) (“FAIR Act”), 70 FR 12024-12025, March 10, 2005
SUMMARY: Notice of public availability of agency inventory of activities that are not inherently governmental and of activities that are inherently governmental.

OMB-Public Availability of Fiscal Year 2004 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-270) (“FAIR Act”), 70 FR 2907, January 18, 2005.
Summary: In accordance with the FAIR Act, agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental are now available to the public from the agencies listed below. The FAIR Act requires that OMB publish an announcement of public availability of agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental upon completion of OMB’s review and consultation process concerning the content of the agencies’ inventory submissions. After review and consultation with OMB, agencies make their inventories available to the public, and these inventories also include activities that are inherently governmental. This is the second release of the FAIR Act inventories for FY 2004. Interested parties who disagree with the agency’s initial judgment can challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental within 30 working days and, if not satisfied with this review, may demand a higher agency review/appeal. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy has made available a FAIR Act User’s Guide through its Internet site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/procurement/fair-index.html. This User’s Guide will help interested parties review FY 2004 FAIR Act inventories, and gain access to agency inventories through agency Web site addresses.

DOD Memo to OMB Regarding §8014(a)(3) of 2005 Defense Appropriations Act, November 12, 2004. DOD voices its support for repeal of the Defense Appropriation Act provision that relates to employee health benefits in competitive sourcing situations.

Public Availability of Year 2004 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-270) (“FAIR Act”), 69 FR 67372, November 17, 2004.
Summary: In accordance with the “Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998” (Pub. L. 105-270) (“FAIR Act”), agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental are now available to the public from the agencies listed below. The FAIR Act requires that OMB publish an announcement of public availability of agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental upon completion of OMB’s review and consultation process concerning the content of the agencies’ inventory submissions. After review and consultation with OMB, agencies make their inventories available to the public, and these inventories also include activities that are inherently governmental. This is the first release of the 2004 FAIR Act inventories. Interested parties who disagree with the agency’s initial judgment can challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental within 30 working days and, if not satisfied with this review, may demand a higher agency review/appeal.

Report to Congress on FY 2004 Competitive Sourcing Efforts, OMB Memorandum M05-01, October 15, 2004. OMB Guidance for reporting FY 2004 competitive sourcing results to Congress. With attachments.

DEPOT MAINTENANCE DOD Needs Plan to Ensure Compliance with Public- and Private-Sector Funding Allocation, GAO Report 04-871, September 29, 2004
GAO recommends that DOD have a plan to mitigate the potential for exceeding the 50 percent privatesector funding threshold and improve the 50-50 data collection and reporting process so that the 50-50 reports submitted to the Congress are more useful to decision makers. DOD commented on a draft of this report. DOD concurred with the recommendations and cited actions it will take to implement the recommendations.

OMB-Report on Competitive Sourcing, FY 2003, May 2004.
Executive Summary Section 647(b) of the Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, FY 2004 (Division F of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 108-199) requires agencies to report annually on their competitive sourcing efforts. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepared this summary to highlight results achieved from the application of competitive sourcing (i.e., public-private competition) to the commercial activities of agencies tracked by the President's Management Agenda. The report describes promising trends and steps that will be taken to improve results where weaknesses have been identified.

A snapshot of agency efforts undertaken in FY 2003 indicates that competitive sourcing is producing positive results. This activity has generated a projected net savings of $1.1 billion, to be achieved over the next three to five years. This equates to a net savings of about $12,000 per full-time equivalent employee (FTE) competed, or a cost reduction (avoidance) of approximately 15 percent.

Public Availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-270) (“FAIR Act”), 69 FR 30341, May 27, 2004.
ACTION: Notice of public availability of agency inventory of activities that are not inherently governmental and of activities that are inherently governmental.

New Guide Released to Support the Successful Management of Competitive Sourcing March 05, 2004. (Cover letter.), The Federal Acquisition Council (FAC), in collaboration with the Office of Management and Budget, has published a list of best practices to help agency officials manage their competitive sourcing efforts in the most strategic and results-oriented manner possible. The best practices, included in an update to the Manager's Guide to Competitive Sourcing, reflect the Administration's commitment to the long-term success of public-private competition as a resource tool for improving performance and decreasing costs to taxpayers. Federal Acquisition Council Manager's Guide to Competitive Sourcing

COMPETITIVE SOURCING-Greater Emphasis Needed on Increasing Efficiency and Improving Performance, GAO Report No. GAO-04-367, February, 2004. GAO is making three recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to help agencies (1) ensure greater consistency in classifying positions as either inherently governmental or commercial, (2) identify functional areas for competition, and (3) focus competition plans more on desired outcomes.

Competitive Sourcing Policy: More Sail Than Rudder by Steven L. Schooner and Governance by Contract: Constitutional Visions; Time for Reflection and Choice by Dan Guttman. Two new draft papers from the September 2003 GWU Competitive Sourcing Symposium are now available from the Social Science Network. Final versions will be published in the next Public Contract Law Journal. While most list members are familiar with the renown Professor Schooner, they may not be as familiar with Dan Guttman except for his shadow workforce writings. See Shadowboxer for more details on Mr. Guttman.

Public Availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-270) (“FAIR Act”), 69 FR 3401, January 23, 2003. PDF version.
Summary: In accordance with the FAIR Act, agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental are now available to the public from the agencies listed below for FY 2003. The FAIR Act requires that OMB publish each fiscal year an announcement of public availability of agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental. After review and consultation with OMB, agencies are required to make their inventories available to the public. Agencies have also included activities that are inherently governmental. This is the second release of the FAIR Act inventories for FY 2003. Interested parties who disagree with the agency's initial judgment can challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental and, if not satisfied with this review, may demand a higher agency review/appeal.

OMB-Public Availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-270) ("FAIR Act"), 68 FR 65744, November 21, 2003.
Summary: In accordance with the FAIR Act, agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental are now available to the public from the agencies listed below for FY 2003. Each fiscal year, the FAIR Act requires that OMB publish an announcement of public availability of agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental. After review and consultation with OMB, agencies are required to make their inventories available to the public. Agencies have also included activities that are inherently governmental. This is the first release of the FAIR Act inventories for FY 2003. Interested parties who disagree with the agency’s initial judgment can challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental and, if not satisfied with this review, may demand a higher agency review/appeal.

COMPETITIVE SOURCING-Supplement, September 2003. Agency Activities, A Supplement to the July 2003 OMB Report subtitled “Conducting Public-Private Competition in a Reasoned and Responsible Manner.”

ABA Section of Public Contract Law Bid Protest Committee's White Paper on "Bid Protests by Government Entities Under OMB Circular A-76", August 2003. [The paper has not been approved by the Council of the Section of Public Contract Law or by the ABA House of Delegates and does not represent the position of the Section or the ABA.] The General Accounting Office (“GAO”) published a notice (“the GAO Notice”) in the Federal Register soliciting comments on recent revisions to the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76, Performance of Commercial Activities (“the Circular”). 68 Fed. Reg 35,411-413 (June 13, 2003). The GAO Notice solicited comments “regarding two key legal questions, namely, whether the revisions made to the Circular affect the standing of an in-house entity to file a bid protest” and “who would have the representational capacity to file such a protest.” The White paper addresses these issues.

Technical correction to Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-76, “Performance of Commercial Activities.” 68 FR 48961, August 15, 2003. PDF Version.
Summary:The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is making a technical correction to the coverage in Attachment A of Circular No. A- 76 addressing the submission of a challenge to an agency's inventory of its commercial and inherently governmental activities. The technical correction is intended to clarify that an interested party may challenge the inclusion or exclusion of an activity in an inventory, including the classification or reclassification of an activity. This action makes no other changes to the revised Circular.
DATES: Effective Date: This technical correction to Circular A-76 is effective August 15, 2003.

Testimony-Competitive Sourcing: Implementation Will Be Challenging for Federal Agencies, by David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. GAO-03-1022T, July 24

COMPETITIVE SOURCING, July 2003. OMB paper subtitled “Conducting Public-Private Competition in a Reasoned and Responsible Manner.”

DOD Faces Challenges Implementing Its Core Competency Approach and A-76 Competitions, GAO Report GAO-03-818, July 15, 2003.GAO is recommending that DOD clarify its expectations for sourcing decisions based on core competency assessment results and provide guidance on additional factors that should be considered in reaching a sourcing decision; and ensure that conversion of functions from performance by military to government civilian or contractor personnel have clearly identified sources of funding to support those decisions.

Competitive Sourcing: Implementation Is Key to Success of New Circular A-76, Testimony by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the House Committee on Government Reform. GAO-03-943T, June 26, 2003.

Revision to Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-76, “Performance of Commercial Activities.”, 68 FR 32134, May 29, 2003. PDF version of Federal Register Notice.            (Full text of revised circular-1.3 M PDF file.)
SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is making revisions to Circular No. A-76 to improve the management of commercial activities. The revisions: (1) Strengthen application of public-private competition, so agencies may realize improved performance of commercial activities, especially those that are performed by government personnel without competition or converted to contract without consideration of the government's capabilities; (2) incorporate additional principles of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) into the public-private competition process, including the ability to conduct an expanded best value cost-technical tradeoff source selection process; (3) make agencies accountable to taxpayers for results achieved from public- private competitions, irrespective of the source or sector that performs the work; and (4) provide guidance for the transparent development of inventories of commercial and inherently governmental activities.
The revised Circular replaces the current OMB Circular No. A-76. The revised Circular also supersedes and rescinds the following documents: OMB Circular No. A-76 Revised Supplemental Handbook (Revised 2000), March 1996; OMB Circular No. A-76 Transmittal Memoranda Nos. 1- 25; and Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Policy Letter 92-1, Inherently Governmental Functions, September 23, 1992.
DATES: Effective Date: This revised Circular is effective May 29, 2003.
Applicability: The revised Circular shall apply to inventories required, and streamlined and standard competitions initiated, after the effective date. Direct conversions and cost comparisons, including streamlined cost comparisons, initiated but not completed by the effective date shall be covered by the revised Circular to the following extent. Direct conversions and streamlined cost comparisons shall be converted to streamlined or standard competitions under the revised Circular. Cost comparisons for which solicitations have not been issued before the effective date shall be converted to standard competitions under the revised Circular or, at the agency's discretion if permitted by the revised Circular, to streamlined competitions. The Circular in effect prior to this revision shall govern cost comparisons for which solicitations have been issued, unless agencies, at their discretion, convert such cost comparisons to standard competitions under the revised Circular, or, if permitted by the revised Circular, to streamlined competitions.

Public Availability of Year 2002 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-270) (“FAIR Act”). OMB, 68 FR 13339, March 19, 2003. PDF Verrsion

Comments on Proposed Revision to OMB Circular A-76 On OMB's web site

GAO's Comments on the Proposed Revisions to OMB Circular A-76, Letter from the Comptroller General to OMB, January 16, 2003. GAO's comments include “...the absence of a link between sourcing policy and agency missions, unnecessarily complicated source selection procedures, certain unrealistic time frames, and insufficient guidance on calculating savings.”

Public Availability of Year 2002 Agency Inventories Under the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998, 67 FR 72987, December 09, 2002.
SUMMARY: Agency inventories of activities that are not inherently governmental are now available to the public from the agencies listed below, in accordance with the "Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998" (Public Law 105-270) ("FAIR Act"). Agency inventories of activities that are inherently governmental are also now available to the public from the agencies listed below.

Draft of New A-76 Circular, November 14, 2002

Commercial Activites Panel Final Report Released. May 01, 2002. The report and a separate summary are available from the GAO website at :http://www.gao.gov/a76panel/index.html The report is a large 4MB file. Hard copies are available by calling 202-512-6000, and asking for CAP-02-01.