§ 1204.909 Action under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Where a claim is to be acted upon pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act, action shall be taken in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 2672, such other provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act as may be applicable (see e.g., 28 U.S.C. 2680), and regulations prescribed by the Attorney General pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2672.

§ 1204.910 Investigation of claims.

The official designated in § 1204.808 shall conduct such investigation of a claim as he deems appropriate. Such official may request any NASA office or other Federal agency to assist in the investigation.

§ 1204.911 Claims requiring Department of Justice approval or consultation.

(a) When in the opinion of the official designated in § 1204.808(a), Department of Justice approval or consultation may be required, pursuant to 28 CFR 14.1-14.11, in connection with a claim being acted upon, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, at a field installation, the following papers shall be forwarded to the General Counsel:

(1) A short and concise statement of the facts of the claim;

(2) Copies of all relevant portions of the claim file;

(3) A statement of the recommendations or views of the forwarding official.

(b) A claim forwarded to the General Counsel in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, or upon which the General Counsel is acting pursuant to § 1204.808(b), shall be referred to the Department of Justice when, in the opinion of the General Counsel, Department of Justice approval or consultation is required or otherwise is appropriate.

§ 1204.912 Action on approved claims.

(a) Upon settlement of a claim, the official designated in § 1204.808 will prepare, and have executed by the claimant, a Voucher for Payment of Tort Claims (NASA Form 616), if the claim has been acted upon pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 2672(b)(13), or a Voucher for Payment under Federal Tort Claims

§ 1204.913 Required notification in the event of denial.

Final denial of a claim shall be in writing and shall be sent to the claimant, his attorney, or legal representative by certified or registered mail. The notification of final denial may include a statement of the reasons for the denial and shall include a statement that, if the claimant is dissatisfied with NASA's action, he may file suit in an appropriate U.S. District Court not later than 6 months after the date of mailing the notification. § 1204.914 Annual reports.

The Chief Counsel of each field installation shall, in February of each year, forward to the General Counsel, NASA Headquarters, a report providing the following information for each claim acted upon during the preceding calendar year: (a) The name of the claimant; (b) the amount of the claim; (c) the nature and alleged cause of the claimed injury or loss; (d) disposition of the claim, including grounds therefor.

§ 1204.915 Procedures for the handling of lawsuits against NASA employees arising out of their operation of motor vehicles in the course of their employment.

The following procedures shall be followed in the event that a civil action or proceeding is brought, in any court, against any employee of NASA (or against his estate); for injury or loss of property or personal injury or death, resulting from the employee's operation of a motor vehicle while acting within the scope of his office or employment:

(a) After being served with process or pleadings in such an action or proceeding, the employee (or the executor or administrator of his estate) shall immediately deliver all such process and pleadings or an attested true copy thereof, together with a fully detailed report of the circumstances of the accident giving rise to the court action or proceeding, to the following officials:

(1) The General Counsel insofar as actions or proceedings against employees of NASA Headquarters are concerned; or

(2) The Chief Counsel of the NASA installation at which the employee is employed, insofar as actions against other than NASA Headquarters employees are concerned.

(b) Upon receipt of such process and pleadings, the General Counsel or the Chief Counsel of the NASA installation receiving the same shall furnish to the U.S. attorney for the district embracing the place where the action or proceeding is brought and the Chief of the Torts Section, Civil Division, Department of Justice, the following:

(1) Copies of all such process and pleadings in the action or proceeding, promptly upon receipt thereof; and

(2) A report containing a statement of the circumstances of the incident giving rise to the action or proceeding, and all data bearing upon the question of whether the employee was acting within the scope of his office or employment with NASA at the time of the incident, at the earliest possible date, or within such time as shall be fixed by the U.S. attorney upon request.

(c) A Chief Counsel acting pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section shall submit the following documents to the General Counsel, who is hereby designated to receive such documents on behalf of the Administrator:

(1) Copies of all process and pleadings submitted to a U.S. attorney in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) In addition, where the action or proceeding is for damages in excess of $10,000, or where, in the opinion of the Chief Counsel, such action or proceeding involves a new precedent, a new point of law, or a question of policy, copies of reports and all other papers submitted to such U.S. Attorney.

Subpart 10-Inspection of Persons and Personal Effects on NASA Property

AUTHORITY: 42 U.S.C. 2455(a).

SOURCE: 36 FR 600, Jan 15, 1971, unless otherwise noted.

§ 1204.1000 Scope of subpart.

This subpart establishes NASA policy and prescribes certain minimum procedures concerning the inspection of persons and property in their possession on NASA installations.

§ 1204.1001 Policy.

In the interest of national security, NASA shall provide appropriate and adequate protection or security for facilities, property, and information in its possession or custody. In furtherance of this policy, NASA reserves the right to conduct an inspection of any person, including any property in his possession or control, as a condition of admission to or continued presence on any NASA installation.

§ 1204.1002 Responsibility.

The Director for each field installation, and the Director, Headquarters Administration Division for Headquarters, is responsible for implementing the provisions of this subpart when he determines that such action is necessary because of bomb threats, unexplained loss of Government property, or other unusual situations, for the

protection or security of the installation and the personnel and property therein. In the local implementation of this subpart, the Directors of NASA installations (and component installa

tions) located on Federal property

under the control of other agencies will coordinate their action with appropriate officials of the other agencies concerned.

[36 FR 600, Jan. 15, 1971, as amended at 43 FR 14008, Apr. 4, 1978]

§ 1204.1003 Procedures.

(a) All entrances to NASA installations shall be conspicuously posted with the following notice:

PURSUANT TO NASA REGULATIONS THE ENTRANCE OF INDIVIDUALS TO, OR THEIR CONTINUED PRESENCE ON, THIS INSTALLATION IS CONDITIONED UPON THEIR CONSENT TO INSPECTION OF THEIR PERSONS, AND OF PROPERTY IN THEIR POSSESSION OR CONTROL.

(b) Inspection pursuant to this subpart will be conducted only by NASA security personnel or members of the installation security patrol or guard force. Such inspections shall be conducted in accordance with guidelines established by the Director, Security Division.

(c) If an individual indicates that he does not consent to an inspection, it will not be carried out, and he will be denied admission to, or be escorted from, the installation.

(d) If, during an inspection, an individual is found to be in unauthorized possession of items believed to represent a threat to the safety or security of the installation, the individual shall be denied admission to or escorted from the installation and appropriate law enforcement authorities will be notified immediately.

(e) If, during an inspection conducted pursuant to this subpart, an individual is in possession of U.S. Government property without proper authorization, he shall be required to relinquish the property to the security representative conducting the inspection pending proper authorization for the possession of the property or its removal from the installation. The individual relinquishing the property shall be given a receipt therefor.

[36 FR 600, Jan. 15, 1971, as amended at 43 FR 14008, Apr. 4, 1978]

Subpart 11-[Reserved]

Subpart 12-Debriefing of Unsuccessful Companies in Competitive Negotiated Procurements

AUTHORITY: 42 U.S.C. 2473(b)(1).

§ 1204.1200 Scope of subpart.

This subpart sets forth NASA policy and procedures for debriefing unsuccessful proposers in competitive negotiated procurements.

[36 FR 16901, Aug. 26, 1971]

§ 1204.1201 Policy.

(a) It is NASA policy to provide a debriefing, when so requested in writing, to a company that has unsuccessfully competed for a NASA procurement. Such a debriefing is to inform the unsuccessful competitor of those areas of his proposal where he was judged to be weak or deficient; whether those weaknesses or deficiencies were factors in his not having been selected; and, importantly, also identify the factors which were the basis on which the successful contractor was selected. If the successful competitor was selected on the basis of the quality of his proposal to satisfy the mission requirement, the | unsuccessful firm should be told that, including a general comparison of significant areas, but not by engaging a point-by-point comparison of all elements considered in the evaluation criteria. If the successful competitor was selected on the basis of cost, the unsuccessful competitor should be told that such is the case. If the successful contractor was selected on the basis of other factors, those specific factors should be identified.

(b) If an unsuccessful proposer feels that his exclusion from the award was not justified, he will rely, at least in part, on the information given him in the debriefing to determine whether he should seek recourse against that exclusion. Accordingly, it is essential that debriefings be conducted in a scrupulously fair, objective, and impartial manner, and that the informa

tion given the company be absolutely factual and consistent with:

(1) The findings of the Source Evaluation Board and with the basis on which the Selection Official made his decision; or

(2) Where Source Evaluation Board procedures were not employed, the findings of the Contracting Officer and the basis on which he made his decision.

(c) The debriefing should not reveal: (1) Confidential business information, trade secrets, techniques, or processes of the other companies which competed for the contract;

(2) The relative merits or technical standing of the other unsuccessful competitors or the scoring of the Source Evaluation Board when such a Board was employed.

(d) The principles expressed in this subpart, except where relevant only to Source Evaluation Board procedures, apply to all NASA competitive negotiated procurements.

[36 FR 16901, Aug. 26, 1971]

§ 1204.1202 Procedures.

(a) Any NASA employee who receives from an unsuccessful proposer a request, written or oral, for a debriefing shall immediately refer that request to the official designated to coordinate debriefing matters at the cognizant field installation or headquarters office.

(b) When the designated installation official has received a request for a debriefing, he shall so inform other concerned officials at the installation and, in the case of procurement actions where the Administrator was the Selection Official, cognizant NASA headquarters personnel.

(c) Debriefings are to be conducted by senior NASA officials. In cases where the selection has been made by the Administrator, the Associate Administrator for Organization and Management wi" designate an official familiar withe rationale for the selection to conduct the debriefing, with participation by cognizant field installation personnel. Similarly, in cases where the selection has been made by the field installation Director or a headquarters staff or program office head, the Director or office head shall

designate an official and necessary supporting staff to perform the debriefing. In cases where formal Source Evaluation Board procedures have not been applied, the installation Procurement Officer or his designee shall perform the debriefing.

(d) Where a company has been an unsuccessful competitor in a negotiated NASA procurement and submits, prior to the award of the contract, a written request for a debriefing, such a debriefing will be provided at the earliest feasible time after announcement of the selection decision and prior to award of contract. "Selection decision" means the final selection of the one successful contractor of the contractors where more than one contract is to be awarded.

[36 FR 16901, Aug. 26, 1971]

Subpart 13-Cost Sharing on Research Grants and Contracts

AUTHORITY: 42 U.S.C. 2473. § 1204.1300 Scope.

This Subpart 1204.13 sets forth the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) basic policy guidelines governing cost sharing on research grants and contracts with non-Federal organizations.

[36 FR 20219, Oct. 19, 1971]

§ 1204.1301 Basic guidelines.

(a) When cost sharing is applicable. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, cost sharing by non-Federal organizations is mandatory in any grant or contract for basic or applied research which results from an unsolicited proposal.

(2) Cost sharing by non-Federal organizations shall be encouraged in any grant or contract for basic or applied research which does not result from an unsolicited proposal but in which the parties nevertheless have considerable mutual interest in the research (e.g., when it is probable that the performing organization or institution I will receive significant future benefits from the research, such as: increased technical knowledge useful in future operations; additional technical or scientific expertise or training for its per

sonnel; opportunity to benefit through patent rights; and the use of background knowledge in future production contracts).

(3) Cost sharing by non-Federal organizations which is not otherwise appropriate under paragraph (a)(1) or (2) of this section may nevertheless be accepted when voluntarily offered by a performing organization.

(b) When cost sharing is not applicable.

(1) Except when cost sharing is mandatory pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of this section, it is not applicable to grants or contracts as to which the grants officer or contracting officer has determined that:

(i) The research effort has only minor relevance to the non-Federal activities of the performing organization, which is proposing to undertake the research primarily as a service to the Government; or

(ii) The performing organization has little or no non-Federal sources of funds from which to make a cost contribution; or

(iii) The performing organization is predominantly engaged in research and development and has little or no production or other service activities and is, therefore, not in a favorable position to make a cost contribution;

or

(iv) Payment of the full cost of the project is necessary in order to obtain the services of the particular organization.

(2) Except when specifically directed by the procurement officer of the installation concerned, or when volun

tarily offered by the performing organization, cost sharing is not applicable to:

(i) Contracts for projects whose particular research objective or scope of effort is specified by NASA rather than proposed by the performing organization. This will usually include any formal solicitation for a specific contractual requirement.

or

(ii) Contracts in which the principal purpose is the production of, design, testing or improvement of products, materials, devices, systems, or methods.

(3) Cost sharing is not applicable to contracts for basic or applied research resulting from an unsolicited proposal

when the proposer certifies in writing to the contracting officer that it has no commercial, production, educational, or service activities on which to use the results of the research; and that it has no means of recovering any cost sharing on such projects. In this situation, where there is no measurable gain to the performing organization, there is, therefore, no mutuality of interest, and it would not be equitable for the Government to require cost sharing.

(c) Amount of cost sharing— (1) Educational institutions and affiliated not for profit institutions. Cost sharing for such institutions normally may vary from 1 percent to as much as 5 percent of the costs of the project. However, amounts greater than 5 percent may be accepted when voluntarily offered by the institution.

(2) Other performing organizations. Cost sharing for other organizations may vary from less than 1 percent to 50 percent or more of the costs of the research.