tirely outside the United States and Federal Supply Schedule orders; (2) An estimate of the total dollar value of all prime contracts having a value of $10,000 or more to be awarded during the fiscal year, including contracts to non-profit organizations, educational institutions, all transportation services and real property leases. Do not include foreign military sales, contracts to be awarded and performed entirely outside the United States and Federal Supply Schedule orders; (3) A goal for prime contract awards valued at $10,000 or more to be made to small business concerns during the fiscal year, expressed in dollars and as a percentage of paragraph (a)(2) of this section; (4) A goal for prime contract awards to be made to the Small Business Administration under the authority of Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, as amended, expressed in dollars and as a percentage of paragraph (a)(1) of this section; (5) A goal for prime contract awards valued at $10,000 or more to be made to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, expressed in dollars and as a percentage of paragraph (a)(2) of this section; (6) A goal for prime contract awards to be made to small business concerns owned and controlled by women, expressed in dollars and as a percentage of paragraph (a)(1) of this section; (7) A goal for prime contract awards to business concerns in Labor Surplus Areas (LSA) on the basis of set-asides, expressed in dollars and as a percentage of paragraph (a)(1) of this section. (This includes all categories of LSA set-asides authorized by Pub. L. 96302); (8) An estimate of the total dollar amount of subcontracts to be awarded by "reporting prime contractors" (as identified in Standard Form 295) during the fiscal year; (9) A goal for subcontracts to be awarded by prime contractors to small business concerns, expressed in dollars and as a percentage of paragraph (a)(8) of this section; and (10) A goal for subcontracts to be awarded by prime contractors to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, expressed in dollars and as a percentage of paragraph (a)(8) of this section. (b) The information developed in paragraph (a) shall include a detailed written presentation of the method used to establish the estimates and goals submitted pursuant to paragraphs (a) (1) through (10) of this section, along with copies of the historical, empirical data upon which the estimates and goals are based. Information about the types, kinds and amounts of goods and services brought and the numbers and types of contracts involved in the estimates submitted pursuant to paragraphs (a) (3) through (10) of this section is required. This information is needed to realistically evaluate the estimates and the goals related thereto. In establishing subcontracting goals, identification and justification should be provided for each class of contracts and the projected total value thereof determined to have little or no subcontract possibilities. Similarly, in establishing goals for prime contract awards to small or small disadvantaged firms, contracts which have no potential for award to such firms, including the projected value thereof, should be identified. (c) All goals are expressed in terms of dollars and percentages. However, if there is any significant variance, up or down, from the estimates in paragraph (a) (1) or (2) of this section, upon which the goals are established, the percentage goal is the controlling factor and will be used to measure actual attainment. (d) Section 221 of Pub. L. 95-507 reserves all small purchases with certain exceptions for small business and requires that goals be established for awards over $10,000 to small and small disadvantaged business. Thus, the goals under paragraphs (a) (3) and (5) of this section do not include awards under $10,000. (e) Fiscal year goals are expected to reflect measurable improvement over an agency's performance in the previous fiscal year. Justification for establishing a goal lower than the achievement attained should be docu mented in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section. [49 FR 12120, Mar. 28, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 14198, Apr. 10, 1985] 419.201-73 Reports. (a) The Director, OSDBU, shall be responsible for submitting reports concerning the Department's progress and achievements in the procurement preference program. Data for these reports shall be obtained from the USDA Procurement Reporting System (UPRS). Subcontracting data, however, cannot be retrieved from UPRS and shall be reported in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section. (b) Contracting activities shall collect, summarize, and submit subcontracting data elements to the Director, OSDBU. The data are to be reported quarterly for other than commercial products and annually for commercial products for contract awards in excess of $500,000 ($1 million for construction). Reports shall be submitted each quarter in the format of the Standard Form 295. An additional data form will be required in the fourth quarter for the annual report on commercial products. To ensure accurate and timely reporting, contracting activities shall perform the following: (1) Submit the SF-295 on a contractor-by-contractor basis 30 calendar days following the end of the first, second, and third quarters and 45 days following the end of the fourth quarter. (2) Edit all forms (data) prior to their submission. Forms must be completed in all fields of the "Cumulative Commitments" and "Subcontract Goal Achievement." OSDBU will not assume that a blank field is a zero. Forms not fully completed will be returned. Contracting officers should communicate with the prime contractor's representative to ensure that consistent, accurate and timely data are submitted. (3) In the "Cumulative Commitment" block, many contractors are reporting each quarter only those awards occurring in that quarter. OSDBU will return quarterly reports on which the awards reported are less than those submitted on the previous quarter of the same fiscal year. Totals must add up to exactly 100 percent. The sum of line 9 must be the sum only of lines 9a and 9b. All dollar figures should be in whole numbers and not in thousands. (4) In the "Subcontract Goal Achievement" block, the column headed "No. of Contracts" must reflect the number of contracts and subcontracts valued over $500,000 ($1 million for construction) which have subcontracting plans and goals. Delete the three zeros (000) in the "S Value of Subcontracts" column. The percentage of actual goal achievement reported on line 12b must always be 100 percent or higher and on line 12c must always be lower than 100 percent. The same applies for lines 13b and 13c. (5) Items in lines 12 and 13 do not apply to company-wide annual subcontracting plans for commercial products. Accomplishments for these type plans are reported in line 14. The information reported must summarize all Federal contracts for commercial products performed during the year and the share of the total attributable to USDA from which contracts for such commercial products were received (c) Explanatory comments concerning shortfalls in meeting procurement preference program goals established in accordance with 419.201-72 shall be summitted to the Director, OSDBU. Reports may be submitted in a narrative format and shall contain appropriate justifications for the goal shortfall(s). Achievements shall be based upon official AD-760 and SF-281 data as recorded in UPRS. Reports shall be submitted no later than November 20 of each fiscal year. 419.202 Specific policies. 419.202-70 Specific policies relating to small businesses. OSDBU Coordinators shall take positive actions to ensure maximum participation of small business concerns in proposed acquisitions. These actions shall include: (1) Developing a plan of operation to increase the share of contracts awarded to small business and LSA concerns; (2) Reviewing the types and classes of items and services to be purchased to determine the applicability of small business and LSA set-aside priorities prescribed in 419.504(a); (3) Developing adequate small business and/or LSA competition on all appropriate contract requirements; (4) Making maximum utilization of SBA's Procurement Automated Source System (PASS) when considering contract requirements; (5) Ensuring that specifications are not restrictive, thereby enabling small business participation; (6) Assisting and counseling small business firms and especially those found to be nonresponsive or nonresponsible to help qualify them for future awards; (7) Reviewing proposed large contract requirements to determine the potential for breaking out components suitable for purchase from small business firms or LSA concerns; and (8) Ensuring that the SBA Resident Procurement Center Representative (PCR) is provided an opportunity and reasonable time to review any solicitation that meets the dollar threshold for small business and small disadvantaged business subcontracting plans. 419.202-71 Specific policies relating to minority, disadvantaged, and women-owned businesses. OSDBU Coordinator shall take positive action to ensure maximum participation of minority business enterprises, including women-owned, in proposed acquisitions. These actions shall include: (a) Establishing aggressive minority and women-owned business goals based on the annual review of advance acquisition plans. These goals shall be submitted in accordance with 419.201-72. (b) Attempting to direct those contracting requirements to the 8(a) program which match the abilities of the minority contractors located in the area where the contract will be performed. (1) Recurring requirements should not be assigned to the 8(a) program, without consulting SBA, when small businesses are dependent in whole or in significant part on such Government requirements. However, this does not mean that a segment of a requirement could not be assigned to the 8(a) program. (2) The SBA publication "Firms in the 8(a) Business Development Pro gram" should be used as an aid in locating eligible contractors. (3) Field personnel should be encouraged to locate and contact minority contractors for possible 8(a) participation. These contractors should be directed to the nearest District or Regional Office of SBA to make application for certification. (c) Fully utilizing available minority and women-owned vendor listings, directories and query systems to ensure that eligible and qualified minority and women-owned business enterprises are included on bidders mailing lists and source lists. (d) Nominating OSDBU Coordinators for appointment by the HCA at each contracting office. Duties of these coordinators shall be in accordance with 419.201-71. (e) Providing training opportunities for all personnel involved in carrying out the Department's minority and women-owned business enterprise pro gram. (f) Preparing plans for the utilization of minority and women-owned business enterprises. These plans may be in the form of standard operating procedures, and they are to be followed by all personnel involved in carrying out this program. Subpart 419.4-Cooperation With the Small Business Administration 419.402 Small Business Administration procurement center representatives. (a) SBA has assigned a full-time Procurement Center Representative (PCR) to USDA procuring agencies located in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. A part-time PCR also has been assigned to the ASCS Kansas City Field Office (KFO), Kansas City, MO. PCR responsibilities are described in FAR 19.402. (b) Acquisition offices in the metropolitan Washington, DC area and the KFO shall notify and make available for review by the PCR all proposed acquisitions in excess of $10,000 that have not been unilaterally set aside for small business (see FAR 19.501(c)). This action shall be taken prior to announcement of the acquisition in the Commerce Business Daily or before public solicitation of offers. [50 FR 14198, Apr. 10, 1985] Subpart 419.5-Set-Asides for 419.506 Withdrawing or modifying setasides. Disagreements between the contracting officer and OSDBU Coordinator concerning withdrawals or modifications of individual or class set-asides shall be forwarded to the HCA for resolution. The OSDBU Coordinator shall provide timely notification of such disagreements to the OSDBU in order to afford them an opportunity to provide assistance in resolving the dispute. 419.508 Solicitation provisions. The contracting officer shall insert the provision at 452.219-70, Set-Aside/ Size Standard Information, in solicitations that are set-aside for small businesses or labor surplus area concerns. [53 FR 6066, Feb. 29, 1988] Contracts which are restricted to labor surplus area concerns shall be recorded in fulfillment of labor surplus area goals. (b) Contracts awarded under priorities (1), (3) and (5) of FAR 19.504(a) shall be recorded in fulfillment of labor surplus area goals. Contracting activities shall not record noncompetitive 8(a) contracts, purchases from blind and handicapped workshops, and purchases from Federal Prison Industries toward their LSA goals. However, contracts may be counted toward LSA goals whenever there is competition among firms in labor surplus areas which are also in the 8(a) Program. (c) Small business-small purchase set-asides accomplished under the procedures in FAR 13.105 shall be counted toward fulfillment of LSA goals. The clause requiring firms to perform as LSA concerns shall be included in the purchase order or other purchase document. In addition, the following statement should be included in the SF-18, when applicable: "This request is restricted to small business (and labor surplus area firms)." The contracting officer shall document a firm's acceptance of the LSA provisions whenever solicitations are conducted orally. (d) LSA goals shall be established in accordance with the provisions of 419.201-72. Subpart 420.1-General 420.170 Labor surplus area performance and goals. (a) Construction and other "site-specific" contract requirements are applicable to labor surplus area set-asides. 422.103 Overtime. 422.103-4 Approvals. Subpart 422.6—Walsh-Healy Public Contracts Act 422.604 Exemptions. 422.604-2 Regulatory exemptions. 422.608 Procedures. 422.608-4 Award pending final determination. |