small business or small disadvantaged business set-asides;

(6) Assuring that contract financing available under existing regulations is offered when appropriate and that requests by small business concerns for such financing are not treated as a handicap in the award of contracts;

(7) Providing assistance to the contracting officer in making determinations concerning responsibility of prospective contractors whenever small business concerns are involved;

(8) Participating in the evaluation of a prime contractor's small business and small disadvantaged business subcontracting plans;

(9) Assuring that the participation of small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned business concerns is accurately reported;

(10) Attending, as appropriate, debriefings to unsuccessful small business and small disadvantaged business concerns to assist those firms in understanding requirements for responsiveness and responsibility so that the firm may be able to qualify for future awards;

(11) Making available to SBA copies of solicitations when so requested;

or

(12) When a bid or offer from a small business, small disadvantaged business, or women-owned business has been rejected for nonresponsiveness nonresponsibility, upon request, aid, counsel, and assist that firm in understanding requirements for responsiveness and responsibility so that the firm may be able to qualify for future awards;

(13) Participating in Government-industry conferences to assist small business, small disadvantaged business and women-owned business concerns, including Business Opportunity/Federal Acquisition Conferences, Minority Business Enterprises Acquisition Seminars and Business Opportunity Committee meetings;

(14) Maintaining a list of supplies and services that have been placed as repetitive small business set-asides;

(15) Participating in the development, implementation, and review of automated source systems to assure that the interests of small business, small disadvantaged business, and

women-owned business concerns are fully considered;

(16) Advising potential sources how they can obtain information about competitive acquisitions;

(17) Providing small business, small disadvantaged business, and womenowned business sources information regarding assistance available from Federal agencies such as the Small Business Administration, Minority Business Development Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Economic Development Administration, National Science Foundation, Department of Labor and others, including State agencies and trade associations; and

(18) Participating in interagency programs relating to small business, small disadvantaged business, and labor surplus area matters as authorized by the OSDBU director.

619.705 Responsibilities of the contracting officer under the subcontracting assistance program.

619.705-3 Preparing the solicitation.

Whenever the clause at FAR 52.219-9, Small Business and Small Disadvantaged Business Subcontracting Program, is used in a solicitation for a negotiated acquisition, a notification also must be included in the solicitation. This notification shall advise prospective offerors that subcontracting plans may be requested from all concerns determined to be in the competitive range.

619.705-4 Reviewing the subcontracting plan.

OSDBU shall review subcontracting plans to determine if small and small disadvantaged businesses are afforded the maximum practicable opportunity to participate as subcontractors. OSDBU shall recommend to the contracting officer changes needed to subcontracting plans found to be deficient.

619.705-6 Postaward responsibilities of contracting officer.

295, Summary Subcontracting Report, for the quarterly submissions, and Standard Form 294, Subcontracting Report for Individual Contracts, for the semiannual submissions. The head of the contracting activity shall forward these reports to the OSDBU director, not later than the 30th day of the month following the close of the reporting period.

Subpart 619.8-Contracting with the Small Business Administration (the 8(a) Program)

619.801 General.

The Procurement Executive is the agency head for the purpose of FAR 19.801(b)(2).

619.803 Selecting acquisitions for the 8(a) program.

619.803-70 Responsibilities of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). OSDBU shall review the capabilities of 8(a) concerns and disseminate that information to DOS program and contracting personnel. As necessary, OSDBU shall obtain from the SBA or 8(a) concerns supplemental information for DOS program and contracting personnel.

619.870 Acquisition of technical requirements.

(a) Offering Letter. When a decision has been made by the OSDBU and contracting officer to process an acquisition through the SBA under the 8(a) program, the contracting activity shall promptly send to the applicable SBA office a letter offering the acquisition to the SBA, with an information copy to the SDBUS. The offering letter should transmit the statement of work, purchase description, technical data package, or specifications and such other information deemed necessary by the contracting officer.

(b) The contracting officer has greater latitude in holding discussions with the concerns solicited under an 8(a) program acquisition than under a non8(a) program acquisition. The technical evaluation must be carefully reviewed to determine if any source declared to

labor standards investigations as prescribed in FAR 22.406-8(a).

(d) The Procurement Executive is the agency head's designee for the purposes of FAR 22.406-8(d).

622.406-9 Withholding from or suspension of contract payments.

The authority to suspend contract payments pursuant to FAR 22.406-9(b) is delegated, without power of redelegation, to the head of the contracting activity.

622.406-10 Disposition of disputes concerning construction contract labor standards enforcement.

The cognizant contracting activity is the contracting agency for the purposes of FAR 22.406-10(b).

622.1308 Contract clauses.

The Procurement Executive is the agency head for the purposes of FAR 22.1308 (a)(2) and (c).

[55 FR 5775, Feb. 16, 1990]

Subpart 622.14-Employment of the Handicapped

622.1403 Waivers.

The Procurement Executive is the · agency head for the purposes of FAR 22.1403.