81 FR 44305 - Seeking Input on the Public Release of Data Collected Through Transactional Data Reporting

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 130 (July 7, 2016)

FAS is publishing this notice to solicit comments regarding the public release of transactional data reported in accordance with the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) Transactional Data Reporting clauses. GSA FAS will consider comments received in establishing its final position on which Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) data elements are releasable under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and which elements will therefore be released to the general public via a public data extract.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 130 (Thursday, July 7, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44305-44306]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16064]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice-FAS-2016-01; Docket No. 2016-0001; Sequence 15]


Seeking Input on the Public Release of Data Collected Through 
Transactional Data Reporting

AGENCY: Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), General Services 
Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: FAS is publishing this notice to solicit comments regarding 
the public release of transactional data reported in accordance with 
the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) 
Transactional Data Reporting clauses. GSA FAS will consider comments 
received in establishing its final position on which Transactional Data 
Reporting (TDR) data elements are releasable under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA) and which elements will therefore be released to 
the general public via a public data extract.

DATES: Submit comments on or before August 29, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Adam Jones, Procurement Analyst, 
FAS Office of Acquisition Management, at [email protected], or 571-
289-0164.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by ``Notice FAS-2016-01; Seeking 
Input on the Public Release of Data Collected Through Transactional 
Data Reporting'' by any of the following methods:
     Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by inputting ``Notice FAS-
2016-01; Seeking Input on the Public Release of Data Collected through 
Transactional Data Reporting'' under the heading ``Enter Keyword or 
ID'' and selecting ``Search''. Select the link ``submit a Comment'' 
that corresponds with ``Notice FAS-2016-01; Seeking Input on the Public 
Release of Data Collected Through Transactional Data Reporting''. 
Following the instructions provided at the ``Submit a Comment'' screen. 
Please include your name, company name (if any), and ``Notice FAS-2016-
01; Seeking Input on the Public Release of Data Collected Through 
Transactional Data Reporting'' on your attached document.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20405. 
ATTN: Ms. Flowers/Notice FAS-2016-01; Seeking Input on the Public 
Release of Data Collected Through Transactional Data Reporting.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Notice FAS-2016-
01; Seeking Input on the Public Release of Data Collected Through 
Transactional Data Reporting, in all correspondence related to this 
collection. Comments received generally will be posted without change 
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business 
confidential information provided. To confirm receipt of your 
comment(s), please check www.regulations.gov, approximately two to 
three days after submission to verify posting (except allow 30 days for 
posting of comments submitted by mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    A. Background: GSA published the Transactional Data Reporting final 
rule in the Federal Register at 81 FR 41103 on June 23, 2016. The rule 
amended the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation 
(GSAR) to include clauses that require vendors to report transactional 
data from orders placed against select Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) 
contracts, Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), and 
Governmentwide Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) 
contracts. The clause applicable to GWACs and Governmentwide IDIQs, 
GSAR clause 552.216-75, will be applied to new contracts in that class 
and may be applied to any existing contracts in this class that do not 
contain other transactional data clauses. For FSS contracts, the clause 
(GSAR clause 552.238-74 Alternate I) will be introduced in phases, 
beginning with a pilot for select Schedules or Special Item Numbers and 
will be paired with changes to existing requirements for Commercial 
Sales Practices disclosures and Price Reductions clause basis of award 
monitoring. The final rule does not apply to the Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA) FSS contract holders.\1\
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    \1\ See GSAR Case 2013-G504; Docket 2014-0020; Sequence 1 (80 FR 
11619 (Mar. 4, 2015)).
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    Contractors subject to Transactional Data Reporting will be 
required to report eleven standard data elements. Any data

[[Page 44306]]

elements beyond the standard elements must be coordinated with the 
applicable category manager, and approved by the Head of Contracting 
Activity and GSA's Senior Procurement Executive in order for them to be 
included with a tailored version of the applicable clause. The 
determination regarding additional data elements will consider the 
benefits, alternatives, burden, and need for additional rulemaking.
    GSA intends to share transactional data to the maximum extent 
allowable to promote transparency and competition while respecting that 
some data could be exempt from disclosure. Accordingly, a public data 
extract, containing information that would otherwise be releasable 
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), will be 
created for use by the general public.
    The data released to the public will provide valuable market 
intelligence that can be used by vendors for crafting more efficient, 
targeted business development strategies that incur lower 
administrative costs. This will be particularly beneficial for small 
businesses, which often do not have the resources to invest in 
dedicated business development staff or acquire business intelligence 
through third-parties.
    B. Standard Data Elements: Both Transactional Data Reporting GSAR 
clauses 552.238-74, Alternate I and 552.216-75 require contractors to 
report the same eleven standard data elements. These data elements, 
along with their exemption status under FOIA, are listed in the table 
below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Data element description                 Exemption status
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1. Contract or Blanket         Not exempt under FOIA.
 Purchase Agreement (BPA)
 Number.
2. Delivery/Task Order Number/ Not exempt under FOIA.
 Procurement Instrument
 Identifier (PIID).
3. Non Federal Entity........  Not exempt under FOIA.
4. Description of Deliverable  Not exempt under FOIA.
5. Manufacturer Name.........  Not exempt under FOIA.
6. Manufacturer Part Number..  Not exempt under FOIA.
7. Unit Measure (each, hour,   Not exempt under FOIA.
 case, lot).
8. Quantity of Item Sold.....  Exempt--5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).\2\
9. Universal Product Code....  Not exempt under FOIA.
10. Price Paid Per Unit......  Exempt--5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
11. Total Price..............  Not exempt under FOIA.
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    As described in Section A, GSA intends to share transactional data 
elements that are not exempt under the FOIA with the general public 
through a public data extract.
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    \2\ Since the price paid per unit is exempt, GSA FAS will not 
release both the Total Price (data element #11) and Quantity of Item 
Sold (data element #8) as this may reveal the price paid per unit; 
therefore, Quantity of Item Sold is considered ``exempt''.
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    C. Public Comments: Public comments are invited on the FOIA 
exemption status of the eleven standard data elements identified in 
Section B. Comments must be submitted following the instructions above 
and must identify any data elements addressed by number and 
description.

    Dated: June 23, 2016.
Chiara A. McDowell,
Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Acquisition Management, 
Federal Acquisition Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-16064 Filed 7-6-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-34-P