The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council has released new model deviation text as part of the ongoing Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) Initiative, including an updated section related to the acquisition of IT and communications technology.
In addition to the updated technology section, the FAR Council also updated two other sections related to emergency acquisitions and contract modifications on June 12. The updates are in accordance with President Donald Trump’s April executive order that aims to simplify the FAR to make it more efficient.
“This release is part of a series of updates to streamline and rewrite the FAR in plain language, remove non-statutory, non-essential text from the FAR, and provide summaries, insights, and practical workforce tools to support successful transition to and implementation of the streamlined regulation,” the FAR Council said in a June 13 press release. “Model deviation text will support agency alignment during the transition to the updated regulation.”
Stakeholders can submit informal feedback on these RFO FAR Parts through July 28.
As part of last week’s updates, the FAR Council renamed FAR Part 39 from “Acquisition of Information Technology” to “Acquisition of Information and Communication Technology.” The council said it is streamlining FAR Part 39 “to be future forward and emphasize strategies that promote faster acquisition and secure deployment of technology that is new or emerging.”
The council also said it removed “redundant prohibitions” and clauses from FAR Part 39 for IT and communications tech.
The changes apply to all General Services Administration procurements and are effective immediately. Federal agencies will adopt the guidance until the FAR is formally revised through rulemaking.
With last week’s three new updates, the FAR Council has now revamped seven sections of the FAR.