889_Lease_ICR_GSA_Emergency_PRA_Request

DocuSign Envelope ID: 4FC76D86-3CD8-4E40-95B8-04378ADBBA0A

U.S. General Services Administration

August 14,​ 2020
Mr. Paul Ray, Administrator
Office of Management and Budget
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear Administrator Ray:
Pursuant to 5 CFR § 1320.13, the General Services Administration (GSA) requests Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) emergency approval of an Information Collection Requirement
(ICR) to collect information to support GSA’s implementation of Section 889 of the John S. McCain
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232). Section
889(a)(1)(A) (Part A) prohibits the head of an executive agency from procuring or obtaining, or
extending or renewing a contract to procure or obtain, any equipment, system, or service that uses
covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any
system, or as critical technology as part of any system. In addition, section 889(a)(1)(B) (Part B)
prohibits executive agencies from entering into, extending, or renewing contracts with any entity that
uses equipment, systems, or services that use telecommunications equipment or services from
certain named companies as a substantial or essential component or critical technology as part of
any system.
The provisions above went into effect on August 13, 2019, and August 13, 2020, respectively, and
are being implemented for GSA’s lease acquisitions of real property (lease acquisitions) and
commercial solution openings (CSOs) under Class Deviation CD-2020-15. The additional
information that will be collected consists of the following: 1) a representation requiring all offerors to
represent, after conducting a reasonable inquiry, whether covered telecommunications equipment or
services are used by the offeror and, if so, detailed information about the use of such equipment or
services; and 2) reporting if prohibited equipment, systems, and services are discovered during the
performance of a contract. This information collection will be provided through a solicitation provision
and a contract clause, included in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
Passage of Section 889 reflects concern on the part of Congress that certain entities providing
covered telecommunications equipment and services represent an unacceptable risk to Government
information, information and telecommunication systems, and national security. As the NDAA applies
to all Federal contracts, not just to FAR-based contracts, GSA’s Class Deviation applies the FAR
U.S. General Services Administration
1800 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20405
www.gsa.gov

DocuSign Envelope ID: 4FC76D86-3CD8-4E40-95B8-04378ADBBA0A

representations and reporting requirement to GSA’s lease acquisitions and CSOs. The Part B
prohibition took effect on August 13, 2020, and GSA is already planning for lease acquisitions that
will be awarded beyond this date. The information to be collected is necessary to ensure that this is
done responsibly and consistent with national security.
GSA could not issue policy to apply the FAR representations and reporting requirements to GSA’s
lease acquisitions and CSOs until the FAR regulations were approved by OMB and the signatory
agencies, and sent to the Office of the Federal Register. Once FAR Case 2019-009 was published
on July 14, 2020 (85 FR 42665), GSA was able to fully understand the extent of GSA implementation
guidance needed and could assess the applicability of existing information collections.
In view of the foregoing, GSA requests emergency OMB approval for this ICR, to be effective
immediately for the maximum period of 6 months. The collection of information is needed prior to
the expiration of time periods established in order to ensure proper implementation of Section 889
and is essential to the successful implementation of this national security effort, which is an
essential mission requirement for GSA.
Moreover, GSA cannot comply with the normal clearance procedures because public harm is
reasonably likely to result if current clearance procedures are followed. ​Specifically, authorizing
collection of this information will ensure that GSA does not enter into leases or contracts that are in
violation of the prohibition in section 889(a)(1)(A) or enter into, extend, or renew contracts with any
entity that uses equipment, systems, or services in violation of section 889(a)(1)(B).
For these reasons, GSA requests a waiver under the requirements set forth in 5 CFR § 1320.13, for
prior publication in the ​Federal Register​, due to the urgent requirement to implement the Section
889 prohibitions.
Going forward, and in response to public comments received, GSA will take all practicable steps to
consult with interested agencies and members of the public in order to minimize the burden of the
collection of information. Such steps will include preparing a ​Federal Register​ notice in order to
submit a permanent ICR.
If you have any questions, please contact Jeffrey Koses, Senior Procurement Executive, Office
of Acquisition Policy, General Services Administration, at 703-932-2406 or email
jeffrey.koses@gsa.gov​.
Sincerely,
8/14/2020

Allison Fahrenkopf Brigati
Deputy Administrator
U.S. General Services Administration

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