Browse regulations

FAR Part 44 requires government contractors to obtain prior consent for many subcontracts and maintain approved purchasing systems. It establishes thresholds for advance notification, detailed evaluation criteria for consent, procedures for Contractor Purching System Reviews (CPSRs), and related contracting clauses. The regime aims to protect government interests and ensure compliance with subcontracting policies.

Imposes heavy compliance costs and bureaucratic delays that ultimately raise taxpayer burden. Small contractors face disproportionate costs, stifling competition. The prior-consultation regime fosters regulatory capture, as contracting officers develop cozy relationships with industry. The unseen effects include reduced agility, slowed procurement, and corruption risks, all for marginal oversight gains that could be achieved via market discipline and post-audit liability.

Establishes procedures for modifying federal contracts, including authorization requirements (contracting officers only), pricing and fund certification rules, documentation standards (SF30), and change order accounting to ensure accountability and prevent unauthorized commitments.

Removing these procedural safeguards would lead to unauthorized government commitments, lack of fund certification, poor documentation, and increased disputes—all resulting in waste, fraud, and higher taxpayer costs that would be difficult to replicate through alternative means.

Establishes policies for federal contract administration and audit services, including interagency agreements, cognizant agency determinations, and CAO functions.

Creates duplicative bureaucratic oversight that increases compliance costs without clear benefits. Small businesses face disproportionate burden from complex audit requirements. Constitutional federalism is violated by federalizing what should be state/local contract oversight. The regulation's administrative complexity creates hidden costs that distort market incentives and protect large contractors from competition.

Establishes the Federal Supply Schedule program, a centralized procurement system where GSA awards indefinite-delivery contracts with pre-set prices to vendors, providing federal agencies a simplified acquisition process with volume discounts. Some agencies must use these schedules as primary sources.

The regulation imposes compliance costs on vendors, creates barriers to entry for small businesses, and distorts procurement by mandating use of pre-approved contractors. Unseen effects include reduced competition, innovation suppression, and bureaucratic entrenchment that persists regardless of actual cost savings.

Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 37 governs service contracting policies including performance-based acquisition methods, labor standards, advisory services, and specific procedures for various service types. It establishes preferred contracting methods, labor compliance requirements, and management oversight practices for government service contracts.

This regulation creates excessive bureaucratic complexity and compliance costs for service contracting while imposing rigid procurement methods that may not suit all service needs. The extensive requirements for performance-based contracting, labor standards, and management oversight represent regulatory overreach that increases costs for taxpayers and creates barriers for small businesses seeking government contracts.

Prescribes policies for federal construction and architect-engineer contracts, including bidding procedures, contract types, wage requirements, and sustainability standards. Covers design-build methods, labor agreements, and contractor responsibilities.

Creates excessive federal control over construction industry, imposes costly sustainability mandates, and mandates project labor agreements that restrict free market competition. These regulations increase costs, reduce supply, and protect union interests at taxpayer expense.

This Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part establishes policies and procedures for government research and development contracting, including contract types, work statements, evaluation criteria, and oversight of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs). It prioritizes technical competence over cost, encourages competition, and mandates transparency through reporting requirements.

Deletion would waste taxpayer money. This regulation ensures R&D contracts achieve scientific objectives efficiently while protecting government interests through competition, technical evaluation, and reporting requirements. The framework balances necessary flexibility for research with accountability—removing it would lead to poorly managed contracts, inadequate oversight of billions in federal R&D spending, and potentially worse outcomes for national innovation goals at higher cost.

Federal acquisition regulation governing major system procurements, mandating full competition, phased development cycles, and Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS) with Integrated Baseline Reviews to ensure economical, timely acquisitions.

Heavy compliance burden—especially EVMS certification and IBR processes—disproportionately harms small innovators while protecting incumbents. Taxpayers fund these hidden costs through inflated contracts; market discipline and performance-based contracting would achieve better outcomes without centralized mandates.

This Federal Acquisition Regulation part establishes detailed procedures for filing protests and adjudicating contract disputes in government procurement, covering requirements for timeliness, content, venue (agency, GAO, Court of Federal Claims), stays of performance, and cost awards.

The protest system inflates federal procurement costs with a complex bureaucracy that delays contracts, disadvantages small businesses unable to navigate 185,000 pages of rules, and diverts resources to procedural compliance rather than value creation. Compliance overhead represents a hidden tax on all taxpayers, while the system incentivizes gaming over substantive fairness. Simpler judicial review of clear legal violations would preserve accountability without the multi-layered regulatory burden.

This regulation establishes comprehensive policies for government contract financing, including advance payments, progress payments, loan guarantees, and prompt payment procedures to ensure contractors receive timely payments for work performed under federal contracts.

Contract financing is essential for government operations - it ensures contractors can maintain cash flow, meet payroll, and purchase materials without relying on expensive private financing. Without these standardized payment procedures, small businesses would be excluded from federal contracting, costs would increase due to financing premiums, and critical government projects would face delays or cancellations.

Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 31 establishes cost principles and procedures for pricing and administering government contracts. It defines detailed accounting terminology (pension actuarial methods, cost allocation, standard costing, etc.) and specifies which costs are allowable, allocable, and reasonable across different contractor types (commercial organizations, educational institutions, construction, state/local governments, nonprofits). The subpart mandates uniform application of these rules and provides for advance agreements on special costs to prevent disputes.

Without these standards, federal contract pricing would lack consistency and accountability, leading to waste and abuse of taxpayer funds. The regulation ensures fair and reasonable prices while preventing contractors from charging unallowable costs—protecting taxpayers from subsidizing inefficient or improper expenditures. The administrative burden, while real, is a necessary check on the $700+ billion federal procurement enterprise; eliminating it would invite the greater unseen cost of uncontrolled spending and fraud.

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 29 governs tax clauses in government contracts, including federal excise taxes, state/local tax exemptions, and special provisions for foreign contracts and specific jurisdictions like New Mexico and North Carolina.

This regulation prevents double taxation of federal procurement, ensures proper tax treatment of government contracts, and protects taxpayer dollars. Without it, government contractors would face inconsistent tax burdens, foreign contractors would be subject to U.S. withholding taxes, and federal procurement efficiency would be severely compromised.

Federal regulation governing bid guarantees, performance bonds, and payment protections for government contracts, requiring sureties to secure contractor obligations and protect government interests in case of contractor default or failure to pay subcontractors.

This regulation creates unnecessary bureaucratic overhead and costs for contractors, distorts market competition by favoring large firms with bonding capacity, and represents federal overreach into what should be private contractual arrangements between contractors and government agencies.

Extends Privacy Act and FOIA requirements to government contractors handling personal data. Mandates specific contract clauses, privacy training, and treats contractors as government employees for criminal liability.

The regulation imposes substantial compliance costs on contractors, especially small firms, creating barriers to entry and protecting incumbents. These burdens are ultimately borne by taxpayers. Privacy protection can be achieved more efficiently through standard contract terms and existing legal frameworks without regulatory overreach. The criminal liability extension to contractors is an overreach that deters private sector participation in government work.

This regulation prescribes federal procurement policies requiring agencies to purchase sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable, including EPA-designated recycled content items, USDA biobased products, ENERGY STAR/FEMP energy-efficient products, and products avoiding ozone-depleting substances and high global warming potential hydrofluorocarbons. It establishes affirmative procurement programs, prioritization rules, certifications, and exceptions.

This regulation imposes significant hidden compliance costs on federal contractors and agencies, distorts procurement decisions away from pure value-for-money, creates barriers for small businesses, and represents federal overreach into markets that should be driven by consumer choice and state/local policies. The environmental goals can be achieved more efficiently through market incentives, voluntary standards, and state-level initiatives without expanding the regulatory burden. The 'maximum extent practicable' standard invites arbitrary enforcement and regulatory capture by favored industries.