OMB’s acting administrator for Federal Procurement Policy has issued a memorandum to guide agencies subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in the issuance of deviations to implement the FAR 2.0 overhaul. The memo states that the FAR Council will issue plain-language class deviation text, which is intended to return the FAR to its statutory base. The memorandum provides guidance on how agencies implementing the FAR Council’s deviations should develop their agency-specific deviations. In cutting these corners, the Administrative Procedures Act requiring comments from the public through the Federal Register is circumvented. The APA is intended to slow things down and mitigate risks of steamrolling changes that will have significant unintended consequences. When policy is not informed by common sense experience offered by implementers, it is usually cumbersome and risky to implement.
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