Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD), General Services Administration's (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) new rule on the federal acquisition regulation concerning affirmative action in federal procurement. GAO noted that: (1) the rule adopts as final the interim rules that were the subject of GAO's major rule report issued on July 16, 1998; (2) the interim rules reformed affirmative action in federal procurement to ensure compliance with the constitutional standards established by the Supreme Court; (3) the only significant change in the interim rules involves the provision allowing contractors acting in good faith to rely upon the self-representations of their subcontractors as to their status as small disadvantaged business concerns; (4) the period of time for subcontractors to become certified under rules issued by the Small Business Administration has been extended by the final rule until September 30, 1999; (5) this change does not affect the factual statements or the conclusions concerning the agencies' compliance with the statutes and executive orders discussed in the July 16, 1998, major rule report; and (6) DOD, GSA, and NASA complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule.