[Federal Register: April 13, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 72)]
[Notices]
[Page 19958]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13ap00-127]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No. FAA-1998-4379]
Delegation of Authority
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of delegation of authority.
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SUMMARY: The FAA is giving notice of a specific delegation of authority
from the FAA Administrator to the Associate Chief Counsel/Director,
Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (hereinafter the ``ODRA
Director''), to supplement and expand the authority conveyed under
Title 14 CFR part 17 and the Administrator's delegation of July 29,
1998, in order to permit the ODRA Director to issue final FAA Agency
orders on behalf of the Administrator in certain bid protests and
contract disputes filed with the FAA Office of Dispute Resolution for
Acquisition. The delegation was set forth in a memorandum signed by the
Administrator dated March 27, 2000. The FAA is publishing the text of
the delegation, so that it is available to interested parties.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marie A. Collins, Staff Attorney and
Dispute Officer for the Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition
(ACG-70), Federal Aviation Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room
8332, Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-6400; facsimile (202)
366-7400.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Department of Transportation and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1996, Public Law 104-50, 109
Stat. 436 (1995) (``Appropriations Act''), Congress directed the FAA to
develop an acquisition system that addresses the mission and unique
needs of the Agency and at a minimum, provides for more timely and
cost-effective acquisition of equipment and materials. In the
Appropriations Act, Congress expressly directed the FAA to create the
new acquisition system without reference to existing procurement
statutes and regulations. The result was the development of the FAA's
Acquisition Management System (AMS) and the establishment of the Office
of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (ODRA), which is independent of
the FAA's procurement offices and counsel. The ODRA serves as the forum
for administrative resolution and adjudication of bid protests and
contract disputes arising from AMS acquisitions and contracts. The
ODRA's mandate is to resolve such bid protests and contract disputes in
a timely and efficient manner, while emphasizing the use of alternative
dispute resolution techniques to the maximum extent practicable. A
final procedural rule that took effect on June 28, 1999 for ODRA bid
protests and contract disputes was published in the Federal Register on
June 18, 1999 (64 FR 34926). Technical corrections to the rule were
published in the Federal Register on August 31, 1999 (64 FR 47361).
The full text of the March 27, 2000 delegation from the
Administrator to the ODRA Director provides the ODRA Director with
additional authority to act on behalf of the Administrator with respect
to ODRA bid protests and contract disputes as follows: In order to
render more efficient the FAA acquisition dispute resolution process,
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 106(f)(2), 49 U.S.C. 46101, et seq., Public Law
104-50 and 14 CFR Part 17, I hereby delegate to the Associate Chief
Counsel/Director, Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (ODRA)
authority to execute and issue on behalf of the Administrator, orders
and final decisions for the FAA in all matters within the ODRA's
jurisdiction, provided that such matters involve either: (1) A bid
protest concerning an acquisition having a value or potential value of
not more than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00); or (2) a contract
dispute involving a total amount in dispute, exclusive of interest,
legal fees or costs, of not more than one million dollars
($1,000,000.00). The Associate Chief Counsel/ODRA Director further is
authorized to execute and issue orders and final decisions on behalf of
the Administrator for any applications made pursuant to the Equal
Access to Justice Act for matters within the ODRA's jurisdiction.
The foregoing authority may not be re-delegated.
This delegation supplements and expands the authority previously
delegated by me on July 29, 1998. This delegation does not preclude the
Associate Chief Counsel/Director of the ODRA from requesting, in any
matter before the ODRA, that the order setting forth the final decision
of the FAA be executed by the Administrator.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 27, 2000.
James Whitlow,
Acting Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 00-9146 Filed 4-12-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M