Under the Free Trade Agreements Act of
1979, unless specifically exempted by statute or regulation,
agencies are required to evaluate offers (over a certain dollar
limitation) to supply an eligible product, without regard to
restrictions of the Buy American Act. Offerors identify covered
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) country end products and other foreign
end products on this certificate in accordance with FAR clause
52.225-4.
Because the ORCA function in
SAM allows for multiple uses from a single entry, i.e., a
contractor can enter their representations and certification
information once a year (with any needed updates) for use on all
Federal solicitations and contracts, the number of estimated
responses per respondent (public) has decreased from the currently
approved number of 5 to 2. In addition, we have reassessed the
hours of burden per response based on the respondent's comment, and
have determined that an upward estimate of thirty minutes would
provide a more accurate measure of the time required to complete or
update the initial certification. With regard to the estimated cost
to the Government, Government officials must verify prospective
contractor representations and certifications made in ORCA prior to
the award of each contract. According to agency data report
submissions to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), in FY
2011, 707,996 base awards exceeding the simplified acquisition
threshold of $150,000 were made by Federal agencies. (This would
include the certification at FAR 52.225-4.) For purposes of
estimation, we used the total base awards made in FY 2011 as
reported to FPDS as the basis for estimating the total responses
reviewed by the Government. In addition, for greater accuracy, an
adjustment is being made to the average wages and overhead
calculation for Government review in Item 14. We estimate the
annual cost to the Government to review and analyze the responses
to this information collection requirement at $22.57 an hour based
on the Office of Personnel Management 2012 salary for a GS-09, step
5 plus 36.45 percent burden rounded to the nearest dollar, or $31
an hour, instead of the $20 per hour plus 100% overhead ($40 per
hour) formula used for calculation of the Government review costs
under the current information collection.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
9000-0130_Supporting Statement_03.20.13cd.doc
Buy American Act-Free Trade Agreements-Israeli Trade Act Certificate; FAR Section Affected 52.225-4