Comment on FR Doc # 2026-12562

On behalf of the Professional Services Council (PSC), we are pleased to provide comments on the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) proposed rule on “Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 3 and 49” (FAR Case 2026-007) and related provisions and clauses in Part 52, as published in the Federal Register on June 23, 2026. This proposed rule supports implementation of Executive Order (E.O.) 14275, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement,” which states U.S. policy to “create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible. Removing undue barriers, such as unnecessary regulations, while simultaneously allowing for the expansion of the national and defense industrial bases is paramount. Accordingly, the FAR should contain only provisions required by statute or essential to sound procurement, and any FAR provisions that do not advance these objectives should be removed.” As you know, PSC is the leading trade association and voice of the government contracting industry, representing the full range and diversity of the federal services, technology, and solutions sector. PSC’s 400+ member companies provide mission-critical solutions to the federal government and range in size from start-ups to multinational organizations. Together, PSC member companies employ nearly one million American workers and contribute—through commercial and government contracts—roughly $1 trillion annually to the U.S. economy. The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) represents a landmark opportunity to modernize the federal acquisition system by reducing compliance requirements that are not based in statute, providing clarifications where necessary, and empowering federal government officials to exercise sound acquisition judgment in support of agency missions. PSC strongly supports these objectives. Further, PSC believes the RFO Phase II rulemaking process has been essential to ensuring that a more streamlined, flexible framework leads to administrable and consistent regulatory requirements. FAR Case 2026-007 is particularly significant because it restructures the rules governing procurement integrity, protection of contractor information, termination administration, settlement proposals, inventory schedules, and termination settlement proposal audits. These provisions affect how the Government protects contractor proprietary information and how contractors substantiate and recover amounts due following contract termination. Moreover, PSC supports the proposed process for reviewing contractor proprietary markings and the replacement of the mandatory audit trigger for termination settlement proposals with a permissive, risk-based approach. PSC has concerns, however, that reducing key deadlines (i.e., submitting a termination settlement proposal within 90 days vice one year, submitting a termination inventory schedule within 60 days vice 120 days) may prevent contractors from assembling complete, accurate submissions. These compressed periods may be particularly difficult where contractors must reconcile subcontractor costs, identify and account for property across multiple locations, obtain Government direction, or preserve rights that depend on timely action. The final rule should streamline termination administration without allowing procedural deadlines to operate as substantive forfeitures or assigning contractors responsibility for delays beyond their reasonable control. Based on member company and staff input on the proposed rule, PSC offers the following recommendations to help ensure the final rule is practical, predictable, and consistent with the RFO’s objectives. The FAR Council should: I.Retain the new procedural safeguards for contractor proprietary markings II.Preserve the current one-year termination settlement proposal period or establish a workable alternative III.Preserve the 120-day inventory schedule period and harmonize extension deadlines IV.Establish objective extension standards and suspend deadlines while timely requests are pending V.Ensure appeal rights and avoid procedural forfeiture VI.Retain risk-based audits with uniform criteria VII.Pair any shorter contractor deadlines with Government processing standards VIII.Avoid unnecessary clause renumbering and cross-reference burdens Please see attached PDF for additional comments and recommendations on the topics listed above.