OMB circular A-133-Procurement

Procurement

States, and governmental subrecipients of states, shall use the same state policies and procedures used for procurements from non-federal funds. They also shall ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes any clauses required by federal statutes and executive orders and their implementing regulations.

Local governments and Indian tribal governments which are not subrecipients of states will use their own procurement procedures provided that they conform to applicable federal laws and regulations and standards identified in the A-102 Common Rule.

Institutions of higher education, hospitals, and other nonprofit organizations shall use procurement procedures that conform to applicable federal laws and regulations and standards identified in OMB Circular A-110.

All non-federal entities shall follow federal laws and implementing regulations applicable to procurements, as noted in the federal agency implementation of the A-102 Common Rule and OMB Circular A-110.

Suspension and Debarment

Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred or whose principals are suspended or debarred.

Under nonprocurement suspension and debarment rules in effect prior to November 26, 2003, covered transactions included procurement contracts for goods or services equal to or in excess of $100,000 (the “small purchase” or “simplified acquisition threshold”). As of November 26, 2003 “covered transactions” include those procurement contracts for goods and services awarded under a nonprocurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other specified criteria. §__.220 of the government-wide nonprocurement debarment and suspension common rule contains those additional limited circumstances. All nonprocurement transactions (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions—this was the case before November 26, 2003, and was not changed by the revised rules.

Under rules in effect prior to November 26, 2003, contractors receiving individual awards for $100,000 or more and all subrecipients must certify that the organization and its principals are not suspended or debarred. Effective November 26, 2003, when a non-federal entity enters into a covered transaction with an entity at a lower tier, the non-federal entity must verify that the entity is not suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded. This verification may be accomplished by checking the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA), collecting a certification from the entity, or adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that entity (§__.300). The information contained in the EPLS is available in printed and electronic formats. The printed version is published monthly. Copies may be obtained by purchasing a yearly subscription from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, or by calling the Government Printing Office Inquiry and Order Desk at (202) 783-3238. The electronic version can be accessed on the Internet (http://epls.arnet.gov).

Requirements for suspension and debarment are contained in the federal agencies’ codification of the government-wide nonprocurement debarment and suspension common rule (see Appendix II for CFR cites), which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, Debarment and Suspension, and the terms of the award. Note that on November 15, 2006, OMB reissued its debarment and suspension guidance in 2 CFR part 180. This guidance is substantially the same as the common rule published November 26, 2003. Some federal agencies have adopted this guidance and relocated their associated agency rules in Title 2 of the CFR as final rules; others have issued their adopting rules as “proposed” or “interim final rules.” For these latter agencies, pending completion of that adoption, agency implementations of the common rule remain in effect (see Appendix II for current CFR citations for all agencies).