Section 889 Policies

FAR Rules Issued by DoD, GSA, and NASA

DoD, GSA, and NASA issued multiple rules amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232).

Section 889 Part A

Section 889(a)(1)(A) prohibits the Federal Government from procuring or obtaining, or extending or renewing a contract to procure or obtain “any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system,” on or after August 13, 2019, unless an exception applies or a waiver is granted.

The rules implementing the requirements of section 889(a)(1)(A) are:

Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2019-05 published in the Federal Register on August 13, 2019. The documents related to this publication are:
1. Introduction
2. FAR case 2018-017, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment; Effective August 13, 2019.
3. Small Entity Compliance Guide
4. Public comments received on this publication are located at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FAR-2018-0017/comments.
FAC 2020-03 published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2019. The documents related to this publication are:
1. Introduction
2. FAR case 2018-017, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment; Effective December 13, 2019.
3. Small Entity Compliance Guide
4. Public comments received on this publication are located at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FAR-2018-0017/comments.

Section 889 Part B

Section 889(a)(1)(B) prohibits executive agencies from entering into, or extending or renewing, a contract with an entity that uses any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system unless an exception applies or a waiver is granted.

The rules implementing the requirements of section 889(a)(1)(B) are: