Where Industry and Security Intersect
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(WASHINGTON) - The Department of Commerce has revised its regulation to ensure the timely availability of the nation’s industrial resources to meet current national defense and civil emergency preparedness program requirments, and provide an operating system to support rapid industrial response in a national security emergency.
The revison, (Federal Register (63 FR 31918, June 11, 1998), updates and streamlines the rules of the Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) regulation to make it more effective and efficient in the post-Cold War era. Used to ensure the timely delivery of defense critical industrial products, materials, and services, the DPAS revision will also help to ensure that the U.S. can continue to maintain a strong national defense preparedness and military readiness capability.
Changes to the DPAS include removal of the special rules for the procurement of steel, copper, aluminum, and nickel alloy (controlled materials), extending the time for acceptance or rejection of defense contracts and orders, simplifying the rules for combining defense and commercial requirements on one contract or order, clarifying the rules for determining the precedence of conflicting defense contracts and orders, and a ten fold increase of the minimum defense contract or order dollar amount from $5000 to $50,000. A number of administrative and technical changes have also been made.
The DPAS implements the priorities and allocations authority of Title I of the Defense Production Act of 1950 as amended, and the priorities authority of Section 18 of the Selective Service Act of 1948, as amended, as these authorities pertain to industrial resources. It can also be used to support civil emergency preparedness requirements under Title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
Copies of the revised DPAS, other documents which support DPAS administration and implementation, and various educational and training materials may be obtained from theRick Meyers, DPAS Program Manager, Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security - tel: (202) 482-3634 or FAX: (202) 482-5650. Copies of the revised DPAS will also be available through this website.
In April of 2002 the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) changed its name to the Bureau of Industry and Security(BIS). For historical purposes we have not changed the references to BXA in the legacy documents found in the Archived Press and Public Information.