Industry groups seek rulemaking pause

The Council of Defense and Space Industry Associations has sent a letter to Claire Grady, director of defense procurement and acquisition policy, asking that the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council suspend the rulemaking process for technical data rights issues until a congressionally mandated government-industry advisory panel submits a report to Capitol Hill.

"This will make it more likely that any future proposed regulations reflect the Panel's recommendations to appropriately balance government and industry interests, and maximize the efficiency of the rulemaking process," states the May 31 letter, signed by the Aerospace Industries Association, the National Defense Industrial Association and the Professional Services Council, among others.

The council says the suspension would put on hold two cases, one meant to address the presumption of development at private expense for commercial items and the other focused on issues such as deferred ordering and the use and disclosure of technical data needed for "segregation/reintegration," the letter adds.

"CODSIA respectfully recommends that the DAR Council suspend the rulemaking process for both cases at their current procedural state," the letter states.