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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 124 / Thursday, July 1, 2021 / Rules and Regulations industry of high-security leased space.
The rule seeks to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the national security measures imposed by the Secure Federal LEASEs Act with minimal disruption to the mission of GSA and its Federal tenants and Federal lessors. As set forth in Section VI.d below, GSA recognizes the benefits that will result from this rule.
GSA notes that this rule is one of several actions with regard to the Secure Federal LEASEs Act and other statutes regarding foreign ownership by GSA, other agencies with lease authority promulgating their own rules, and by the FAR Council. GSA understands that the impact of actions dealing with foreign ownership, including specifically beneficial owners, is not well understood and is still being assessed.
In addition, while this interim rule, specific to Sections 3 and 5 of the Secure Federal LEASEs Act, will be effective June 30, 2021, GSA is seeking public comment, including, as indicated below, on the potential impact of this rule on Federal lessors. After considering the comments received, a final rule will be issued, taking into account and addressing the public comments, as well as helping to shape implementation of future rules like beneficial ownership. GSA plans to share public comments received on such questions with other agencies and the FAR Council.

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VI. Regulatory Impact Analysis The cost and benefit impacts of amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation GSAR to implement certain requirements outlined in the Secure Federal LEASEs Act SFLA Pub. L.
116276 are discussed in the analysis below. This analysis was developed by GSA in consultation with agency procurement officials and the GSA
Office of Leasing. Section VI.h of this rule is requesting specific feedback regarding the impact of this rule, as well as other pertinent policy questions of interest, in order to inform finalization of this and potential future subsequent rulemakings.
a Risks to Industry of Not Complying With SFLA
As a strictly contractual matter, an organizations failure to submit an accurate representation to the Government constitutes a breach of contract that can lead to cancellation, termination, and financial consequences. Therefore, it is important for contractors to develop a compliance plan that will allow them to submit
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accurate representations to the Government in the course of their offers.
GSA notes that this interim rule does not authorize GSA lease contracting officers to use the information disclosed by offerors as a differentiating factor for selection of a lease award, nor does it authorize GSA to terminate a lease, prevent a novation, or otherwise decline to make an award based on the disclosure. As such, GSA estimates that this rule will not result in these activities, and therefore no moving costs have been included in this regulatory impact analysis.
b Contractor Actions Needed for Compliance GSA assumes that most Federal lessors maintaining high-security leased space or Federal lessors that are competing for solicitations for highsecurity leased space are already familiar with the majority of the requirements of this rule, or, similarly, will not find the requirements of this interim rule as anything significantly more than what is currently expected.
GSA previously implemented ownership disclosures requirements through internal policy 2, GSAs Request for Lease Proposals or solicitations, and GSAs guidance through its publicfacing Leasing Desk Guide 3 and Leasing Alerts and Lease Acquisition Circulars.4
1 GSA LeasingCurrent Processes Regardless of who owns the leased space, Federal agencies are already taking risk management measures appropriate for the security level of the space. The GSA Leasing Desk Guide 5
outlines requirements and standards for new and replacement space. In Chapter 19 issued in 2012, it provides 2 In March 2017, GSAs Office of Leasing issued Leasing Alert LAFY1706 requiring Lease Contracting Officers LCOs to determine whether the ownership of leased space is identified as a foreign-owned entity and to notify the client agency in such instances, so that the agency can take any needed security mitigation measures. The Leasing Alert outlined the procedures to make this determination which involved a review of the entitys SAM registration; the Leasing Alert also required this review for all lease procurements and novations, regardless of the Facility Security Level FSL.
In October 2018, GSA added a Foreign Ownership and Financing Representation, to be included with all Request for Lease Proposals RLP
packages issued for prospectus-level lease projects.
This paper representation required the offeror to confirm both foreign ownership and foreign financing.
3 GSA Leasing Desk Guide Desk Guide.
4 GSAs Leasing Alerts and Lease Acquisition Circulars LAC.
5 The Desk Guide chapters contain authorities, policies, technical and procedural guides, and administrative limitations governing the acquisition by lease of real property. Chapter 19 is specific to security requirements.

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instructions for competitive procurements based on the Interagency Security Committee ISC,6 Physical Security Standards, and it outlines the Public Buildings Services PBS
responsibilities for performing background investigations on the lessors contractors.
In addition, a 2018 GSA Leasing Alert,7 provided required and recommended measures for lessors related to cybersecurity protections and precautions in leased facilities. It establishes lease language that prohibits lessors from connecting any portion of their building and access control systems BACS to any federally-owned or operated IT network and requires notification for cybersecurity incidents that impact a federal tenants safety, security, or proper functioning. The lease language also outlines recommended cybersecurity measures that lessors are encouraged to follow.
Lessors are already currently required to report certain ownership information.
As previously outlined, GSA currently uses information contained in the System for Award Management SAM
to collect foreign ownership information for potential lessors, including immediate or highest-level owners, and provides such information to tenant agencies. While this rule requires additional information related to the lessors financing, the review of immediate or highest-level owner detail has already been in place and is a requirement Federal lessors are familiar with.
2 GSA LeasingGeneral Security Framework As outlined in the GSA Leasing Desk Guide, the facility security level FSL 8
for each space requirement is set by the Department of Homeland SecurityFederal Protective Service FPS and the client agency, in consultation with the GSA as part of the requirements development phase of a lease acquisition. If the client agency and FPS
have not already conferred, GSA must coordinate with the necessary parties to set the appropriate level of security before the solicitation is drafted. The Desk Guide states that GSA Leasing 6 A Federal committee dedicated to the protection of Federal civilian facilities in the United States. It has 21 primary member agencies and 30 associate member agencies. The ISC has developed standards applicable to all civilian Federal facilities, including leased facilities.
7 LAFY1805, Cybersecurity Measures for Leased Facilities.
8 A categorization based on the analysis of several security-related facility factors, which serves as the basis for the implementation of countermeasures specified in ISC standards. CISA ISC Standard, March 2021.

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