On January 3, 2012, the FAR Council issued a final rule to implement a congressional mandate that the public have access to all information (excluding past performance reviews) in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (“FAPIIS”). FAPIIS was created in 2010 as a one-stop shop for contracting officers to review information about contractors’ business ethics, integrity, and performance.
In response to concerns raised about the disclosure of a contractor’s proprietary and confidential information, the final rule added an immediately effective requirement that contractors be given a seven-calendar-day review period to object to the public release of information on the grounds that such information is exempt from disclosure under FOIA. If a contractor objects, the information will be removed by the Government and the issue will be resolved in accordance with agency FOIA procedures. If there is no objection, the entry will be automatically released to the public part of the FAPIIS site within 14 calendar days after the review period began.