[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28441-28442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13629]
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COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED
Procurement List; Additions
AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled.
ACTION: Additions to the procurement list.
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SUMMARY: This action adds to the Procurement List commodities and
services to be furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who
are blind or have other severe disabilities.
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 23, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled, Crystal Square 3, Suite 403, 1735 Jefferson Davis Highway,
Arlington, Virginia 22202-3461.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly Milkman (703) 603-7740.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 1, 22, December 20, 1996,
February 14, March 7, 28 and April 4, 1997, the Committee for Purchase
From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notices (61 FR
56511, 59401, 67306, 62 FR 6946, 10519, 14883 and 16135) of proposed
additions to the Procurement List.
The Following Comments Pertain to the Envelope, Translucent (7530-01-
354-3983+2)
Comments were received from one of two current contractors for
these envelopes. The contractor indicated that it has been a longtime
supplier of the envelopes, and that production of them for the
Government is the anchor business of one department of the plant where
the contractor produces the envelopes. Without this anchor business,
the contractor speculated that the department would be closed and its
employees discharged. The contractor also noted that it recently
modified a production machine to make the envelopes in a more efficient
manner, and that these efficiencies and the contractor's investment
would be lost if the envelopes are added to the Procurement List.
The contractor is a very large corporation, and the impact on its
sales of losing this business is insignificant. The Committee is not
adding the total Government requirement for one of the three types of
these envelopes to the Procurement List, so some of the business will
remain available for competitive procurement from this contractor. For
this reason, the likelihood of the contractor's department being closed
is lessened. Given the size of the contractor's operations, the
Committee considers it unlikely that any affected employees could not
be employed elsewhere in the plant's operation. The contractor will be
able to use its modified equipment to produce these envelopes for its
commercial business and the Government business left open to
competition, so the Procurement List addition will not cause the loss
of this investment. Moreover, if the modified equipment reduces
production costs and those savings are reflected in the contractor's
prices to the Government, the Committee's pricing system will assure
the similar savings are reflected in the prices charged the Government
by the nonprofit agency.
The Following Comments Pertain to Folder, Zebley Claim (7530-00-000-
0430/2)
Comments were received from the current contractor in response to a
request for sales data. A Member of Congress also wrote to request a
review of the contractor's contentions. The contractor claimed that the
Committee's Procurement List additions have disproportionately affected
the company, that the company has lost millions of dollars in sales and
many jobs as a result of the additions, and that the company has not
fully recovered from the losses.
The contract value for these zebley claim folders represents less
than one percent of the contractor's 1996 annual sales. The Committee
last added an item to the Procurement List where the contractor was the
current contractor in January 1994. The contractor's sales have
continued to grow significantly since that time. The contractor did not
provide any details on the jobs it claims were lost because of
Procurement List additions. Consequently, the Committee has concluded
that the current addition will not have a severe adverse impact on the
contractor or its work force.
The Following Comments Pertain to Janitorial/Custodial, Mare Island
Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA
Comments were received from the previous contractor for the service
when it submitted its sales data to the Committee. The contractor noted
that it has been greatly affected by base closures, as indicated by its
net income figures for the past three years. Removal of this service
from competition, according to the contractor, would hinder its ability
to stay in business while making the transition from dependence on
Government work.
Despite the reduction in the contractor's business in recent years,
this service represents only a small percentage of the contractor's
remaining total sales. As a result, the Committee does not believe the
adverse impact will be severe, even when the Committee's 1994 action in
adding to the Procurement List an even smaller contract where the firm
was the current contractor is taken into account. While the
contractor's sales have declined since 1994, the firm has not shown
that it will inevitably suffer grievous financial harm as a result of
the Committee's action, which will create jobs for people with severe
disabilities who would likely otherwise be unemployed, and will restore
[[Page 28442]]
employment opportunities at a nonprofit agency which lost all of its
contracts under the Committee's program due to earlier Government
downsizing.
The Following Comments Pertain to Laundry Service, Basewide, USAF
Academy, Colorado Springs, CO
Comments were received from the current contractor for the laundry
service. The contractor claimed that addition of the service would
create a severe financial hardship for the company as the loss would be
hard to recoup in the local market, where prices have been severely
depressed due to competition from large firms located in a nearby large
metropolitan area. The contractor indicated that it is still recovering
from a 1992 loss of another contract at the same Government
installation to a large company. The contractor also noted that several
years ago it reorganized its operation to serve the local Government
market, and as a result Government contracts have become a large part
of its business.
The Committee's principal indicator of adverse impact on a
contractor is the percentage of the contractor's sales which would be
lost if a commodity or service were added to the Procurement List. In
this case, the percentage is well below the level that the Committee
normally considers to be severe adverse impact. Even if the
contractor's dependence on the local Government market and possible
residual effects of the 1992 loss are considered, the Committee does
not believe that the impact of this Procurement List addition on the
contractor rises to the level of severe adverse impact. The
contractor's decision to concentrate on the local Government market was
a business decision for which the contractor must be prepared to bear
the consequences. The contractor has not demonstrated that loss of this
contract will specifically harm the company in an irreparable way. As
the Procurement List addition will create jobs for people with severe
disabilities, a group with an unemployment rate over 65 percent, the
Committee feels that any potential ill effects for the contractor are
outweighed by this creation of jobs.
After consideration of the material presented to it concerning
capability of qualified nonprofit agencies to provide the commodities
and services and impact of the additions on the current or most recent
contractors, the Committee has determined that the commodities and
services listed below are suitable for procurement by the Federal
Government under 41 U.S.C. 46-48c and 41 CFR 51-2.4.
I certify that the following action will not have a significant
impact on a substantial number of small entities. The major factors
considered for this certification were:
1. The action will not result in any additional reporting,
recordkeeping or other compliance requirements for small entities other
than the small organizations that will furnish the commodities and
services to the Government.
2. The action will not have a severe economic impact on current
contractors for the commodities and services.
3. The action will result in authorizing small entities to furnish
the commodities and services to the Government.
4. There are no known regulatory alternatives which would
accomplish the objectives of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46-
48c) in connection with the commodities and services proposed for
addition to the Procurement List.
Accordingly, the following commodities and services are hereby
added to the Procurement List:
Commodities
Office and Miscellaneous Supplies (Requirements for the Defense Supply
Service--Washington for the following locations: Park Center #4, 4501
Ford Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia; Skyline #3, 5109 Leesburg Pike,
Alexandria, Virginia; Rosslyn, 1401 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington,
Virginia)
Envelope, Translucent, 7530-01-354-2327, 7530-01-354-3982 (Fort Worth,
TX depot only), 7530-01-354-3983
Folder, Zebley Claim, 7530-00-000-0430, 7530-00-000-0432
Scourer, Copper, M.R. 505
Bath Puff, M.R. 566
Master Baster, M.R. 802
Towels, Seasonal, M.R. 1009
Services
Grounds Maintenance, Basewide, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
Grounds Maintenance, U.S. Army Reserve Center, Parkersburg, West
Virginia
Janitorial/Custodial, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California
Laundry Service, Basewide, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado
Springs, Colorado
Laundry Service, U.S. Air Force Academy, Cadet Dining Hall, Colorado
Springs, Colorado
This action does not affect current contracts awarded prior to the
effective date of this addition or options that may be exercised under
those contracts.
Beverly L. Milkman,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 97-13629 Filed 5-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P
