95-21823. COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED PROCUREMENT LIST; ADDITION

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 170 (Friday, September 1, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 45704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21823]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY 
DISABLED PROCUREMENT LIST; ADDITION

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled.

ACTION: Addition to the Procurement List.

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SUMMARY: This action adds to the Procurement List a commodity to be 
furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have 
other severe disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 2, 1995.

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 [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 30, 1995, the Committee for Purchase 
From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notice (60 FR 
34235) of proposed addition to the Procurement List.
    Comments were received from one of the current contractors for this 
paper towel. The commenter claimed that adding the towel to the 
Procurement List would have a significantly adverse effect on the 
contractor and would result in dramatically higher prices because there 
would no longer be competition on this product. The contractor also 
observed that nonprofit agencies employing people who are blind or 
severely disabled are not able to produce items themselves but have to 
subcontract production to manufac- turers.
    The current contract which this contractor holds with the 
Government for these towels represents only a very small percentage of 
its total sales, and a considerably smaller percentage than it claimed. 
Even if the impact of the 1993 addition to the Procurement List of 
another commodity for which the contractor held a Government contract 
at the time is taken into account, the impact of the Committee's action 
on this contractor does not reach a level which the Committee considers 
severe.
    The Committee is required to set a fair market price for each 
commodity and service added to the Procurement List, and to adjust the 
price as conditions change to assure the price remains competitive. The 
price established by the Committee does not represent a significant 
increase over the current Government contract price.
    The nonprofit agency which will produce the towels will convert 
paper stock into finished towels, as well as perform all packaging 
operations. It should be noted that the packaging operations are the 
labor-intensive parts of towel production which create jobs for blind 
people, as the other parts of the process are done by machine.
    After consideration of the material presented to it concerning 
capability of qualified nonprofit agencies to provide the commodity, 
fair market price, and impact of the addition on the current or most 
recent contractors, the Committee has determined that the commodity 
listed below is 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 commodity to the 
Government.
    2. The action does not appear to have a severe economic impact on 
current contractors for the commodity.
    3. The action will result in authorizing small entities to furnish 
the commodity 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 commodity proposed for addition to the 
Procurement List.
    Accordingly, the following commodity is hereby added to the 
Procurement List:

Towel, Paper
    8540-00-291-0392

    This action does not affect current contracts awarded prior to the 
effective date of this addition or options exercised under those 
contracts.
E.R. Alley, Jr.,
Deputy Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 95-21823 Filed 8-31-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-33-P