[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 179 (Friday, September 15, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47934-47935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22975]
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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 distress marker
light to be furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are
blind or have other severe disabilities.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 16, 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 (703) 603-7740.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 2, 1995, the Committee for Purchase
From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notice (60
F.R. 28781) of proposed addition to the Procurement List. Comments were
received from two producers of the distress marker light, one of which
is a current contractor with the Government for the light. The
contractor stated that the light is a large percentage of its sales,
and that losing these sales would have a severe impact on the company
and its employees. The contractor claimed that addition of this light
to the Procurement List would unreasonably foreclose the contractor
from the Government market for strobe marker distress lights, as the
Committee has already added the other version the Government buys to
the Procurement List. The contractor asked that the Committee not add
the light to the Procurement List at least until the current commercial
procurement is completed, to allow the contractor to develop a
commercial item which would replace the loss of Government sales of the
light.
[[Page 47935]]
The figures the contractor initially provided to show how the
addition would deprive it of a large part of its sales made the
assumption that the contractor would receive the contract for the
entire requirement for which the Government currently has a
solicitation outstanding if the Committee were not to add the light to
the Procurement List. The Committee does not consider this assumption
to be realistic, because the contractor received less than half of the
Government requirements under the most recent procurements, and the
contractor has not received a substantial contract for this light since
1992, so it should not be unusually dependent on Government sales of
the light.
The contractor subsequently provided other sales information, which
indicated that, while the contractor's total sales are considerably
less than the forecast the Committee used to estimate impact, the
percentage represented by sales of the light to the Government is small
enough that its loss is unlikely to have a severe adverse impact on the
contractor. Additionally, the contracting activity which buys the light
for the Government has indicated that it will complete its current buy
before the addition of the light to the Procurement List becomes
legally effective. Consequently, the contractor will receive the
opportunity it seeks to sell the light to the Government long enough to
develop its commercial item.
The other strobe marker distress light was added to the Procurement
List in 1973. The commenting contractor was not the contractor for that
light at the time; it did not even exist at the time. Consequently, it
did not lose sales as a result of the Committee's action.
The other producer of the light is a new company which claimed that
it was in line for a contract award for the light earlier this year
when the contracting activity cancelled the solicitation, on the basis
that the light had been added to the Procurement List, before the
producer could obtain a certificate of competency from the Small
Business Administration to qualify for the contract award. The producer
also objected to the loss of the opportunity to recoup its investment
in producing the light.
While the basis for the cancellation of the solicitation was
erroneous, as the light was not then on the Procurement List, the
contracting activity has informed the Committee that it has
subsequently rescinded the cancellation. The contracting activity also
informed the Committee that it found the producer nonresponsible, and
the producer failed to apply for its certificate of competency within
the required period, so it is not eligible for a contract award. These
events occurred before the solicitation was erroneously cancelled.
Accordingly, the producer's loss of the contract cannot be attributed
to the Committee's action in adding the light to the Procurement List.
Similarly, the producer's loss of the opportunity to recoup its
investment was caused by its failure to take an action needed to
receive a contract award, not by the Committee's action. While the
producer will lose further opportunities to recoup its investment once
the light is on the Procurement List, it should be noted that it would
risk losing these opportunities even if the light had not been added to
the Procurement List because no one is guaranteed a contract under the
competitive bidding system.
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 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 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:
Light, Marker, Distress
6230-01-143-4778
This action does not affect current contracts awarded prior to the
effective date of this addition or options exercised under those
contracts.
Beverly L. Milkman,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 95-22975 Filed 9-14-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-33-P
