1.Short title; table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act of
2010
.
(b)The table of
contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or
People With Other Significant Disabilities.
Sec. 3. Procurement requirements for the Federal Government;
nonapplication to prison made products.
Sec. 4. Duties of the Committee.
Sec. 5. Qualified nonprofit agency.
Sec. 6. Audit.
Sec. 7. Establishment of Inspector General for Committee for
Purchase From People Who Are Blind or People With Other Significant
Disabilities.
Sec. 8. Panel on the Committee and Federal
procurement.
Sec. 9. Definitions.
Sec. 10. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 11. Committee for Purchase Fund.
Sec. 12. Conforming repeal.
2.Committee for
Purchase From People Who Are Blind or People With Other Significant
Disabilities
(a)There
is established an independent Federal entity to be known as the Committee for
Purchase From People Who Are Blind or People With Other Significant
Disabilities (in this Act referred to as the Committee
).
(b)
(1)The Committee shall be composed of 17 members appointed
by the President as follows:
(A)One general or flag officer or Senior
Executive Service or equivalent employee from each of the following:
(i)The Department of
Agriculture.
(ii)The
Department of Commerce.
(iii)The Department
of Defense.
(iv)The
Department of Education.
(v)The
Department of Homeland Security.
(vi)The
Department of Justice.
(vii)The Department
of Labor.
(viii)The Department
of the Air Force.
(ix)The
Department of the Army.
(x)The
Department of the Interior.
(xi)The
Department of the Navy.
(xii)The Department
of Veterans Affairs.
(xiii)The General
Services Administration.
(B)One member who is
not an officer or employee of the Federal Government and who is conversant with
the problems incident to the employment of people who are blind.
(C)One member who is not an officer or
employee of the Federal Government and who is conversant with the problems
incident to the employment of people with other significant
disabilities.
(D)One member who is not an officer or
employee of the Federal Government and who represents people who are blind and
employed in a qualified nonprofit agency for people who are blind.
(E)One member who is not an officer or
employee of the Federal Government and who represents people with other
significant disabilities (other than people who are blind) who are employed in
a qualified nonprofit agency for people with other significant
disabilities.
(2)Nomination of
general or flag officer or Senior Executive Service
(A)The head of each department or agency listed in paragraph
(1)(A) shall nominate, in consultation with the Committee, one general or flag
officer or Senior Executive Service or equivalent employee in the department or
agency for appointment under such paragraph.
(B)Those officers or employees serving as members of the
Committee on the effective date of this Act who are not general or flag
officers or Senior Executive Service or equivalent employees may continue
serving until the head of the department or agency nominates a new officer or
employee and the nominated officer or employee is appointed by the President as
a member on the Committee.
(c)
(1)Except as provided in
paragraph (2), each member shall be appointed for a term of 5 years and may be
reappointed to the Committee.
(2)
(A)Any member appointed
under subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (E) of subsection (b)(1) to fill a
vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s
predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that
term.
(B)A member may serve after the expiration of that member’s
term until a successor has taken office.
(C)Appointment of
member for vacancyA vacancy in the Committee shall be filled in
the manner in which the appointment was made pursuant to subsection (b).
(d)
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), members of the Committee
shall each be entitled to receive the daily equivalent of the annual rate of
basic pay under section 5376 of title 5, United States Code, for each day
(including travel time) during which they are engaged in the actual performance
of duties vested in the Committee.
(2)Prohibition of
compensation of Federal employeesMembers of the Committee who are officers
or employees of the Federal Government may not receive additional pay,
allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the Committee.
(e)Each member shall receive travel expenses, including per
diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions under
subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
(f)
(1)For the purpose of chapter 171 of title 28, United States
Code, each member of the Committee shall be considered to be a Federal
employee.
(2)Federal status
of membersEach member of the Committee shall be considered to be
a Federal employee for purposes of the provisions of law relating to ethics,
conflicts of interest, corruption, and any other criminal or civil statute or
regulation governing the conduct of Federal employees.
(g)
(1)The members of the Committee shall elect
one of the members to be Chairman of the Committee.
(2)The
Chairman may serve after the expiration of the term until a successor has taken
office.
(h)Executive
Director, General Counsel, and Staff of Committee; experts and
consultants
(1)Executive
Director and General Counsel
(A)Subject to rules prescribed by the Committee, the
Chairman may appoint and fix the pay of an Executive Director and General
Counsel to assist the Committee, at the direction of the Committee, in carrying
out the Committee’s duties and powers under this Act.
(B)The Executive
Director shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level
II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United States
Code.
(C)The General Counsel shall
be paid at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level III of the
Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.
(2)
(A)Subject
to rules prescribed by the Committee and with the consent of the Chairman, the
Executive Director may appoint and fix the pay of additional personnel as the
Executive Director considers necessary.
(B)Applicability of
certain civil service lawsPersonnel appointed under subparagraph
(A) shall be appointed subject to the provisions of title 5, United States
Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid in
accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53
of that title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates.
(3)
(A)Notwithstanding
paragraph (2)(B) and subject to section 5377 of title 5, United States Code,
any rules prescribed by the Committee, and subparagraph (B), the Executive
Director may appoint and fix the pay of such individuals that the Executive
Director considers necessary for positions designated as critical
administrative, technical, and professional.
(B)The
number of critical positions designated under subparagraph (A) may not exceed
15 percent of the full-time equivalent positions authorized for the Committee
staff.
(4)With the approval of the Chairman, the Executive
Director may procure temporary and intermittent services under section 3109(b)
of title 5, United States Code.
(i)Staff of Federal
agenciesUpon request of the Committee, the head of any Federal
department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis,
any of the personnel of that department or agency to the Committee to assist it
in carrying out its duties and powers under this Act.
(j)
(1)The Committee
may secure directly from any department or agency of the United States,
designated central nonprofit agency, or qualified nonprofit agency, information
necessary to enable it to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chairman of
the Committee, the head of that department or agency shall furnish that
information to the Committee.
(2)Administrative
support servicesUpon the request of the Committee, the
Administrator of General Services shall provide to the Committee, on a
reimbursable basis, the administrative support services necessary for the
Committee to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Committee under
this Act.
3.Procurement
requirements for the Federal Government; nonapplication to prison made
products
(a)Except as provided in subsection (b), if
any entity of the Federal Government intends to procure any product or service,
or any product or service that is essentially the same as a product or service
on the procurement list, that entity shall, in accordance with regulations of
the Committee, procure such product or service, at the price established by the
Committee, from a qualified nonprofit agency for people who are blind or such
an agency for people with other significant disabilities designated by the
Committee if the product or service is available within the period required by
that entity.
(b)This
section shall not apply with respect to the procurement of any product that is
available for procurement from an industry established under chapter 307 of
title 18, United States Code, and which, under section 4124 of such title, is
required to be procured from such industry.
4.
(a)The Committee shall oversee and carry out a
program under this Act to administer and implement the procurement list and
other provisions of this Act.
(b)
(1)The Committee shall establish and publish in the Federal
Register a list (in this Act referred to as the procurement
list
) that includes—
(A)the products
produced by—
(i)any
qualified nonprofit agency for people who are blind; or
(ii)any
qualified nonprofit agency for people with other significant disabilities;
and
(B)the services
provided by any such agency;
that the
Committee determines are suitable for procurement by the Federal Government
pursuant to this Act.(2)Adding and
removing products and services from the procurement listExcept
as provided under paragraph (3), the Committee may, by rule made in accordance
with the requirements of subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of section 553 of
title 5, United States Code, add to and remove from the procurement list
products so produced and services so provided.
(3)Adding products
and services to the procurement list for compelling need
(A)Notwithstanding
subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of section 553 of title 5, United States
Code, and subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Committee may establish a
process to immediately add products or services to the procurement list for a
period not to exceed five years if the Committee determines that there is a
compelling need to add such products or services.
(B)The Committee shall ensure that any process
under subparagraph (A) provides, before adding a product or service to the
list, an opportunity for a full and fair consideration of input of the
responsible contracting activity that includes the following:
(i)The capability of
the proposed nonprofit agency to provide the product or service.
(ii)The extent to
which the proposed price adequately reflects a fair market price.
(iii)The suitability of the product or service
to the contracting activity.
(C)Any
product or service that is immediately added to the procurement list pursuant
to this paragraph—
(i)shall be for a
contract that is valued at less than the simplified acquisition threshold
annually; and
(ii)shall meet the
requirements of
paragraph (2) not later than two years
after the date on which such product or service is added to the procurement
list.
(4)In
administering the procurement list, the Committee shall designate which
qualified nonprofit agency may provide the products or services to the Federal
Government and may transfer the responsibility to provide such products or
services from any nonprofit agency to another nonprofit agency if necessary, as
provided by regulations.
(5)The Committee—
(A)shall inform Federal agencies about the
procurement list and the procurement requirements under section 3 of this
Act;
(B)shall encourage
and assist Federal agencies to identify additional products and services that
would be suitable to add to the procurement list; and
(C)shall encourage the private sector to work
with qualified nonprofit agencies to increase employment opportunities for
people who are blind or people with other significant disabilities.
(c)Fair market
price; price revisionThe Committee shall—
(1)determine the fair
market price of products and services that are on the procurement list and that
are offered for sale to the Federal Government by any qualified nonprofit
agency; and
(2)revise, in accordance with changing market
conditions, its price determinations with respect to such products and
services.
(d)
(1)Designation of
central nonprofit agencyTo
perform the duties and responsibilities under paragraph (2) and any other
duties and responsibilities the Committee determines are necessary to carry out
the purposes of this Act in accordance with regulations, the Committee shall
designate—
(A)a central nonprofit agency or agencies for
people who are blind that is an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a)
of such Code; and
(B)a central nonprofit agency or agencies for
people with other significant disabilities that is an organization described in
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation
under section 501(a) of such Code.
(2)Central
nonprofit agency dutiesThe
Committee may assign to the designated central nonprofit agencies the following
duties and responsibilities:
(A)Evaluate the qualifications and
capabilities of the nonprofit agencies of such central nonprofit agency and
provide the Committee with relevant data regarding such nonprofit
agencies.
(B)Represent the nonprofit agencies of such
central nonprofit agency in matters before the Committee.
(C)Obtain from
Federal contracting activities such procurement information as the Committee
determines is appropriate.
(D)Recommend to the
Committee suitable products or services to add to the procurement list.
(E)Recommend to the
Committee—
(i)the
initial fair market price for the products and services proposed to be added to
the procurement list; and
(ii)price changes as market conditions
change.
(F)Allocate, in accordance with the policy
guidelines of the Committee, orders for products and services on the
procurement list to the qualified nonprofit agencies of the central nonprofit
agency.
(G)When authorized by the Committee, enter
into contracts with Federal agencies to provide products or services on the
procurement list.
(H)Submit preliminary documentation and
information to support the qualification under section 5 of the nonprofit
agencies of such central nonprofit agency.
(I)Obtain and review annual qualification
information from the nonprofit agencies of the central nonprofit agency.
(J)Assist the nonprofit agencies of the
central nonprofit agency to meet statutory, regulatory, and contractual
requirements.
(K)Assist the nonprofit agencies of the
central nonprofit agency to facilitate efforts to assist employees who are
interested to enter or retain other full-time or, if appropriate, part-time
competitive employment in the integrated labor market or satisfy the vocational
outcome of self-employment.
(L)Perform other noninherently governmental
functions, at the request of the Committee or a qualified nonprofit agency of
the central nonprofit agency.
(3)The Committee shall
require each designated central nonprofit agency to implement
procedures—
(A)that provide for a
review of the decisions made by the central nonprofit agency that adversely
impact the qualified nonprofit agency (or agency seeking qualified status);
and
(B)that include a provision for a qualified
nonprofit agency (or agency seeking qualified status) to appeal such adverse
decision to the Committee.
(e)
(1)The Committee shall
prescribe regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act,
including additions, deletions, transfers, and pricing of items on the
procurement list and qualifications and fees of central nonprofit
agencies.
(2)The Committee shall prescribe regulations
providing that, in the purchase by the Federal Government of products produced
and offered for sale by qualified nonprofit agencies for people who are blind
or people with other significant disabilities, priority shall be accorded to
products produced and offered for sale by qualified nonprofit agencies for
people who are blind.
(3)Definition for
compelling needThe Committee shall prescribe regulations that
define compelling need
for purposes of section 4(b)(3).
(4)Central
nonprofit agency feeThe
Committee shall prescribe regulations establishing an annual maximum ceiling
for a fee paid by nonprofit agencies to the central nonprofit agency.
(5)The Committee shall prescribe regulations
to address alleged violations of this Act and regulations prescribed pursuant
to this Act by central nonprofit agencies and qualified nonprofit agencies,
including progressive sanctions and an opportunity for such agencies to address
and submit statements about such alleged violations to the Committee.
(f)The Committee may
conduct pilot or demonstration projects (on its own or in cooperation with
other public, nonprofit agencies, or private agencies) on the following:
(1)Methods to
increase use by the Federal Government of products produced and services
delivered by qualified nonprofit agencies throughout the Federal Government,
including methods to remove or mitigate any barriers or impediments to such
usage.
(2)Development and
adaptation of production methods that would enable a greater use of people who
are blind and people with other significant disabilities.
(g)Annual Report
and Data Collection
(1)The Committee shall, not later than April 1 of each year,
evaluate and submit to the President and to Congress a report that includes the
following:
(A)The names of the
Committee members serving in the preceding fiscal year.
(B)The dates of
Committee meetings in such fiscal year.
(C)A description of
the activities of the Committee under this Act in such fiscal year.
(D)Data regarding
compliance of Federal agencies with the requirements of this Act.
(E)An analysis of the direct and indirect
effects of this Act on the small business community.
(F)An analysis of
Federal agency level of performance with the requirements of section 3 of this
Act, including number and dollar value of contracts awarded pursuant to this
Act.
(2)At the request of the Committee, Federal agencies
shall provide data to the Committee regarding compliance with the requirements
of this Act.
(3)Central
nonprofit agencies and qualified nonprofit agency collection of
dataCentral nonprofit agencies and qualified nonprofit agencies
shall keep records prescribed by the Committee and shall participate in data
collection, including data required for preparation of the required
reports.
5.Qualified
nonprofit agency
(a)Qualified
nonprofit agencyIn this Act,
the term qualified nonprofit agency means—
(1)a
qualified nonprofit agency for people who are blind, as defined in
subsection (b); or
(2)a
qualified nonprofit agency for people with other significant disabilities, as
defined in
subsection (c).
(b)Qualified
nonprofit agency for people who are blind
(1)In this Act, the term qualified nonprofit agency
for people who are blind means a nonprofit agency for people who are
blind that—
(A)meets the initial
qualification requirement under
paragraph (2) and maintains qualification
under
paragraph (3) where applicable;
(B)provides
employment for people who are blind; and
(C)complies with all
other regulations for qualified nonprofit agencies prescribed by the
Committee.
(2)In order to meet the initial qualification
requirement under this paragraph, a nonprofit agency for people who are blind
must submit a certification to the Committee through the central nonprofit
agency that includes the following assurances:
(A)Such nonprofit agency is organized under
the laws of the United States or of a State.
(B)Such nonprofit agency is operated in the
best interest of people who are blind.
(C)The net income of such nonprofit agency
does not inure in whole or in part to the benefit of any shareholder or other
individual.
(D)Such nonprofit agency uses sound
organizational and personnel assignment practices, including making
nondiscriminatory decisions to employ and advance in employment qualified
people who are blind.
(E)Such nonprofit agency practices sound
fiscal management in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles.
(3)Maintenance of
qualificationIn order to
maintain qualification under this paragraph, a nonprofit agency for people who
are blind must meet each of the following requirements:
(A)Maintain all
qualifications necessary for initial qualification.
(B)Furnish products
and services in accordance with Federal Government contracts.
(C)Comply with
applicable Federal procurement standards, compensation, employment, and
occupational health and safety standards, including procedures to encourage
filling of vacancies within the agency by promotion of qualified employees who
are blind.
(D)Comply with
regulations prescribed by the Committee.
(E)Make the records
of the nonprofit agency available for review and inspection by the Committee or
the designated central nonprofit agency.
(F)Upon receipt of payment by the Federal
agency for products or services provided under contracts awarded to qualified
nonprofit agencies pursuant to this Act, pay to the central nonprofit agency a
fee not to exceed the fee ceiling established by the Committee.
(G)Employ people who are blind for not less
than 75 percent of the employment hours required for products or services
provided under contracts awarded to qualified nonprofit agencies pursuant to
this Act, except as provided for under paragraph (4).
(4)Waiver for
employment requirement
(A)The
Committee may waive the requirement under paragraph (3)(I) for a nonprofit
agency for people who are blind if the Committee determines that—
(i)the
nonprofit agency employs people who are blind at a percentage less than 75
percent of the employment hours, but not less than 51 percent of the employment
hours; and
(ii)the—
(I)nonprofit agency
is temporarily unable to meet the 75 percent requirement due to an emergency or
extraordinary circumstance;
(II)particular product or service is
significantly complex as to make it unlikely that the nonprofit agency can meet
the 75 percent employment hour requirement; or
(III)nonprofit agency could employ a substantial
number of people who have the most significant productivity challenges at wages
at or above the applicable Federal or State minimum wage for the particular
product or service.
(B)The Committee shall prescribe regulations
on the process and the factors that determine whether to exercise the waiver
authority under this paragraph.
(5)A qualified nonprofit agency for people who
are blind shall prepare and submit to the Committee, through the applicable
central nonprofit agency, a report by December 31 of each year that contains
the following:
(A)The number of people who are blind that
provided products or services provided under contracts awarded to qualified
nonprofit agencies pursuant to this Act for the previous fiscal year.
(B)The number of people who are blind that
received training, technical assistance, or other employment services
facilitated by the agency pursuant to this Act.
(C)The number of
people who are blind who are in management positions or other positions within
the agency with decision-making authority as set forth in the Committee
regulations.
(c)Qualified
nonprofit agency for people with other significant disabilities
(1)In this Act, the term
qualified nonprofit agency for people with other significant
disabilities means a nonprofit agency for people with other significant
disabilities that—
(A)meets the initial qualification requirement
under
paragraph (2) and maintains qualification
under
paragraph (3) where applicable;
(B)provides
employment for people with other significant disabilities;
(C)may provide
employment for people who are blind; and
(D)complies with all
other regulations for qualified nonprofit agencies prescribed by the
Committee.
(2)In order to meet the initial qualification
requirement under this paragraph, a nonprofit agency for people with other
significant disabilities must submit a certification to the Committee through
the central nonprofit agency that includes the following assurances:
(A)Such nonprofit agency is organized under
the laws of the United States or of a State.
(B)Such nonprofit agency is operated in the
best interest of people with other significant disabilities.
(C)The net income of such nonprofit agency
does not inure in whole or in part to the benefit of any shareholder or other
individual.
(D)Such nonprofit agency uses sound
organizational and personnel assignment practices, including making
nondiscriminatory decisions to employ and advance in employment qualified
people with other significant disabilities.
(E)Such nonprofit agency practices sound
fiscal management in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles.
(3)Maintenance of
qualificationIn order to
maintain qualification under this paragraph, a nonprofit agency for people with
other significant disabilities must meet each of the following
requirements:
(A)Maintain all
qualifications necessary for initial qualification.
(B)Furnish products
and services in accordance with Federal Government contracts.
(C)Comply with
applicable Federal procurement standards, compensation, employment, and
occupational health and safety standards, including procedures to encourage
filling of vacancies within the agency by promotion of qualified people with
other significant disabilities.
(D)Comply with
regulations prescribed by the Committee.
(E)Make the records
of the nonprofit agency available for review and inspection by the Committee or
the designated central nonprofit agency.
(F)Upon receipt of
payment by the Federal agency for products or services provided under contracts
awarded to qualified nonprofit agencies pursuant to this Act, pay to the
central nonprofit agency a fee not to exceed the fee ceiling established by the
Committee.
(G)Employ people with other significant
disabilities for not less than 75 percent of the employment hours required for
products or services provided under contracts awarded to qualified nonprofit
agencies pursuant to this Act, except as provided for under paragraph
(4).
(4)Waiver for
employment requirement
(A)The
Committee may waive the requirement under paragraph (3)(I) for a nonprofit
agency for people with other significant disabilities if the Committee
determines that—
(i)the
nonprofit agency employs people with other significant disabilities at a
percentage less than 75 percent of the employment hours, but not less than 51
percent of the employment hours; and
(ii)the—
(I)nonprofit agency
is temporarily unable to meet the 75 percent requirement due to an emergency or
extraordinary circumstance;
(II)particular product or service is
significantly complex as to make it unlikely that the nonprofit agency can meet
the 75 percent employment hour requirement; or
(III)nonprofit agency could employ a substantial
number of people who have the most significant productivity challenges at wages
at or above the applicable Federal or State minimum wage for the particular
product or service.
(B)The Committee shall prescribe regulations
on the process and the factors that determine whether to exercise the waiver
authority under this paragraph.
(5)A qualified nonprofit agency for people
with other significant disabilities shall prepare and submit, through the
applicable central nonprofit agency, to the Committee a report by December 31
of each year that contains the following:
(A)The number of people with other significant
disabilities that provided products or services provided under contracts
awarded to qualified nonprofit agencies pursuant to this Act for the previous
year.
(B)The number of people with other significant
disabilities that received training, technical assistance, or other employment
services facilitated by the agency pursuant to this Act.
(C)The number of people with other significant
disabilities who are in management positions or other positions within the
agency with decision-making authority as set forth in the Committee
regulations.
6.The Comptroller General of the United
States, or a duly authorized representative, shall have access, for the purpose
of audit and examination, to any books, documents, papers, and other records of
the Committee and of each central nonprofit agency designated by the Committee
under this Act. This section shall also apply to any qualified nonprofit agency
for people who are blind and any such agency for people with other significant
disabilities that have sold products or services under this Act but only with
respect to the books, documents, papers, and other records of such agency which
relate to its activities in a fiscal year in which a sale was made under this
Act.
7.Establishment of
Inspector General for Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or
People With Other Significant Disabilities
(a)Section 8G(a)(2) of the Inspector General
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding after the Board for
International Broadcasting,
the following: Committee for
Purchase From People Who Are Blind or People With Other Significant
Disabilities,
.
(b)The Chairman of the Committee shall appoint
an Inspector General for the Committee not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(c)Authority To
investigate Federal agency complianceThe Inspector General of the Committee for
Purchase From People Who Are Blind or People With Other Significant
Disabilities, in consultation with other inspectors general, may investigate
Federal agency compliance with this Act.
8.Panel on the
Committee and Federal procurement
(a)The
Chairman of the Committee shall establish a panel to be known as the
Panel on the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or People
With Other Significant Disabilities and Federal Procurement
(in this
section referred to as the Panel
).
(b)The
Panel shall be composed of representatives as follows:
(1)A representative of the Committee appointed
by the Chairman, who shall be Co-Chairman of the Panel.
(2)The Under
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, who shall
serve as Co-Chairman of the Panel.
(3)A
representative of the Office for Federal Procurement Policy.
(4)The chief acquisition officer of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(5)The chief acquisition officer of the
Department of Homeland Security.
(6)The chief acquisition officer of the
Department of the Interior.
(7)The chief acquisition officer of the
General Services Administration.
(8)The chief acquisition officer of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
(9)The chief acquisition officer of the
Department of Agriculture.
(10)Such other representatives as the Chairman
of the Committee determines is appropriate.
(c)The duties of the Panel shall be to—
(1)complete any
matters assigned by the Chairman of the Committee;
(2)review the actions taken by the Committee
with regard to the procurement requirement under section 3 of this Act, review
Federal agency compliance with such requirement, and recommend, if necessary,
legislation, regulations, policy, or infrastructure to increase employment of
people who are blind or people with other significant disabilities through such
requirement;
(3)review progress
made by the Committee and Federal agencies to increase employment for United
States citizens who are people who are blind or people with other significant
disabilities through the requirement under section 3;
(4)recommend changes
to the procurement practices of Federal agencies through proposed legislation,
regulations, policy, and infrastructure that will increase employment of people
who are blind or people with other significant disabilities; and
(5)recommend
education and awareness of procurement officials regarding the requirement
under section 3.
(d)The
Panel shall meet as determined necessary by the Chairmen of the Panel, but not
less than once every month.
(e)Not later than 6 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Panel shall prepare and submit to the Chairman
of the Committee and the Congress a report on the activities of the Panel,
including a summary of the findings and recommendations of the Panel for the
fiscal year covered by the report.
(f)The
Panel shall terminate on the date on which the report is submitted pursuant to
subsection (e).
9.In this Act:
(1)The term central nonprofit agency
means a central nonprofit agency designated under
section 4(d).
(2)The term employment hours includes all work
required for preparation, processing, packing, and distribution of a product,
or work directly relating to the performance of a service, and may include
employment hours for supervision, administration, inspection, shipping, or
other directly allocable services, only when the individual whose direct
employment hours of supervision, administration, inspection, shipping, or other
directly allocable services being counted, meets the definition of
people who are blind
or people with other significant
disabilities
.
(3)The term Federal Government includes any
entity of the legislative branch or the judicial branch, any executive agency
or military department (as such agency and department are respectively defined
by sections 102 and 105 of title 5, United States Code), the United States
Postal Service, and any nonappropriated fund instrumentality under the
jurisdiction of the Armed Forces.
(4)The term major life activity includes
mobility, communication, self-care, self-direction, work tolerance, or work
skills.
(5)The term people who are blind means an
individual or class of individuals whose central visual acuity does not exceed
20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses or whose visual acuity, if
better than 20/200, is accompanied by a limit to the field of vision in the
better eye to such a degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle of no
greater than 20 degrees.
(6)People with
other significant disabilitiesThe term people with other
significant disabilities means an individual or class of individuals
with a physical or mental impairment or combination of impairments, other than
people who are blind, for whom competitive employment has not occurred or
currently is not occurring as demonstrated by—
(A)a work function
barrier or employment activity limitation, including the need for services or
support on an ongoing basis, or on a recurrent basis to the degree that
manifestation of the impairment is episodic, over an extended period of time;
and
(B)substantial
limitation of two or more major life activities.
(7)Qualified
nonprofit agencyThe term qualified nonprofit agency
has the meaning given that term in
section 5.
(8)Simplified
acquisition thresholdThe term simplified acquisition
threshold has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Office of
Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403).
(9)The
term State means each of the several States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any other territory or possession
of the United States.
10.It is the sense of
Congress that the term people with other significant disabilities
maintains (neither expands nor narrows) eligibility under this Act for
other severely handicapped
and severely handicapped
individuals
, as such terms are defined in the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act
(41 U.S.C. 46 et seq.), as in existence before the date of the enactment of
this Act.
11.Committee for
Purchase Fund
(a)There is established in
the Treasury of the United States a separate account for the deposit of fees
under this Act to be known as the Committee for Purchase Fund.
(b)Assessment and
collection of Committee feesThe Committee shall assess and
collect each year, in accordance with this section, fees from each central
nonprofit agency for an amount as needed that is not more than 5 percent of the
fees collected by such central nonprofit agency from qualified nonprofit
agencies.
(c)The Secretary shall deposit any fees
collected pursuant to
subsection (b) into the Committee for
Purchase Fund established by
subsection (a).
(d)
(1)Amounts in the
Committee for Purchase Fund shall be immediately available to the Committee,
and shall remain available until expended, for—
(A)the payment of
employees for oversight and compliance purposes; and
(B)to provide for
the Inspector General established pursuant to section
7.
(2)Fees not
government fundsFunds
obtained by, transferred to, or credited to the Committee for Purchase Fund
shall not be construed to be Government funds or appropriated monies.
(3)Amounts not
subject to apportionmentNotwithstanding any other provision of law,
amounts in the Committee for Purchase Fund shall not be subject to
apportionment for purposes of chapter 15 of title 31, United States Code, or
under any other authority, or for any other purpose.
(e)Not
later than 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Committee
shall prescribe regulations governing the collection and payment of fees
pursuant to this section.
12.The Javits-Wagner-O’Day
Act (41 U.S.C. 46 et seq.) is repealed.