[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-5002]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 4, 1994]


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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 service to be 
furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have 
other severe disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 4, 1994.

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 October 1, 1993, the Committee for 
Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published 
notices (58 FR 51319) of proposed addition to the Procurement List.
    Comments were received from the current contractor in response to a 
Committee request for sales data. The contractor claimed that addition 
of these services to the Procurement List would have a tremendous 
impact on its employees in the Burlington, Vermont area, on its Vermont 
operations, and on the company as a whole. It noted that unemployment 
is high in the Burlington area, making it unlikely that the displaced 
workers would find other employment, and that non-Government-contract 
wages are lower. The contractor indicated that the contracts at issue 
are a large enough part of its Vermont operations that without them it 
would have to close its Vermont office and attempt to service its 
contracts in the area from its Massachusetts headquarters. It claimed 
that performance on those contracts would likely be impaired, and that 
performance problems would limit its ability to obtain Government 
contracts, which constitute the great majority of its business.
    The contracts for the services proposed to be added to the 
Procurement List are only a very small portion of the contractor's 
total sales. Accordingly, loss of these contracts would not cause a 
severe adverse impact on the contractor's sales.
    People with severe disabilities generally have unemployment rates 
exceeding 65 percent, considerably higher than the unemployment rate 
for people without disabilities in the Burlington, Vermont area. 
Consequently, the Committee believes that any potential loss of 
employment for the contractor's workers is outweighed by the actual 
creation of jobs for people with severe disabilities, who would have a 
much harder time finding other employment than the contractor's 
workers.
    The Committee has taken into account the contractor's claims 
concerning the possible closing of its Vermont office and the effects 
this might have on its ability to perform its Government contracts and 
acquire others. However, the Committee, noting the speculative nature 
of these claims, does not believe they increase the impact of the small 
loss in sales which addition of these services to the Procurement List 
would have on the contractor sufficiently to constitute severe adverse 
impact on the contractor. After consideration of the material presented 
to it concerning capability of qualified nonprofit agencies to provide 
the service, fair market price, and impact of the addition on the 
current or most recent contractors, the Committee has determined that 
the service 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 service to the 
Government.
    2. The action does not appear to have a severe economic impact on 
current contractors for the service.
    3. The action will result in authorizing small entities to furnish 
the service 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 service proposed for addition to the 
Procurement List.
    Accordingly, the following service is hereby added to the 
Procurement List:

Janitorial/Custodial for the following locations:
    Federal Building, 11 Elmwood Avenue, Burlington, Vermont
    Federal Building, 11 Lincoln Street, Essex Junction, Vermont
    Social Security Administration Building, 58 Pearl Street, 
Burlington, Vermont

    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. 94-5002 Filed 3-3-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-33-P