[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 63 (Friday, April 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-7862]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: April 1, 1994]


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

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 2, 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 November 29, 1993, the Committee for 
Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published 
notice (58 FR 62646) of proposed additions to the Procurement List.
    Comments were received from one of the current contractors during 
the development phase of the proposal to add the fasteners to the 
Procurement List. The commenter stated that the two fasteners it makes 
for the Government represent a sizeable minority of its business, and 
loss of this business would cause a severe adverse impact on the 
company. The commenter indicated that its future would be in jeopardy 
if it were deprived of the opportunity to bid on the fasteners, and 
that loss of the contracts would deprive it of the opportunity to hire 
extra people from the local work force.
    The Committee is only proposing to add one of the fasteners the 
commenter makes to the Procurement List. This fastener represents a 
small part of the commenter's sales. The Committee does not normally 
consider loss of the opportunity to bid on a Government contract by 
itself to constitute severe adverse impact on a contractor because no 
company is guaranteed a contract under the competitive bidding system. 
As the commenter admits, it lost the bidding for this fastener in 1992. 
Given this contracting history, the commenter cannot be said to be 
unusually dependent on the contract as it has not been a continuous 
supplier. Consequently, loss of its contract for this fastener and the 
opportunity to bid on future contracts for it would not constitute 
severe adverse impact on the commenter.
    While the commenter has indicated that without the Government 
contracts it would not be able to hire extra people, it has not shown 
that it would be required to discharge workers if it cannot obtain a 
contract for the one fastener it makes which the Committee is adding to 
the Procurement List. Even if it could, the Committee believes that the 
creation of jobs for people with severe disabilities, who have very 
high unemployment rates, outweighs the possible loss of employment for 
workers with lower unemployment rates.
    After consideration of the material presented to it concerning 
capability of qualified nonprofit agencies to provide the commodities, 
fair market price, and impact of the addition on the current or most 
recent contractors, the Committee has determined that the commodities 
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 to the 
Government.
    2. The action does not appear to have a severe economic impact on 
current contractors for the commodities.
    3. The action will result in authorizing small entities to furnish 
the commodities 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 proposed for addition to the 
Procurement List.
    Accordingly, the following commodities are hereby added to the 
Procurement List:

Fastener, Paper

7510-00-161-4284
7510-00-223-6813
7510-00-223-6814
7510-00-223-6815
7510-00-291-0140
7510-00-634-2463

    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. 94-7862 Filed 3-31-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-33-P