[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 145 (Friday, July 29, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-18544]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 29, 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 commodity to be 
furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have 
other severe disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 29, 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 July 30, 1993, the Committee for Purchase 
From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notice (58 
F.R. 40800) of proposed addition to the Procurement List.
    Comments were received from the current contractor and its assembly 
and packaging subcontractor. The contractor indicated that addition of 
the applicator bottle to the Procurement List would be a financial 
hardship on the company and a greater hardship on a nonprofit agency 
employing people with severe disabilities which is the contractor's 
assembly and packaging subcontractor. The contractor also indicated 
that it has supplied the bottle to the Government for a long time, that 
it has used the nonprofit agency as its subcontractor for most of that 
time, and that it would continue to use the agency as its subcontractor 
if the bottle is not added to the Procurement List. The subcontractor 
supported the contractor's statements and provided details of its 
subcontract arrangement and the amount of labor created for its 
employees with severe disabilities.
    The value of the Government requirement for the applicator bottle 
is not a significant part of the contractor's total sales. Accordingly, 
the Committee does not believe that adding the bottle to the 
Procurement List would have a severe adverse impact on the contractor, 
even taking into account any dependency on Government sales of the 
bottle which the contractor may have developed over the years it has 
supplied the bottle to the Government.
    The Committee has examined considerable information from the two 
nonprofit agencies concerned to decide whether addition of the 
applicator bottle to the Procurement List would create more jobs than 
it displaces. As part of this process, the nonprofit agency employing 
blind workers which will produce the bottle under the Committee's 
program decided to restructure its production process to employ 
considerably more blind people than originally contemplated. These 
blind people also function at a considerably lower level of 
productivity. As a result, the process will employ more people who are 
blind or have other severe disabilities, and people whose productivity 
rates are lower, than those employed by the nonprofit agency serving as 
a subcontractor to the current contractor. Addition of the bottle to 
the Procurement List will thus create more jobs than it will displace, 
and for people whose limitations make them less likely to find other 
work than those who may be displaced.
    It should also be noted that addition of the bottle to the 
Procurement List will ensure the creation of employment for people who 
are blind or have other severe disabilities, unlike the present 
arrangement. Under the competitive bidding system, a contractor cannot 
be sure that it will continue to receive contracts for a specific item. 
If the contractor for the applicator bottle loses its contract, it will 
be unable to continue to provide employment for people with severe 
disabilities through its assembly and packaging subcontract.
    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:

Bottle, Applicator

8125-00-488-7952

    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. 94-18544 Filed 7-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-33-P