[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 227 (Monday, November 27, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58335-58336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-28879]



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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: December 27, 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 30, 1995, the Committee for Purchase 
From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notices (60 FR 
34235) of proposed addition to the Procurement List.
    Comments were received from the current contractor for this service 
challenging the fair market price established for the service, the 
capability of the designated nonprofit agency to perform the service, 
and the impact on the current contractor. The contractor also 
questioned the amount of time it took for the final materials 
supporting the proposed addition to the Procurement List to be provided 
to the Committee.
    The contractor questioned the fair market price established for 
this service because it is nearly 60 percent above the price which the 
contractor claimed to have been paid in its last contract year. The 
contracting officer informed us, however, that the contractor is being 
paid somewhat more than it told the Committee, and that the frequency 
of performance of most tasks to be done in providing the service has 
been increased substantially from that required of the commenting 
contractor. The fair market price is within the Committee's guidelines 
for the work to be performed and has been accepted by the contracting 
officer.
    The contractor's challenge to the capability of the designated 
nonprofit agency mentioned three factors: the existence of a year-long 
phase-in of workers with severe disabilities to reach the final ratio 
of disabled to nondisabled workers; the nonprofit agency's total lack 
of experience in performing contracts of this type and size; and the 
length of time it took after the proposal to add this service to the 
Procurement List was published in the Federal Register for the 
Committee to receive the information it needed from the central 
nonprofit agency to satisfy the regulatory requirements of an addition 
to the Procurement List. The contractor also questioned the lack of 
detail in the central nonprofit agency's description of how the 
designated nonprofit agency would perform the tasks required for this 
service.
    The nonprofit agency's plan to take a year to move from its initial 
ratio of disabled to nondisabled direct labor to the final projected 
ratio is well within the Committee's procedures for startup of a 
project of this type. The procedures are intended to guarantee that 
quality performance is maintained during the longer training period 
which people with severe disabilities require to perform janitorial 
functions. The process does not reflect a shortage of workers with 
severe disabilities as the contractor assumed. The nonprofit agency 
will offer to retain many of the current workers during this phase-in 
period, which is consistent with the industry practice of retaining 
direct 

[[Page 58336]]
labor employees of a previous contractor.
    As the contractor noted, the designated nonprofit agency does not 
have experience in contracts of this type. However, this is not an 
unusual situation in the Committee's program, which is intended to 
create jobs for people with severe disabilities by encouraging the 
nonprofit agencies which employ these people to engage in new 
businesses. The central nonprofit agency which is providing technical 
support to the producing nonprofit agency has extensive experience in 
assisting similar nonprofit agencies perform such services, and it has 
demonstrated to the Committee that this addition to the Procurement 
List has very close parallels with other successful additions. The 
nonprofit agency intends to employ the contractor's project supervisor 
to provide knowledge of the work site's requirements, including the 
hospital grade/aseptic cleaning requirements noted by the commenting 
contractor, and how to fulfill them.
    The Committee does not agree with the contractor's contention that 
the length of time spent developing the project after its announcement 
in the Federal Register is an indication the nonprofit agency is 
incapable of performing the service. The changes in the Statement of 
Work for the service in July 1995 required a reassessment of the labor 
needed to perform the service, and revision of the pricing proposal 
which is the basis of the Committee's establishment of a fair market 
price. These tasks required more time and negotiations with the 
contracting officer than was contemplated when the proposed addition 
was published in the Federal Register.
    In contending that addition of this service to the Procurement List 
would have a severe economic impact on the company, the contractor 
noted that losing the ability to provide this service to the Government 
would cause the contractor to abandon two commercial contracts in the 
same area which its Government contract supports. However, the 
contractor did not provide information on the value of these contracts. 
The contractor also noted that its sales have declined substantially in 
the past year, and it is in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
    The Committee's information on the contractor's current sales, 
based on an August 1995 projection by the company, shows that the 
contract for this service is less than five percent of its total sales. 
It should also be noted that a Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a 
reorganization with the intent of continuing the company in business, 
and in this case appears to have been initiated for technical reasons. 
Accordingly, the Committee does not agree with the contractor that the 
proposed addition of the service to the Procurement List threatens the 
contractor's viability and, thus, does not believe that the addition 
will have a 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 will not have a severe economic impact on the current 
contractor 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 Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina

    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. 95-28879 Filed 11-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-33-P