[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28441-28442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13629]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This action adds to the Procurement List commodities and 
services to be furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who 
are blind or have other severe disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 23, 1997.

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 1, 22, December 20, 1996, 
February 14, March 7, 28 and April 4, 1997, the Committee for Purchase 
From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notices (61 FR 
56511, 59401, 67306, 62 FR 6946, 10519, 14883 and 16135) of proposed 
additions to the Procurement List.

The Following Comments Pertain to the Envelope, Translucent (7530-01-
354-3983+2)

    Comments were received from one of two current contractors for 
these envelopes. The contractor indicated that it has been a longtime 
supplier of the envelopes, and that production of them for the 
Government is the anchor business of one department of the plant where 
the contractor produces the envelopes. Without this anchor business, 
the contractor speculated that the department would be closed and its 
employees discharged. The contractor also noted that it recently 
modified a production machine to make the envelopes in a more efficient 
manner, and that these efficiencies and the contractor's investment 
would be lost if the envelopes are added to the Procurement List.
    The contractor is a very large corporation, and the impact on its 
sales of losing this business is insignificant. The Committee is not 
adding the total Government requirement for one of the three types of 
these envelopes to the Procurement List, so some of the business will 
remain available for competitive procurement from this contractor. For 
this reason, the likelihood of the contractor's department being closed 
is lessened. Given the size of the contractor's operations, the 
Committee considers it unlikely that any affected employees could not 
be employed elsewhere in the plant's operation. The contractor will be 
able to use its modified equipment to produce these envelopes for its 
commercial business and the Government business left open to 
competition, so the Procurement List addition will not cause the loss 
of this investment. Moreover, if the modified equipment reduces 
production costs and those savings are reflected in the contractor's 
prices to the Government, the Committee's pricing system will assure 
the similar savings are reflected in the prices charged the Government 
by the nonprofit agency.

The Following Comments Pertain to Folder, Zebley Claim (7530-00-000-
0430/2)

    Comments were received from the current contractor in response to a 
request for sales data. A Member of Congress also wrote to request a 
review of the contractor's contentions. The contractor claimed that the 
Committee's Procurement List additions have disproportionately affected 
the company, that the company has lost millions of dollars in sales and 
many jobs as a result of the additions, and that the company has not 
fully recovered from the losses.
    The contract value for these zebley claim folders represents less 
than one percent of the contractor's 1996 annual sales. The Committee 
last added an item to the Procurement List where the contractor was the 
current contractor in January 1994. The contractor's sales have 
continued to grow significantly since that time. The contractor did not 
provide any details on the jobs it claims were lost because of 
Procurement List additions. Consequently, the Committee has concluded 
that the current addition will not have a severe adverse impact on the 
contractor or its work force.

The Following Comments Pertain to Janitorial/Custodial, Mare Island 
Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA

    Comments were received from the previous contractor for the service 
when it submitted its sales data to the Committee. The contractor noted 
that it has been greatly affected by base closures, as indicated by its 
net income figures for the past three years. Removal of this service 
from competition, according to the contractor, would hinder its ability 
to stay in business while making the transition from dependence on 
Government work.
    Despite the reduction in the contractor's business in recent years, 
this service represents only a small percentage of the contractor's 
remaining total sales. As a result, the Committee does not believe the 
adverse impact will be severe, even when the Committee's 1994 action in 
adding to the Procurement List an even smaller contract where the firm 
was the current contractor is taken into account. While the 
contractor's sales have declined since 1994, the firm has not shown 
that it will inevitably suffer grievous financial harm as a result of 
the Committee's action, which will create jobs for people with severe 
disabilities who would likely otherwise be unemployed, and will restore

[[Page 28442]]

employment opportunities at a nonprofit agency which lost all of its 
contracts under the Committee's program due to earlier Government 
downsizing.

The Following Comments Pertain to Laundry Service, Basewide, USAF 
Academy, Colorado Springs, CO

    Comments were received from the current contractor for the laundry 
service. The contractor claimed that addition of the service would 
create a severe financial hardship for the company as the loss would be 
hard to recoup in the local market, where prices have been severely 
depressed due to competition from large firms located in a nearby large 
metropolitan area. The contractor indicated that it is still recovering 
from a 1992 loss of another contract at the same Government 
installation to a large company. The contractor also noted that several 
years ago it reorganized its operation to serve the local Government 
market, and as a result Government contracts have become a large part 
of its business.
    The Committee's principal indicator of adverse impact on a 
contractor is the percentage of the contractor's sales which would be 
lost if a commodity or service were added to the Procurement List. In 
this case, the percentage is well below the level that the Committee 
normally considers to be severe adverse impact. Even if the 
contractor's dependence on the local Government market and possible 
residual effects of the 1992 loss are considered, the Committee does 
not believe that the impact of this Procurement List addition on the 
contractor rises to the level of severe adverse impact. The 
contractor's decision to concentrate on the local Government market was 
a business decision for which the contractor must be prepared to bear 
the consequences. The contractor has not demonstrated that loss of this 
contract will specifically harm the company in an irreparable way. As 
the Procurement List addition will create jobs for people with severe 
disabilities, a group with an unemployment rate over 65 percent, the 
Committee feels that any potential ill effects for the contractor are 
outweighed by this creation of jobs.
    After consideration of the material presented to it concerning 
capability of qualified nonprofit agencies to provide the commodities 
and services and impact of the additions on the current or most recent 
contractors, the Committee has determined that the commodities and 
services 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 and 
services to the Government.
    2. The action will not have a severe economic impact on current 
contractors for the commodities and services.
    3. The action will result in authorizing small entities to furnish 
the commodities and services 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 and services proposed for 
addition to the Procurement List.
    Accordingly, the following commodities and services are hereby 
added to the Procurement List:

Commodities

Office and Miscellaneous Supplies (Requirements for the Defense Supply 
Service--Washington for the following locations: Park Center #4, 4501 
Ford Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia; Skyline #3, 5109 Leesburg Pike, 
Alexandria, Virginia; Rosslyn, 1401 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, 
Virginia)
Envelope, Translucent, 7530-01-354-2327, 7530-01-354-3982 (Fort Worth, 
TX depot only), 7530-01-354-3983
Folder, Zebley Claim, 7530-00-000-0430, 7530-00-000-0432
Scourer, Copper, M.R. 505
Bath Puff, M.R. 566
Master Baster, M.R. 802
Towels, Seasonal, M.R. 1009

Services

Grounds Maintenance, Basewide, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
Grounds Maintenance, U.S. Army Reserve Center, Parkersburg, West 
Virginia
Janitorial/Custodial, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California
Laundry Service, Basewide, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado 
Springs, Colorado
Laundry Service, U.S. Air Force Academy, Cadet Dining Hall, Colorado 
Springs, Colorado

    This action does not affect current contracts awarded prior to the 
effective date of this addition or options that may be exercised under 
those contracts.
Beverly L. Milkman,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 97-13629 Filed 5-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P