[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 83 (Friday, April 30, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23265-23266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10888]


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COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED


Procurement List Additions and Deletions

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled.

ACTION: Additions to and deletions from the Procurement List.

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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, and deletes from the 
Procurement List commodities previously furnished by such agencies.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled, Crystal Gateway 3, Suite 310, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, 
Arlington, Virginia 22202-4302.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly Milkman (703) 603-7740.


[[Page 23266]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 19, March 5 and 22, 1999, the 
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled 
published notices (64 FR 8291, 10620, 13767 and 13768) of proposed 
additions to and deletions from the Procurement List:

Additions

The Following Comments Pertain to Line, Multi-Loop, 1670-01-062-6307

    Comments were received from the holder of the most recent contract 
for this multi-loop line. The contract was completed in February 1996. 
The contractor indicated that it is a small business which is very 
heavily dependent on Government contracts for this type of item. It 
also indicated that its business has declined markedly in the past year 
and competition for business has greatly increased, so any loss of 
business will have a noticeable impact on the company. The contractor 
noted that, while the value of contracts for this multi-loop line is 
not large, the line is one of a family of items which it can produce 
more efficiently if all the members of the family are available for 
competitive bidding, as their manufacture requires similar components 
and processes which allow the contractor to spread its costs out among 
the members of the family. The contractor also indicated that the 
nature of the manufacturing process made it unsuitable for blind 
persons to make the line.
    The value of its most recent contract for the line is only a small 
percentage of the company's total annual sales. This percentage is well 
below the level which the Committee normally considers to constitute 
probable severe adverse impact. Even if the contractor's general 
business situation is taken into account, the Committee does not 
believe the addition of this multi-loop line to the Procurement List is 
likely to have a severe adverse impact on the contractor. This item is 
in fact one of a family of related products. However, there are at 
least 17 other multi-loop lines procured by this contracting activity. 
In addition, there are other products that also fit within the same 
family of products as the multi-loop line. Therefore, the Committee 
does not believe that it has severely reduced the contractor's ability 
to efficiently manufacture products in this family of products.
    The nonprofit agency designated to produce the line already 
produces several other multi-loop lines, using people with severe 
disabilities other than blindness (mainly mental retardation). The 
agency's production line has been modified to allow people with severe 
disabilities to produce the lines. The modifications would allow 
individuals who are blind to produce the lines as well. Consequently, 
the Committee does not agree with the contractor's contention 
concerning the suitability of this work for individuals who are blind.
    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

Line, Multi-Loop
    1670-01-062-6307
    1670-01-062-6311
Meal Kits
    8970-01-E59-0239A
    8970-01-E59-0240A
    8970-01-E59-0241A
    8970-01-E59-0242A
    8970-01-E59-0243A
    8970-01-E59-0244A
    8970-01-E59-0245A
    8970-01-E59-0239B
    8970-01-E59-0240B
    8970-01-E59-0241B
    8970-01-E59-0242B
    8970-01-E59-0243B
    8970-01-E59-0244B
    8970-01-E59-0239C
    8970-01-E59-0240C
    8970-01-E59-0241C
    8970-01-E59-0242C

(100% of the requirement of the USPFO for Louisiana, New Orleans, 
Louisiana)

Services

Janitorial/Custodial, MG William Weigel USARC, Edison, New Jersey
Janitorial/Custodial, Wheeling Courthouse, 12th and Chaplin Streets 
Wheeling, West Virginia

    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.

Deletions

    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 may not result in any additional reporting, 
recordkeeping or other compliance requirements for small entities.
    2. The action will not have a severe economic impact on future 
contractors for the commodities.
    3. The action may 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 deleted from the Procurement 
List.
    After consideration of the relevant matter presented, the Committee 
has determined that the commodities listed below are no longer suitable 
for procurement by the Federal Government under 41 U.S.C. 46-48c and 41 
CFR 51-2.4.
    Accordingly, the following commodities are hereby deleted from the 
Procurement List:

Starter Rope, Engine
    2990-00-972-7950
    2990-00-961-3692

Beverly L. Milkman,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 99-10888 Filed 4-29-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P