[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7874-7875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-2417]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 18 / Friday, January 26, 2001 / 
Notices  

[[Page 7874]]



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

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 26, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled, Jefferson Plaza 2, Suite 10800, 1421 Jefferson Davis Highway, 
Arlington, Virginia 22202-3259.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louis R. Bartalot (703) 603-7740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 13, November 13, November 24 and 
December 1, 2000, the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind 
or Severely Disabled published notices (65 FR 60903, 67714, 70549 and 
75241) of proposed additions to the Procurement List.

Additions

    The following comments pertain to Laundry Service, Stratton Medical 
Center, 113 Holland Avenue, Albany, New York.
    Comments were received from a Member of Congress, a nonprofit 
agency and from counsel for the current contractor. The Member claimed 
that the addition of this service to the Procurement List would reduce 
the current contractor's revenue substantially and could cause people 
with disabilities employed by the contractor to lose their jobs. The 
Member also indicated that the Government might pay higher prices for 
inferior laundry service.
    The nonprofit agency in Utica, New York, was concerned that the 
loss of the contract would force the current contractor to lay off 
people who are severely disabled and that this was counter to the 
purpose of the JWOD Program. Counsel for the current contractor made 
these same points, noting also that the contractor had been given an 
award by a local disability organization for its hiring of people with 
disabilities. This commenter claimed that the original estimated price 
for the laundry service was based on an unrealistically low estimate of 
the Government's service requirement. The commenter also claimed that 
the contractor had become dependent on the revenue from this Government 
service after providing it for five years. The commenter also indicated 
the assertion that the nonprofit agency would provide inferior service 
at a higher price was based on the belief that the nonprofit agency is 
new to the laundry business.
    The nonprofit agency that would be performing the service currently 
operates a laundry service under a State program for nonprofit agencies 
employing people with disabilities. The Committee has found the 
nonprofit agency to be capable of performing the service being added to 
the Procurement List, based on an assessment by the central nonprofit 
agency, in which the Government contracting activity concurred, and 
review by its own staff.
    The Government's need for laundry services at this location is 
declining, as shown by the fact that the contract price for the last 
full year declined considerably from the previous year. This decline is 
expected to continue, although not as much as the original estimated 
price, which has been revised upward, would indicate. The revised 
estimate, which the Committee is adopting as the fair market price for 
this service, also reflects supply economies available to the nonprofit 
agency because of its ability to use Government supply sources when 
providing this service under the Committee's program.
    Laundry service at this location uses the Government's laundry 
facility in Albany, NY. The current contractor has its own facility in 
Utica, NY, which is also the location of the disability agency which 
honored the contractor for its hiring of people with disabilities. 
Because of the distance between Utica and Albany, it is unlikely that 
employees with disabilities at the Utica facility are being used to 
provide services in Albany. Any employees with disabilities at the 
Government facility in Albany would be offered employment by the 
nonprofit agency. The commenter indicated that such offers have been 
made. Consequently, the Committee does not believe that addition of 
this laundry service to the Procurement List is likely to cause people 
with disabilities to lose their jobs.
    Because the contract price for the last full year of laundry 
service is lower than the previous year, the percentage of the current 
contractor's total sales which this laundry service represents is lower 
than the two commenters claimed. This lower percentage is at a level 
which the Committee normally considers not to constitute severe adverse 
impact on a contractor. As indicated above, the Committee believes that 
had the current contractor continued to provide service for this 
declining requirement, this percentage would have declined further. The 
Committee looks at the length of continuous service when assessing the 
dependency of a contractor on a contract for a service. The current 
contractor's five years of providing this service have not been 
continuous, as the contractor did not provide the service between April 
15, 1992 and December 1, 1998. Accordingly, the Committee does not 
believe the contractor could have become seriously dependent on 
revenues from this laundry service. For this reason, and taking into 
account the impact considerations discussed in the last paragraph, the 
Committee has concluded that addition of this laundry service to the 
Procurement List is not likely to have a severe adverse impact on the 
current contractor.
    The following material pertains to all of the items being added to 
the Procurement List.
    After consideration of the material presented to it concerning 
capability of qualified nonprofit agencies to provide the commodity 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

[[Page 7875]]

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 being added to the 
Procurement List.
    Accordingly, the following commodity and services are hereby added 
to the Procurement List:

Commodities

Line, Multi-Loop
    1670-01-062-6301
    1670-01-062-6303
    1670-01-062-6306
    1670-01-062-6309
    1670-01-062-6312
    1670-01-062-6313
    1670-01-064-4451
    1670-01-064-4452
    1670-01-064-4454
    1670-01-107-7652

Services

Janitorial/Custodial, Mooers Border Station, Mooers, New York
Janitorial/Custodial, Redden U.S. Federal Courthouse, Fleet 
Management Center, 310 West 6th Street, Medford, Oregon
Janitorial/Custodial, United States Coast Guard Air Station 
Borinquen, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico,
Janitorial/Grounds Maintenance, Nininger U.S. Army Reserve Center, 
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Laundry Service, Stratton Medical Center, 113 Holland Avenue, 
Albany, New York

    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.

G. John Heyer,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 01-2417 Filed 1-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P