[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1435-1436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-505]



[[Page 1435]]

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

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 procurement list.

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

SUMMARY: This action adds to the procurement list products and services 
to be furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind 
or have other severe disabilities, and deletes from the procurement 
list products previously furnished by such agencies.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 9, 2003.

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: Sheryl D. Kennerly, (703) 603-7740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Additions

    On August 30, October 4, November 1, and November 15, 2002, the 
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled 
published notice (67 FR 55776, 62224, 66607, and 69186) of proposed 
additions to the procurement list.
    The following comments pertain to highlighters, fluorescent and 
free-ink.
    Comments were received from the current contractor in response to a 
request for sales data. While admitting that the items proposed for 
addition to the procurement list represent a very small part of the 
company's sales, the contractor noted that it had recently been 
affected by another addition to the procurement list, and that the 
company has been on a Federal supply schedule for these items for 
nearly 20 years. The contractor stated that it would be very difficult 
to recover from these impacts in the current business environment, with 
government purchasers bundling contracts and closing supply depots. The 
contractor also noted that stores operated on Federal installations by 
nonprofit agencies in the Committee's program compete with small 
companies like the contractor. The contractor did not provide data on 
the extent of sales lost to these stores.
    The impact of the current and recent procurement list addition 
mentioned by the contractor together amount to only a very small 
percentage of the contractor's total sales. In addition, the contractor 
will retain its current Federal supply schedule contract until it 
expires in 2005. The schedule in question is a multiple award schedule, 
so the contractor is guaranteed only a minimum amount of sales and must 
compete for the rest with other schedule holders. Therefore, the 
contractor's longtime status as a schedule contractor and the sales it 
may have lost to the Federal installation stores do not add much weight 
to the impacts which the Committee has considered in deciding that this 
procurement list addition will not have a severe adverse impact on the 
contractor.
    The following comments pertain to can, friction top and container, 
fuel sample.
    Comments were received from the current contractor in response to a 
request for sales information. The commenter stated that the items 
proposed for addition to the procurement list represented a significant 
minority of the gross revenues the commenter is receiving on this 
specific contract. The commenter also stated that that individual 
packaging of the items is the most difficult and expensive part of the 
production process, and requested that it be allowed an opportunity to 
supply the unfinished items to the nonprofit agency designated by the 
Committee to provide them to the government.
    The Committee looks to a company's total sales, not to revenues on 
a specific contract, when assessing the severity of the impact of a 
procurement list addition on a contractor. In this case, the contract 
value of the items being added to the procurement list represents a 
very small portion of the commenter's total sales. The designated 
nonprofit agency will be buying the unfinished items from the same 
source as the commenter did, so it would not be economically feasible 
to involve the commenter in the purchase, as the presence of the 
commenter in the chain of transactions would likely only increase the 
cost of the items.

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 products and 
services and impact of the additions on the current or most recent 
contractors, the Committee has determined that the products 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 products and 
services to the government.
    2. The action will result in authorizing small entities to furnish 
the products and services to the government.
    3. 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 products and services proposed for addition 
to the procurement list.
    Accordingly, the following products and services are added to the 
procurement list:

Products

    Product/NSN: Bag, trash, cloth, 2090-01-478-3561.
    NPA: West Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, San Angelo, Texas.
    Contract Activity: Defense Supply Center Columbus, Columbus, Ohio.
    Product/NSN: Binder, looseleaf, 7510-01-368-3486, 7510-01-412-6338.
    NPA: South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, Corpus Christi, Texas.
    Contract Activity: Office Supplies & Paper Products Acquisition 
Center, New York, New York.
    Product/NSN: Can, friction top, 8110-00-178-8291, 8110-00-178-8292.
    NPA: East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, Tyler, Texas.
    Contract Activity: Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    Product/NSN: Container fuel sample, 8110-01-371-8315.
    NPA: East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, Tyler, Texas.
    Contract Activity: Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    Product/NSN: Highlighter, fluorescent, flat, 7520-00-NIB-1620, 
7520-01-238-1728.
    NPA: Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, Winston-Salem, North 
Carolina.
    Contract Activity: Office Supplies & Paper Products Acquisition 
Center, New York, New York.
    Product/NSN: Highlighters, free-ink, flat, 7520-00-NIB-1625, 7520-
00-NIB-1630, 7520-00-NIB-1631.
    NPA: Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, Winston-Salem, North 
Carolina.

[[Page 1436]]

    Contract Activity: Office Supplies & Paper Products Acquisition 
Center, New York, New York.
    Product/NSN: U.S. Geological Survey visual identity clothing, 
Baseball cap, delta dark green w/USGS identifier/8405-00-NIB-0182, 
Baseball cap, navy w/USGS identifier/8405-00-NIB-0183, T-shirt, ash w/
USGS identifier/8415-00-NIB-0229, T-shirt, orange w/USGS identifier/
8415-00-NIB-0230, T-shirt, navy blue w/USGS identifier/8415-00-NIB-
0231, Polo shirt, dark green w/USGS identifier/8415-00-NIB-0232, 
Sweatshirt, dark green w/USGS identifier/8415-00-NIB-0233, Cruiser 
vest, orange w/USGS identifier/8465-00-NIB-0098, Cruiser vest, khaki w/
USGS identifier/8465-00-NIB-0099.
    NPA: Delaware Division for the Visually Impaired, New Castle, 
Delaware.
    Contract Activity: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

Services

    Service Type/Location: Janitorial and mailroom operations, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Science Center, Fort 
Meade, Maryland.
    NPA: Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc., Baltimore, 
Maryland.
    Contract Activity: Environmental Protection Agency, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania.
    Service Type/Location: Janitorial/custodial, U.S. Army Reserve 
Center, Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
    NPA: Milwaukee Center for Independence, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
    Contract Activity: HQ, 88th Regional Support Command, Fort 
Snelling, Minnesota.
    Service Type/Location: Office Supply Center, Richard Bolling 
Federal Building, Kansas City, Missouri.
    NPA: Alphapointe Association for the Blind, Kansas City, Missouri.
    Contract Activity: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, 
Missouri.

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 will not result in any additional reporting, 
recordkeeping or other compliance requirements for small entities.
    2. The action will result in authorizing small entities to furnish 
the products to the government.
    3. 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 products proposed for deletion from the 
procurement list.
    After consideration of the relevant matter presented, the committee 
has determined that the products 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 products are deleted from the 
procurement list:

Products

    Product/NSN: Card set, guide, file, 7530-00-861-1263, 7530-00-861-
1272.
    NPA: Georgia Industries for the Blind, Bainbridge, Georgia.
    Contract Activity: Office Supplies & Paper Products Acquisition 
Center, New York, New York.
    Product/NSN: Disk, flexible, 7045-01-251-7527, 7045-01-365-2070, 
7045-01-365-2071, 7045-01-209-2193.
    NPA: North Central Sight Services, Inc., Williamsport, 
Pennsylvania.
    Contract Activity: Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    Product/NSN: Strap assembly, litter, 1680-00-878-6964.
    NPA: Huntsville Rehabilitation Foundation, Huntsville, Alabama.
    Contract Activity: Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, 
Virginia.
    Product/NSN: Tape, computer, 7045-01-119-6357.
    NPA: North Central Sight Services, Inc., Williamsport, 
Pennsylvania.
    Contract Activity: Defense Supply Center Columbus, Columbus, Ohio.
    Product/NSN: Tape, electronic data processing, 7045-01-338-6542.
    NPA: North Central Sight Services, Inc., Williamsport, 
Pennsylvania.
    Contract Activity: Defense Supply Center Columbus, Columbus, Ohio.

Sheryl D. Kennerly,
Director, Information Management.
[FR Doc. 03-505 Filed 1-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P