[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 231 (Friday, December 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69539-69540]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20364]


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

DATES: Effective Date: January 7, 2007.

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, Telephone: (703) 
603-7740, Fax: (703) 603-0655, or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Additions

    On September 29, 2006, the Committee for Purchase From People Who 
Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notice (71 FR 57464 ) of 
proposed additions to the Procurement List.
    After consideration of the material presented to it concerning 
capability of qualified nonprofit agencies to provide the services and 
impact of the additions on the current or most recent contractors, the 
Committee has determined that the services listed below are suitable 
for procurement by the Federal Government under 41 U.S.C. 46-48c and 41 
CFR 51-2.4.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    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 services to the 
Government.
    2. The action will result in authorizing small entities to furnish 
the 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 services proposed for addition to the 
Procurement List.

End of Certification

    Accordingly, the following service is added to the Procurement 
List:

Services

Service Type/Location: Full Food Service, FBI & Drug Enforcement 
Administration Training Academies, Quantico, VA.
NPA: ServiceSource, Inc., Alexandria, VA.
Contracting Activity: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dept of Justice, 
Washington, DC.

    Comments were received for the above addition from an association 
which represents State licensing agencies for the Randolph-Sheppard 
program (SLAs) and from the Virginia SLA. The association stated that 
the Committee's proposal to add full food service at the FBI and DEA 
training academies in Quantico, VA to the Procurement List is a 
violation of the Randolph-Sheppard Act, 20 U.S.C. 107 et seq., which 
the association believes establishes a ``mandatory priority'' for blind 
vendors to provide food services on Federal property.
    The documentation submitted to the Committee as a basis for this 
proposed addition to the Procurement List included a document from the 
FBI which enclosed a statement from the Virginia SLA indicating that 
the SLA had reviewed the statement of work for the food service and was 
``not interested in submitting a proposal for these operations.'' The 
Committee's program is well known to the Virginia SLA and the rest of 
the Randolph-Sheppard community, and the FBI, the Committee, and the 
other parties involved in developing this proposed addition to the 
Procurement List all regarded the Virginia SLA's statement as a knowing 
waiver of the Randolph-Sheppard priority. Relying on this waiver, the 
Committee's nonprofit community selected a nonprofit agency to provide 
the food service. That nonprofit agency has gone to considerable 
trouble and expense to prepare to provide the food service, which will 
generate employment for a substantial number of people with severe 
disabilities.
    In the Virginia SLA's comment on the proposed addition, the same 
State official who earlier waived the Randolph-Sheppard priority now 
says that should the FBI offer to directly negotiate a contract for the 
food service with the SLA or publish a solicitation

[[Page 69540]]

for the food service, the SLA ``may'' exercise its right to respond. 
The State official expressed surprise that the FBI had not offered to 
negotiate or solicit a contract after the SLA waived the Randolph-
Sheppard priority.
    According to the SLA comment, the FBI indicated that it considered 
the SLA's earlier waiver of its priority to be final, which would 
explain why no subsequent offer to negotiate or solicit for the food 
service was forthcoming. The Committee believes that allowing the SLA 
to ignore its own priority waiver at this late hour, when a capable 
nonprofit agency is ready to create many jobs by providing this food 
service and the SLA has identified no blind vendor ready and able to 
serve as an alternative provider, could not have been the intent of the 
Randolph-Sheppard Act. In the absence of the Randolph-Sheppard 
priority, the Committee sees no bar to adding the food service to the 
Procurement List.

Deletions

    On September 29, 2006, the Committee for Purchase From People Who 
Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notice (70 FR 57464; 57465) of 
proposed deletions to the Procurement List.
    After consideration of the relevant matter presented, the Committee 
has determined that the services 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.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    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 result in additional reporting, recordkeeping or 
other compliance requirements for small entities.
    2. The action may result in authorizing small entities to furnish 
the 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 services deleted from the Procurement List.

End of Certification

    Accordingly, the following services are deleted from the 
Procurement List:

Services

Service Type/Location: Custodial Services, Denver Federal Center 
(Buildings 41, 44, and 48), Denver, CO.
NPA: Aspen Diversified Industries, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO.
Contracting Activity: GSA, PBS Region 8, Denver, CO.
Service Type/Location: Janitorial/Custodial, Federal Records Center and 
USDA Laboratory, East Point, GA.
NPA: WORKTEC, Jonesboro, GA.
Contracting Activity: GSA, PBS.
Service Type/Location: Janitorial/Grounds and Related Services, Motor 
Pool Office and Garage, 450 N. Grande, Tucson, AZ.
NPA: Beacon Group SW, Inc., Tucson, AZ.
Contracting Activity: GSA, PBS--9PMFC, San Francisco, CA.
Service Type/Location: Repair of Small Hand Tools, Robins Air Force 
Base, Robins AFB, GA.
NPA: Epilepsy Association of Georgia, Warner Robins, GA.
Contracting Activity: Department of the Air Force.

Sheryl D. Kennerly,
Director, Information Management.
[FR Doc. E6-20364 Filed 11-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P