[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 175 (Friday, September 9, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55882-55883]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-23107]


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COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED


Procurement List; Addition

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

ACTION: Addition to the Procurement List.

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SUMMARY: This action adds a product to the Procurement List that will 
be furnished by the nonprofit agency employing persons who are blind or 
have other severe disabilities.

DATES: Effective Date: 10/10/2011.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Additions

    On 6/17/2011 (76 FR 35415-35417), the Committee for Purchase From 
People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notice of proposed 
addition to the Procurement List.
    The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled (Committee) operates pursuant to statutory and regulatory 
requirements. The Committee regulation at 41 CFR 51-2-4 states that for 
a commodity or service to be suitable for addition to the Procurement 
List each of the following criteria must be reviewed and determined 
satisfactory under Committee practice and procedure: Employment 
potential; nonprofit agency qualifications, capability, and level of 
impact on the current contractor for the commodity or service. The 
Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Act requires that projects added to the 
Procurement List must be provided by qualified nonprofit agencies that 
employ people who are blind or severely disabled for not less than 75% 
of the direct hours required for the production or provision of 
products or services during each fiscal year.
    Comments were received from the incumbent contractor that currently 
provides powder laundry detergent to the Government. The incumbent 
contractor indicated that it has a long established policy of employing 
people with disabilities. He indicated that two of the eight 
individuals employed in fulfillment of this product are people with 
disabilities. The contractor advises that loss of this project could 
jeopardize the continued employment of the two employees with 
disabilities. Comments were also received from two other sources. Both 
sources voiced support for the contractor's practice of hiring people 
with disabilities and asserted that the contractor should retain the 
opportunity to supply the product to the Government.
    The Committee applauds and encourages the actions of this 
contractor to hire people with disabilities who deserve the same 
opportunity as all Americans to work, earn income and be productive 
members of society. The AbilityOne Program, which the Committee 
administers, exists to provide employment for people who are blind or 
whose significant disabilities make them unable to obtain or maintain 
employment on their own. In the case of the specific project under 
consideration, people who are blind will provide the labor associated 
with filling the detergent containers, as well as packaging the product 
for sale and delivery. This will maximize employment for individuals 
with the most barriers to competitive employment. As the product 
offered under the AbilityOne Program exceeds recent biobased standards, 
it is also more likely to be purchased by Federal agencies in 
compliance with the

[[Page 55883]]

biobased preference regulations. The Committee has determined that this 
project meets all of the required criteria for suitability, consistent 
with its regulations, and will be provided by a qualified nonprofit 
agency that must employ people who are blind or severely disabled for 
not less than 75% for its direct labor hours each fiscal year. 
Therefore, employment opportunities for people who are blind or 
severely disabled are maximized through the addition of this project to 
the Procurement List.
    After consideration of the material presented to it concerning 
capability of qualified nonprofit agency to provide the product and 
impact of the addition on the current or most recent contractors, the 
Committee has determined that the product listed below is 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 organization that will furnish the product to the 
Government.
    2. The action will result in authorizing the small entity to 
furnish the product 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 product proposed for addition to the 
Procurement List.

End of Certification

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

Product

NSN: 7930-01-490-7301--Detergent, Laundry, Biobased with Bleach, 
Powdered/7930-01-490-7301
NPA: Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired--Goodwill 
Industries of Greater Rochester, Rochester, NY.
Contracting Activity: General Services Administration, Fort Worth, 
TX.
Coverage: A-List for the Total Government Requirement as aggregated 
by the General Services Administration.


Patricia Briscoe,
Deputy Director, Business Operations (Pricing and Information 
Management).
[FR Doc. 2011-23107 Filed 9-8-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P