Procurement List; Addition

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 to the Procurement List a service to be

furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have

other severe disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 17, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled, Crystal Square 3, Suite 403, 1735 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, Virginia 22202-3461.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 1, 1994, the Committee for Purchase

From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notice (59 FR

33958) of proposed addition to the Procurement List.

Comments were received during the development phase of this

addition to the Procurement List from the current contractor, who

alleged that the Committee had failed to follow its own regulations by

not giving him actual notice of the proposed addition. The contractor

also alleged that loss of this Brunswick Naval Air Station contract,

together with two others lost to the Committee's program in 1993 and

the probable loss of another in 1994 would have a significant impact on

the contractor's business. The contractor also alleged that the

Committee and NISH are prejudicial towards it in their choices of

services being added to the Procurement List.

The Committee is required by its law, at 41 U.S.C. 47(a)(2), to use

the informal rulemaking procedure set forth in 5 U.S.C. 553 when adding

commodities or services to the Procurement List. This rulemaking

procedure mandates notice in the Federal Register rather than actual

notice to affected parties. In this case, the contractor later received

actual notice, as the Committee wrote to him requesting sales data for

the company and responding to the other allegations in his comments.

The Committee's letter, and a subsequent telephone conversation between

the contractor and the Committee's Executive Director, emphasized that

the Committee would consider the impact of the addition on the

contractor to be minimal if the data was not submitted. Nevertheless,

the contractor failed to submit the data and conceded in the telephone

conversation that the impact of losing the Brunswick contract alone

would not be severe.

In reaching its conclusion that adding the Brunswick food service

to the Procurement List would not have a severe adverse impact on the

contractor, the Committee took into account the impact of the two 1993

additions to the Procurement List, as well as a 1989 addi tion where

the firm was the current contractor. The Committee also declined to

process an addition action for the other contract (a food service in

Mississippi) mentioned by the contractor as a possible additional loss

to the Committee's program. This decision reflected the Committee's

concern that placing the Mississippi food service contract on the

Procurement List at this time might cause severe adverse impact on the

contractor. As the decision indicates, the Committee has taken pains to

assure that its actions do not have a disproportional impact on this

contractor, so the Committee denies any prejudice towards the

contractor.

After consideration of the material presented to it concerning

capability of qualified nonprofit agencies to provide the service, fair

market price, and impact of the addition on the current or most recent

contractors, the Committee has determined that the service 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 service to the

Government.

2. The action will not have a severe economic impact on current

contractors for the service.

3. The action will result in authorizing small entities to furnish

the service 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 service proposed for addition to the

Procurement List.

Accordingly, the following service is hereby added to the

Procurement List:

Food Service Attendant, Naval Air Station Galley, Building 201, New

Brunswick, Maine

This action does not affect current contracts awarded prior to the

effective date of this addition or options exercised under those

contracts.

Beverly L. Milkman,

Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 94-30972 Filed 12-15-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820-33-P