Description
This Notice DOES NOT constitute a request for a quote, or proposal for the procurement of products or services. This Notice concerns an action which may affect the ability of commercial industry to sell the products listed in this Notice to the Federal Government. The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (now operating as the U.S. AbilityOne Commission) is an independent agency of the Federal Government. The Committee, under the authority of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act of 1971, and through the administration of its AbilityOne® Program, provides employment opportunities for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities through Federal Government purchases from nonprofit agencies employing such individuals. Products or services which are required to be purchased by the Federal Government under the authority of the AbilityOne® Program are added to the Committee's Procurement List (PL). The PL can viewed on the agency's website at www.abilityone.gov. Once a product or service is added to the PL to be provided by a nonprofit agency, no other product determined to be essentially the same can be sold to the Federal government. By regulation (41 CFR 51-2.4(a)(4) the Committee has been asked to conduct an impact analysis toward the potential addition of the following product(s) to the PL: NSN: 7920-00-NIB-0564 Name: Towel, Cleaning, Non-woven Microfiber, Disposable, 16" x 16" Description: 16" x 16" non-woven disposable microfiber cleaning towel. Towel is absorbent, non-abrasive, and low lint. Towel is compatible with quat disinfectants and sanitizers, providing surfaces with a higher level of disinfection and bacterial removal. UOI is BX. BX= 200 cleaning towels. Should these items be added to the PL, the contracting agency who will be authorized by the Committee to order the products on behalf of the Federal Government under the authority of the AbilityOne Program® will be the General Services Administration, Fort Worth, TX. Before adding a product to the PL, the Committee considers the potential impact that removal from commercial channels of this product, as well as products determined to be essentially the same (ETS) (41CFR 51-5.3(a), would have on the sales of firms that are currently providing the products listed in this Notice to the Federal Government and the extent to which the potentially affected firms are dependent on the income. Once added to the PL, the products determined to be ETS to the product(s) added to the PL will be blocked from being sold to Federal Government agencies. The products that have been determined to be essentially the same are: NSN: 7920-00-NIB-0564 ETS Stock Numbers: RCP1805727; GEP29616; RCPQ610/620/630; KIM83610; UNSBLUECLOTH The items listed above will potentially be added to the PL for the Total (A-List) Government Requirement. That is, should any Federal Government agency determine a need for the product, the procurement of the item will be mandatory by that agency through the AbilityOne® Program. These products will also be offered through the AbilityOne Distributor Program. If your firm is currently selling these products to the Federal Government through commercial means, your firm will continue to sell these products through your AbilityOne Distributor status and there would be no impact against your firm. If your firm is not an AbilityOne Distributor but would like to become a Distributor, please contact the AbilityOne Program for guidance. At a minimum, your firm must have a GSA Schedule 75 contract with at least 10,000 items on the schedule contract to be eligible. Firms can become AbilityOne Distributors for limited items such as toner cartridges or janitorial/sanitation items but must contact the AbilityOne Program for more details. If your firm is selling either the item(s) listed above, or the items that have been determined to be ETS, it is important that your firm report the following information to the Committee: 1. Total Company Revenues accrued from all sources for the most recent 12-month time period. When assessing impact on a commercial firm, the Committee takes into account the revenues of the parent, subsidiary, and affiliated corporations. If your company is a parent, subsidiary, or affiliated corporation to another corporation, please identify the other corporation to which the company is related, the nature of the relationship, and the other corporation's total revenue data. Please define the 12-month period reported. 2. Revenues accrued by providing the products listed in this Notice to the Federal Government for the same most recent 12-month period. If reporting on more than one item listed above, please report the revenue per each item, whether the NSNs or ETS items, and identify the item. 3. Identify the contract number that your firm holds to sell the item(s) to the Federal Government, the government agency, and period of performance (contract end date) for the item(s) your firm is reporting on. Identify the specific items per contract. 4. If your firm is selling the product through purchases by Government Purchase Cards (GPC), please identify that and the amount made through GPC purchases. 5. Identify whether or not the deliveries under the contract have been completed. 6. The length of time your firm has been providing these products to the Federal Government. 7. Identify any small business statuses your firm has qualified for, such as 8(a), woman-owned, service disabled veteran-owned, etc. 8. Provide your firm's DUNS number. The number is needed to confirm your company's small business statuses with the Small Business Administration (SBA). 9. Include your firm's mailing address. Do not use post office boxes, as all replies are sent via means that will not be delivered to a post office box. The address should be for the person who has signed the letter containing the information submitted. All information requested above must be included in the response. Responses that do not include the information requested will be determined to be non-responsive and will not be included in the impact analysis. All responses will be held as confidential and will not be released to any outside party. The information prescribed above must reach the Committee no later than February 28, 2013 and can be submitted in letter format. If information is not received by the date requested, the Committee will conclude that potentially affected firms have determined that there will be no severe adverse impact should the listed products be added to the PL. Your letter can be returned either by mail to the address on this notice or by fax to (703) 603-0655. You may also provide any other information you deem appropriate. General information concerning the Committee and its authority can be found in Title 41 United States Code, Sections 8501-8506, or Title 41 Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 51. Both of these references can be found on the Committee's website at www.abilityone.gov. If you have specific questions or require further explanation concerning this Notice or the addition of the above-referenced product to the PL, please contact Mike Jurkowski at (703) 603-2117.