Follow Up Baseball Caps Civilian Agencies

On April 4, 2013, Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI) published a notice in the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) regarding baseball caps under Federal Supply Classification (FSC) Codes 8405, Outerwear, Mens and 8410, Outerwear, Womens. In this notice, FPI proposed to manufacture baseball caps for federal civilian agencies (excluding Department of Defense) that would otherwise be manufactured outside of the United States. The FPI Board of Directors carefully weighed the concerns raised in the submitted comment against their particular responsibility to carry out FPI's complex mission and the need to balance the creation of additional work opportunities for inmates with sensitivity to potential impact on private industry. After thoughtful discussion and thorough review of submitted comments, the FPI Board of Directors approved the proposal to manufacture baseball caps for federal civilian agencies that would otherwise be manufactured outside of the United States. To ensure that its decision would have minimal impact on U.S small business manufacturers, FPI will not manufacture caps for the Department of Defense, since DoD items, including caps, must comply with the Berry Amendment. Interested parties can comment on this issue at any time. All comments should be addressed to: Chief, Marketing, Research, and Corporate Support Branch, Federal Prison Industries, Inc., 320 First Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20534. Attention: MRACS Branch.