41 C.F.R. PART 51–2—COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED
Title 41 - Public Contracts and Property Management
Authority: 41 U.S.C. 46–48c.
Source: 56 FR 48977, Sept. 26, 1991, unless otherwise noted.
Under the JWOD Act, the Committee is composed of 15 members appointed by the President. There is one representative from each of the following departments or agencies of the Government: The Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Education, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the General Services Administration. Four members are private citizens: One who is conversant with the problems incident to the employment of blind individuals; one who is conversant with the problems incident to the employment of persons with other severe disabilities; one who represents blind individuals employed in qualified nonprofit agencies for the blind; and one who represents persons with severe disabilities (other than blindness) employed in qualified nonprofit agencies employing persons with severe disabilities. The Committee is responsible for carrying out the following functions in support of its mission of providing employment and training opportunities for persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities and, whenever possible, preparing those individuals to engage in competitive employment: (a) Establish rules, regulations, and policies to assure effective implementation of the JWOD Act. (b) Determine which commodities and services procured by the Federal Government are suitable to be furnished by qualified nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities and add those items to the Committee's Procurement List. Publish notices of addition to the Procurement List in the (c) Determine fair market prices for items added to the Procurement List and revise those prices in accordance with changing market conditions to assure that the prices established are reflective of the market. (d) Monitor nonprofit agency compliance with Committee regulations and procedures. (e) Inform Federal agencies about the JWOD Program and the statutory mandate that items on the Procurement List be purchased from qualified nonprofit agencies, and encourage and assist entities of the Federal Government to identify additional commodities and services that can be purchased from qualified nonprofit agencies. To the extent possible, monitor Federal agencies' compliance with JWOD requirements. (f) Designate, set appropriate ceilings on fee paid to these central nonprofit agencies by nonprofit agencies selling items under the JWOD Program, and provide guidance to central nonprofit agencies engaged in facilitating the distribution of Government orders and helping State and private nonprofit agencies participate in the JWOD Program. (g) Conduct a continuing study and evaluation of its activities under the JWOD Act for the purpose of assuring effective and efficient administration of the JWOD Act. The Committee may study, independently, or in cooperation with other public or nonprofit private agencies, problems relating to: (1) The employment of the blind or individuals with other severe disabilities. (2) The development and adaptation of production methods which would enable a greater utilization of these individuals. (h) Provide technical assistance to the central nonprofit agencies and the nonprofit agencies to contribute to the successful implementation of the JWOD Act. (i) Assure that nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind will have priority over nonprofit agencies employing persons with severe disabilities in furnishing commodities. [56 FR 48977, Sept. 26, 1991, as amended at 59 FR 59341, Nov. 16, 1994] At least 30 days prior to the Committee's consideration of the addition or deletion of a commodity or service to or from the Procurement List, the Committee publishes a notice in the [59 FR 59341, Nov. 16, 1994] (a) For a commodity or service to be suitable for addition to the Procurement List, each of the following criteria must be satisfied: (1) Employment potential. The proposed addition must demonstrate a potential to generate employment for persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities. (2) Nonprofit agency qualifications. The nonprofit agency (or agencies) proposing to furnish the item must qualify as a nonprofit agency serving persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities, as set forth in part 51–4 of this chapter. (3) Capability. The nonprofit agency (or agencies) desiring to furnish a commodity or service under the JWOD Program must satisfy the Committee as to the extent of the labor operations to be performed and that it will have the capability to meet Government quality standards and delivery schedules by the time it assumes responsibility for supplying the Government. (4) Level of impact on the current contractor for the commodity or service. (i) In deciding whether or not a proposed addition to the Procurement List is likely to have a severe adverse impact on the current contractor for the specific commodity or service, the Committee gives particular attention to: (A) The possible impact on the contractor's total sales, including the sales of affiliated companies and parent corporations. In addition, the Committee considers the effects of previous Committee actions. (B) Whether that contractor has been a continuous supplier to the Government of the specific commodity or service proposed for addition and is, therefore, more dependent on the income from such sales to the Government. (ii) If there is not a current contract for the commodity or service being proposed for addition to the Procurement List, the Committee may consider the most recent contractor to furnish the item to the Government as the current contractor for the purpose of determining the level of impact. (b) In determining the suitability of a commodity or service for addition to the Procurement List, the Committee also considers other information it deems pertinent, including comments on a proposal published in the [56 FR 48977, Sept. 26, 1991, as amended at 59 FR 59341, Nov. 16, 1994; 62 FR 66529, Dec. 19, 1997] The Committee considers the particular facts and circumstances in each case in determining if a commodity or service is suitable for addition to the Procurement List. When the Committee determines that a proposed addition is likely to have a severe adverse impact on a current contractor, it takes this fact into consideration in deciding not to add the commodity or service to the Procurement List, or to add only a portion of the Government requirement for the item. If the Committee decides to add a commodity or service in whole or in part to the Procurement List, that decision is announced in the [59 FR 59342, Nov. 16, 1994] (a) The Committee may reconsider its decision to add items to the Procurement List if it receives pertinent information which was not before it when it initially made the decision. Unless otherwise provided by the Committee, requests for reconsideration from interested persons must be received by the Committee within 60 days following the effective date of the addition in question. A request for reconsideration must include the specific facts believed by the interested person to justify a decision by the Committee to modify or reverse its earlier action. (b) In reconsidering its decision, the Committee will balance the harm to the party requesting reconsideration if the item remains on the Procurement List against the harm which the nonprofit agency or its employees who are blind or have other severe disabilities would suffer if the item were deleted from the Procurement List. The Committee may also consider information bringing into question its conclusions on the suitability criteria on which it based its original decision as factors weighing toward a decision to delete the item, and information concerning possible harm to the Government and the JWOD Program as factors weighing toward confirmation of the original decision. [56 FR 48977, Sept. 26, 1991, as amended at 59 FR 59342, Nov. 16, 1994] (a) The Committee is responsible for determining fair market prices, and changes thereto, for commodities and services on the Procurement List. The Committee establishes an initial fair market price at the time a commodity or service is added to the Procurement List. This initial price is based on Committee procedures, which permit negotiations between the contracting activity and the nonprofit agency which will produce or provide the commodity or service to the Government, assisted by the appropriate central nonprofit agency. If agreed to by the negotiating parties, the initial price may be developed using other methodologies specified in Committee pricing procedures. (b) Prices are revised in accordance with changing market conditions under Committee procedures, which include negotiations between contracting activities and producing nonprofit agencies, assisted by central nonprofit agencies, or the use of economic indices, changes in nonprofit agency costs, or other methodologies permitted under these procedures. (c) Recommendations for initial fair market prices, or changes thereto, shall be submitted jointly by the contracting activities and nonprofit agencies concerned to the appropriate central nonprofit agency. After review and analysis, the central nonprofit agency shall submit the recommended prices and methods by which prices shall be changed to the Committee, along with the information required by Committee pricing procedures to support each recommendation. The Committee will review the recommendations, revise the recommended prices where appropriate, and establish a fair market price, or change thereto, for each commodity or service which is the subject of a recommendation. [64 FR 55842, Oct. 15, 1999] (a) The Committee maintains a Procurement List which includes the commodities and services which shall be procured by Government departments and agencies under the JWOD Act from the nonprofit agency(ies) designated by the Committee. Copies of the Procurement List, together with information on procurement requirements and procedures, are available to contracting activities upon request. (b) For commodities, including military resale commodities, the Procurement List identifies the name and national stock number or item designation for each commodity, and where appropriate, any limitation on the portion of the commodity which must be procured under the JWOD Act. (c) For services, the Procurement List identifies the type of service to be furnished, the Government department or agency responsible for procuring the service, and, where appropriate, the activity or item to be serviced. (d) Additions to and deletions from the Procurement List are published in the (a) Upon written request from an interested person, that person may, at the discretion of the Committee Chair, be permitted to appear before the Committee to present views orally. Generally, only those persons who have raised significant issues which, if valid, could influence the Committee's decision in the matter under consideration will be permitted to appear. (b) When the Chair has approved the appearance before the Committee of an interested person who has made a written request: (1) The name of the spokesperson and the names of any other persons planning to appear shall be provided to the Committee staff by telephone at least three working days before the meeting. (2) In the absence of prior authorization by the Chair, only one person representing a particular agency or organization will be permitted to speak. (3) Oral statements to the Committee and written material provided in conjunction with the oral statements shall be limited to issues addressed in written comments which have previously been submitted to the Committee as the result of notice of proposed rulemaking in the (4) Written material to be provided in conjunction with the oral presentation and an outline of the presentation shall be submitted to the Committee staff at least three working days before the meeting. (c) The Committee may also invite other interested persons to make oral presentations at Committee meetings when it determines that these persons can provide information which will assist the Committee in making a decision on a proposed addition to the Procurement List. Terms of appearance of such persons shall be determined by the Chair.
Title 41: Public Contracts and Property Management
PART 51–2—COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED
Section Contents
§ 51-2.1 Membership.
§ 51-2.2 Powers and responsibilities.
§ 51-2.3 Notice of proposed addition or deletion.
§ 51-2.4 Determination of suitability.
§ 51-2.5 Committee decision.
§ 51-2.6 Reconsideration of Committee decision.
§ 51-2.7 Fair market price.
§ 51-2.8 Procurement list.
§ 51-2.9 Oral presentations by interested persons at Committee meetings.
§ 51-2.1 Membership.
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§ 51-2.2 Powers and responsibilities.
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§ 51-2.3 Notice of proposed addition or deletion.
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§ 51-2.4 Determination of suitability.
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§ 51-2.5 Committee decision.
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§ 51-2.6 Reconsideration of Committee decision.
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§ 51-2.7 Fair market price.
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§ 51-2.8 Procurement list.
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§ 51-2.9 Oral presentations by interested persons at Committee meetings.
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