Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 1995 / Notices 10371

interconnection of disparate but

interoperable networks, these

information highways will allow us to

communicate as a global

community—giving individuals,

businesses, and economies greater

access to each other and to a wider

range of information. Equally important,

the GII will offer governments an

unprecedented opportunity to equalize

global disparity in telecommunications

and maximize the economic and social

benefits of the Information Age for their

citizens.

Harnessing the global potential of

information and communications

technologies to this end will require

collaboration among the industries that

will build, operate, provide, and use

services and information available over

the evolving national networks. It will

also require cooperative efforts among

countries, working together bilaterally,

regionally, and through multilateral

organizations, to facilitate the

interconnection of their respective

networks and the sharing of information

among nations.

In our interdependent world,

technological and regulatory choices

made in one country can affect those

made in neighboring countries, creating

a multiplier effect for the GII’s

development. To help guide this

development, the Administration

proposes five core principles—private

investment, competition, open access, a

flexible regulatory environment, and

universal service. These principles, we

believe, along with effective information

policies, will provide a foundation upon

which the GII can be built.

The overarching goal of the ‘‘Agenda

for Cooperation’’ is to foster the

cooperation that will be needed to spur

the transformation of a thousand

discrete networks into a connected,

interoperable global information

infrastructure. As all nations take steps

to develop and upgrade national

information infrastructures, we invite

you to join with us in ensuring that the

benefits of the GII will be available

throughout the world.

Larry Irving,

Assistant Secretary for Communications and

Information.

[FR Doc. 95–4546 Filed 2–23–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–60–P

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.

SUMMARY: This action adds to the

Procurement List tabulating machine

paper to be furnished by nonprofit

agencies employing persons who are

blind or have other severe disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 27, 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

29, 1994, the Committee for Purchase

From People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled published notice (59 FR 38586)

of proposed addition to the Procurement

List.

Comments were received from a

contractor for this type of paper and two

trade associations. One of the trade

associations objected to the proposal

because it is concerned about the impact

of taxpayer-sponsored printing

operations, largely in the Federal Prison

Industries, on an industry which it

claims has very small profit margins.

The other trade association reiterated its

earlier objections to the Committee’s

1991 addition of this paper to the

Procurement List, which centered on

the action’s substantial adverse impact

on the entire business forms industry.

The association stated, without

providing specific details, that the

industry’s experience since that

supported its earlier contentions.

Neither trade association provided

any data that would support a

contention that the Committee’s action

in adding a portion of the Government

requirement for this particular type of

paper to the Procurement List would

have a severe adverse impact on the

entire business forms industry. The

Committee believes that what it is

adding to the Procurement List is only

a small part of the total demand for this

paper, as the Government version is

identical to what is widely used in the

private sector and the private market is

considerably larger than the

Government market. Moreover, other

types of business forms are purchased in

both the Government and commercial

markets. Consequently, the Committee

does not believe that its action with

respect to one particular type of paper

purchased by the Government will have

a severe impact on the entire business

forms industry.

The contractor submitted information

on several firms in the industry which

had suffered from declining

Government sales, including itself, and

claimed that the 1991 addition of this

paper to the Procurement List had

caused these impacts, as it indicated

Government sales had declined but

commercial sales had not. The

contractor also attempted to incorporate

in its comments by reference all

materials submitted by all parties to the

1991 addition of the paper to the

Procurement List, the Committee’s

subsequent reconsideration of its

addition decision, and resulting

litigation, including all court opinions

filed by the trial and appellate courts.

The Committee rejected the attempted

incorporation by reference as

unreasonably burdensome on the

Committee’s resources, and asked the

contractor to provide the documents

which it considered relevant to its

present arguments. While it provided an

extensive collection of documents in

response, the contractor indicated that

the Committee should not consider the

contractor’s contentions to be limited to

what appeared in those specific

documents. The contractor also

indicated that all the materials

supported its contention that the

Committee is required to make four

determinations, which the contractor

enumerated, before it can decide in

accordance with its regulations that a

commodity or service may be added to

the Procurement List.

Accordingly, the Committee believes

that its duty to explain its conclusion

that the paper may be properly added to

the Procurement List will be met by

addressing these four determination

requirements and the contractor’s

industry impact contentions.

These determinations are that: (1) The

nonprofit agencies have the capacity to

produce the paper; (2) the level of blind

employment claimed by the nonprofit

agencies will be used in producing the

paper; (3) the nonprofit agencies can

produce the paper at the fair market

price established by the Committee; and

(4) there will not be a severe adverse

impact on current suppliers. These

determinations are the contractor’s

summation of the Committee’s

regulatory criteria for adding a

commodity or service to the

Procurement List.

The Committee’s determinations that

the nonprofit agencies have the capacity
10372 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 1995 / Notices

to produce the paper and will use the

amount of blind direct labor claimed by

the participating nonprofit agencies are

supported by the Committee’s industrial

engineer’s assessments of the data

submitted and inspection of a producing

facility. In addition, the nonprofit

agencies successfully produced the

paper for some time before the previous

addition to the Procurement List was

voided by the appellate court. As a

result of this performance, the Federal

agency which buys paper for the

Government waived its opportunity to

conduct its own inspection of the

nonprofit agencies to determine their

capability.

The Committee does not agree with

the contractor that its regulations

require it to make a determination that

the nonprofit agencies can produce the

paper at the fair market price. The

contractor’s contention is based on its

reading of a Committee regulation in

effect in 1991. That interpretation of the

regulatory language was not consistent

with the Committee’s statute, which

separates the establishment of a fair

market price from the suitability

determination which is subject to the

rulemaking requirements of the

Administrative Procedure Act. To

remove the appearance of inconsistency,

the Committee in 1994 amended its

regulations to remove the fair market

price determination from the factors the

Committee must consider to decide that

an item is suitable for addition to the

Procurement List. The Committee does

require the nonprofit agencies to agree

to provide the item in question at the

fair market price when it adds a

commodity or service to the

Procurement List, and all five nonprofit

agencies which will produce this paper

have provided their agreement to

provide it at the fair market price

established by the Committee.

The commenting contractor is the

current supplier of this paper to the

Government. The Committee used the

sales figure provided by the contractor

for its fiscal year 1994, adjusted to

account for the fact that the figure

includes no Government sales of the

paper, as the basis of its impact

determination for the contractor. The

Committee has also reduced the portion

of the Government requirement for the

paper being added to the Procurement

List by approximately 25 percent from

the original proposal, by removing the

requirement for one of the purchasing

agency’s four depots from the scope of

the addition. This reduced addition

represents a percentage of the

contractor’s adjusted sales which is well

below the level the Committee normally

considers to constitute severe adverse

impact. Because the contractor will

continue to have an opportunity to

supply the paper to the Government,

and because the contractor also supplies

other paper items to the Government

regularly, the Committee believes that

the other economic impacts on itself

cited in the contractor’s comments do

not add sufficiently to the impact to

raise it to a severe level. The contractor

appears to concur, as it recently

informed the Committee that it would

not challenge the Committee’s action if

the Committee added to the

Procurement List only the supply

requirements for the three depots

covered by this rulemaking.

While the commenting contractor

submitted more information to support

a claim of industry impact than did the

trade associations, it did not establish

conclusively that this impact was due to

the Committee’s action in 1991, rather

than to Government downsizing or other

factors. Consequently, the Committee

believes that the conclusion it reached

in rejecting the association’s claims of

industry impact would apply as well to

the contractor’s claim, for the reasons

already stated.

After consideration of the material

presented to it concerning capability of

qualified nonprofit agencies to provide

the commodity, fair market price, and

impact of the addition on the current or

most recent contractors, the Committee

has determined that the commodity

listed below is 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

commodity to the Government.

2. The action does not appear to have

a severe adverse impact on current

contractors for the commodity.

3. The action will result in

authorizing small entities to furnish the

commodity to the Government.

4. There are no known regulatory

alternatives which would accomplish

the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46–48C) in

connection with the commodity

proposed for addition to the

Procurement List.

Accordingly, the following

commodity is hereby added to the

Procurement List:

Paper, Tabulating Machine

7530–00–800–0996

(Requirements for the Palmetto, GA; Fort

Worth, TX; and Stockton, CA depots only)

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. 95–4702 Filed 2–23–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–33–P

Procurement List Additions

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From

People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled.

ACTION: Additions to the Procurement

List.

SUMMARY: This action adds to the

Procurement List commodities and

services to be furnished by nonprofit

agencies employing persons who are

blind or have other severe disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 27, 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 August

12, October 21, November 14 and

December 30, 1994, the Committee for

Purchase From People Who Are Blind

or Severely Disabled published notices

(59 FR 41434, 53141, 56467, and 67703)

of proposed additions to the

Procurement List.

After consideration of the material

presented to it concerning capability of

qualified nonprofit agencies to provide

the commodities and services, fair

market price, and impact of the

additions on the current or most recent

contractors, the Committee has

determined that the commodities and

services 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

commodities and services to the

Government.

2. The action does not appear to have

a severe economic impact on current