Part 508 - Required Sources of Supplies And Services

This section establishes special ordering procedures when considering use of LPTA.

(a) Evaluation of FSS contract price. GSA performs a technical evaluation in products and services prior to awarding the item on the FSS contract. This evaluation ensures orders placed against FSS contracts satisfy the requirements of Section 880 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232, 41 U.S.C. 3701).

(b) Evaluation of order/BPA price. The contracting officer may base their award determination on the level of effort and price as described in FAR 8.405-2(d) when purchasing services. If the contracting officer is purchasing supplies, price can still be the dominant factor. When purchasing more complex services or supplies, the contracting officer should engage in a best value tradeoff when evaluating the factors.

(1)Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from a medical context, such as gloves and masks, may be purchased using LPTA. PPE from a law enforcement context, such as body armor, should not be procured through LPTA.

(2)Information technology services should not be procured through LPTA.

(3)Professional services should not be procured on an LPTA basis.

(4)Cyber-security services should not be procured on an LPTA basis.

(c) Documentation. Ordering activities may use LPTA when evaluating quotes for FSS orders or BPAs without further justification other than documenting the evaluation methodology per FAR 8.405-2(f)(4). As used in this subpart, issuing an FSS order or BPA does not require the file documentation for LPTA described in GSAM 515.101-2 or GSAM 4 516.505, however the Contracting Officer should appropriately document their award decision as described in FAR 8.405-1(g)(5) and FAR 8.405-2(d).

(a) Although FAR 19 (except for the requirement at FAR 19.202-1(e)(1)(iii)) does not apply to BPAs or orders placed against Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts, they are not exempt from part  519.

(b)Requests for quotes under FSS contracts that are not set-aside for small business should consider inclusion of a small business participation evaluation factor as described in section 515.304.

(a) For a D&F for a single award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with an estimated value exceeding $100 million, the D&F must be approved by the HCA

(b) COs shall follow the INFORM procedures in 515.370 for all applicable orders and BPAs.

(c) Sustainability. When placing orders or establishing BPAs, contracting officers should consider sustainability.

(1) Sustainability considerations may be accomplished by utilizing the existing sustainable ecolabels in GSA Advantage!® to meet specific environmental program goals, such as ENERGY STAR®.

(2) The GSA sustainable packaging icon on GSA Advantage!® can be used as part of the best value decision.

Cite FPI clearance numbers in solicitations and award documents.

This subpart prescribes supplemental policies and procedures to support acquisition from AbilityOne Nonprofit Agencies (NPAs) (see FAR subpart 8.7).

The AbilityOne Program is administered by the U.S. AbilityOne Commission (Commission), the operating name of the Commission is the Committee For Purchase From People Who Are Blind Or Severely Disabled. The Commission has designated the National Industries for the Blind and SourceAmerica as Central Nonprofit Agencies (CNAs). CNAs work closely with Federal contracting activities and AbilityOne NPAs to match Government requirements with AbilityOne NPA capabilities. Information about the AbilityOne Program is available on the GSA AbilityOne Program page on the GSA Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal.

(a) Requests. Requests to add a requirement to the Procurement List shall be submitted to the AbilityOne CNAs at opportunity@abilityone.org. Contracting officers may request assistance from the GSA ABOR team at GSAABOR@gsa.gov. The request shall include the following information:

(1)Start date/delivery date.

(2)Place of performance/delivery address.

(3)Estimated annual dollar value of the acquisition.

(4)Contracting office agency ID code.

(5)A copy of the requirements document (e.g., Performance Work Statement).

(6)If there is an incumbent contractor, the following information shall also be included:

(i)Contract number.

(ii)Name of the contractor.

(iii)Contractor’s unique entity identifier.

(iv)Contract period of performance.

(v)If applicable, indication that a collective bargaining agreement applies.

(b) Preliminary impact assessment. The CNAs will perform a preliminary impact assessment to determine if the requirement can be added to the Procurement List. The CNAs will notify the contracting officer of the results of their preliminary impact assessment. The contracting officer shall inform the ABOR of the results provided by the CNAs.

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy memorandum, Increasing the Participation of Americans with Disabilities in Federal Contracting, requires each Chief Financial Officers Act agency to designate an agency-level ABOR. Each Service (i.e., FAS and PBS) shall designate a Service-level ABOR.

(a) Agency-level ABOR responsibilities. Responsibilities of the Agency-level ABOR include, but not limited to—

(1)Developing and maintaining an agency action plan for increasing the use of the AbilityOne Program and meeting with the SPE on a regular basis to discuss progress made against the action plan;

(2)Conducting in-reach and training activities with the GSA acquisition workforce to bring greater attention to the AbilityOne Program;

(3)Identifying contract performance mitigation measures;

(4)Collaborating with the AbilityOne Commission, GSA Acquisition Innovation Advocates, GSA Industry Liaisons, and other stakeholders regarding acquisition strategies that promote increased participation of people with disabilities in the workforce through use of AbilityOne nonprofit agencies or other private sector contractors;

(5)Consulting with the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization to coordinate actions that may simultaneously promote the achievement of small business goals and increase purchases from AbilityOne nonprofit agencies (e.g., use of distributors of AbilityOne products and subcontracting possibilities); and

(6)In coordination with the SPE, establishing a pledge to award a percentage of the agency’s total contract spend on AbilityOne products and services each year. Monitoring progress towards the pledge and working with management and the workforce to adjust practices as necessary and appropriate to ensure the pledge is met.

(b) Service-level ABORs responsibilities. Responsibilities of Service-level ABORs include, but not limited to—

(1)Supporting the Agency-level ABOR, as necessary, to increase the use of the AbilityOne Program across GSA (e.g., developing training and program utilization strategies; promoting program participation within their respective Service(s); and identifying potential opportunities that may be suitable for addition to the Procurement List);

(2)As applicable, participating in acquisition reviews (see subpart  504.71); and

(3)Assisting the acquisition workforce on the use of the AbilityOne Program (e.g., acquisition planning (see 507.104), market research, subcontracting considerations, and inclusion of FAR clause 52.208-9).

The Director of the Reproduction and Visual Arts Division in the Office of Communications (X) is both GSA’s:

(a)  Central printing authority.

(b)  Liaison with the Joint Committee on Printing and the Public Printer on all matters related to printing.