FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. How does Section 637 impact purchasing from FPI?
Passage of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, P.L. 108-199, under Section 637, alters the process by which civilian agencies purchase from FPI during FY 2004.
Essentially, the same requirements are now in effect for civilian agencies, as were implemented for Department of Defense (DoD) agencies under Sections 811/819 of the DoD Authorization Acts of FY 2002 and FY 2003.
2. How is the requirement to purchase from FPI altered under Sections 811/819 and Section 637?
Some people have surmised that FPI’s mandatory source has been eliminated, but this is an overstatement. Rather, Sections 811/ 819 and Section 637 alter the process by which an agency purchases from FPI as follows:
- Civilian and DoD agencies are required to conduct market research to determine whether a UNICOR product is comparable in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery to products offered through outside suppliers.
- Determining comparability is a unilateral determination made at the discretion of the agency’s contracting official.
- If a contracting official determines that UNICOR’s product is comparable, then mandatory source procedures will remain applicable. In other words, the agency may purchase the item from UNICOR, or request a waiver to procure from another source.
- Conversely, if UNICOR’s product is not found to be comparable, the purchasing agency must implement competitive procurement procedures, and UNICOR must be given an opportunity to submit a competitive offer.
3. How does Section 827 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FT 2008 impact purchasing by Department of Defense (DoD) components?
Effective March 31, 2008 DoD contracting activities are required to use competitive procedures when procuring products for which FPI's share is greater than 5% of the DoD's market, and in using these procedures, FPI must be included in the solicitation process.
The Federal Supply Codes (FSCs) which currently meet this criterion are:
- FSC 3510 Laundry and Dry Cleaning Equipment
- FSC 5340 Miscellaneous Hardware
- FSC 5935 Connectors, Electrical
- FSC 5975 Electrical Hardware and Supplies
- FSC 5995 Cable, Cord, and Wire Assemblies
- FSC 6145 Wire and Cable, Electrical
- FSC 7110 Office Furniture
- FSC 7210 Household Furnishings
For further details, please refer to the DoD's March 28, 2008 Memorandum: "Competition Requirements for Purchases from Federal Prison Industries."
DoD purchases for items in FSCs not listed, above, are subject to the purchasing procedure outlined in #2, above.
4. How can UNICOR be of procurement assistance to agency contracting officials in light of the recent legislation?
UNICOR and its sales agents are available to provide quotes, delivery turnaround/lead times, descriptive/technical product information, terms/conditions and product warranty data to facilitate and expedite an agency’s comparability determination.
5. Has the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) been updated to include the conditions under which purchases shall be made from UNICOR?
The FAR, which outlines the provisions for purchasing from FPI, has been modified under part 8, Subpart 8.6, to reflect all applicable changes.
