Disaster Purchasing FAQs
The following questions and answers are intended to provide detailed information on the GSA Disaster Purchasing Program for policy and procurement professionals.
Section 833 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2007 (Public Law 109-364[PDF - 1238KB])
Federal Supply Schedules Usage Act of 2010 (Public.Law 111-263)
40 U.S.C § 502 (c) offers the following definition of state or local government:
"The term, "State or local government" includes any State, local, regional, or tribal government, or any instrumentality thereof (including any local educational agency or institution of higher education)."
The term does not include contractors or grantees of state or local governments.
If there is a question on whether or not an entity falls under this definition, the entity may submit an eligibility request to GSA. Instructions for eligibility requests can be found at our Eligibility Determination Process site. GSA will issue a formal determination on behalf of the requesting entity that clearly outlines the entity’s access to GSA sources of supply. Entities that clearly fall under the definition of state and local government do not need to request an eligibility determination.
GSA does not issue eligibility letters to entities that clearly fall under the legal definition of state or local government. If the entity clearly falls under the legal definition of state or local government, then they are automatically authorized to place orders under these programs.
If there is a question about eligibility, either from the purchasing entity or the GSA vendor, the purchasing entity may submit an eligibility request to GSA, as directed above.
“Preparedness” means actions that involve a combination of planning, resources, training, exercising, and organizing to build, sustain, and improve operational capabilities. Preparedness is the process of identifying the personnel, training, and equipment needed for a wide range of potential incidents, and developing jurisdiction – specific plans for delivering capabilities when needed for an incident.
“Response” means immediate actions to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs. Response also includes the execution of emergency plans and actions to support short-term recovery.
“Recovery” means the development, coordination, and execution of service- and site-restoration plans; the reconstitution of government operations and services; individual, private-sector, nongovernmental, and public-assistance programs to provide housing and to promote restoration; long-term care and treatment of affected persons; additional measures for social, political, environmental, and economic restoration; evaluation of the incident to identify lessons learned; post incident reporting; and development of initiatives to mitigate the effects of future incidents.
Orders under the Disaster Purchasing program must include the following statement:
This order is placed under GSA Schedule number "insert number here" under the authority of the GSA Disaster Purchasing program. The products and services purchased will be used in preparation or response to disasters or recovery from major disaster declared by the President, or recovery from terrorism or nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack.
State and local governments must follow their own state and local acquisition regulations to meet competition thresholds and requirements, when buying through Schedule. In order to incorporate GSA terms and conditions, the GSA Schedule contract number should be listed on the order.
Entities are encouraged, but not required to use GSA's Schedule Ordering Procedures to ensure competition and to receive the best value from GSA Schedule contractors.
Ordering Procedures for Supplies, and Services Not Requiring a Statement of Work (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-1) or the Ordering Procedures for Services Requiring a Statement of Work (FAR 8.405-2) should be used as an example of best practices.
Each Schedule contract price includes an industrial funding fee (IFF) (.75 percent), which reimburses GSA for the procurement and administrative costs incurred to operate the GSA Schedules program.
The fee is represented in the prices paid by ordering activities and reported to GSA by Schedule contractors. Schedule vendors send the IFF to GSA every quarter.
No. Schedule contractors have the option of accepting orders placed by state and local government buyers. Schedule contractors decide their level of participation at two levels;
- At the Schedule contract level, contractors decide whether or not to participate in the program. Schedule contractors will then either enter into a mutual agreement with GSA to modify the existing Schedule contract or indicate, before contract award, their intent to offer their Schedule products and services under Disaster Purchasing.
- Even after an existing contract is modified or a new contract awarded, a Schedule contractor will retain the right to decline orders received from state and local government entities on a case-by-case basis. Schedule contractors may decline an order, for any reason, within a five-day period after receipt of the order; however, credit card orders must be declined within 24 hours (GSAM 552.232-79).
Contractor acceptance of an order under Disaster Purchasing means forming a new contract between the non-federal ordering activity and the Schedule contractor. The ordering activity's contracting officer is responsible for all contract administration under the new contract.
While most of the terms and conditions of the Schedule contract are incorporated by reference into the Disaster Purchasing order (see question 15 and 16, for exceptions), the federal government is not liable for the contractor's performance or non-performance.
Disputes that cannot be resolved by the parties may be litigated in any state or federal court with jurisdiction, using the principles of federal procurement law and the uniform commercial code, as applicable and appropriate.
State and local government entities may submit information concerning a contractor's performance to the GSA contracting officer for consideration when evaluating the contractor's overall performance under the GSA Schedule contract.
Yes. The following contract terms and conditions are not incorporated by reference into Disaster Purchasing orders:
- Disputes Clause; and
- Patent Indemnity Clause.
Certain Commercial Item Contract Terms and Conditions. Portions of the commercial item contract terms and conditions that specify compliance with laws unique to federal government contracts are not applicable to Disaster Purchasing orders.
Under the Disaster Purchasing Program, state and local government entities, as defined in 40 U.S.C § 502 (c), receiving Federal grant dollars, may use those grant dollars to purchase products and services from approved GSA Schedules. If purchasing entities choose to utilize grant monies, they MUST follow the guidelines laid out by the Federal granting agency. Ultimately, state and local government entities may use any source of funding to purchase under the program, as long as they follow their state and local regulations and the regulations laid out by the Federal granting agency.
Federal grantees that fall outside the definition of state and local government are not authorized to buy under the Disaster Purchasing Program.
Orders placed through GSA Advantage!® will be transmitted directly to GSA Schedule contractors. Schedule contractors will, in turn, ship the products and/or perform the services prior to billing the customer's credit card. GSA does not ship merchandise or bill the customer's credit card. All order/billing problems and/or discrepancies must be addressed directly with Schedule contractors.
Payments for state and local government purchases on GSA Advantage!® are limited to credit card payments using a state or local government issued credit card. No other form of payment will be accepted at this time. State and local government customers must register and obtain the necessary approvals from a supervisor or approving official as part of the registration process. State and local government ordering activities are responsible for ensuring that only authorized representatives of their governments place orders, and that the products and services purchased will only be used for governmental purposes.
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