U.S. Senate Passes Omnibus Appropriations Bill Containing Federal Prison Industries Relief Measure

Furniture World Magazine

The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association (BIFMA) praised the United States Congress for including a provision in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill to open federal contracting opportunities to competitive bidding yesterday. This provision, initiated by U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra and U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, extends to all federal agencies temporary relief from Federal Prison Industries' (FPI) status as an exclusive source for products and services. Agencies will be able to exercise the limited authority now available only to the Department of Defense and the CIA. For the remainder of the fiscal year, federal agencies will have the authority to determine, based on product quality and delivery schedule, whether FPI or a private sector competitor offers best value on a potential half-billion dollars in products and services. In November, the House passed Hoekstra'sFederal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act (H.R. 1829), which phases out FPI's "superpreference" status over five years, by an overwhelming majority. Companion legislation sponsored by Senators Carl Levin and Craig Thomas (S. 346) is currently awaiting action in the Senate and BIFMA, along with the national coalition supporting these reforms, is urging Senators to act quickly to pass that bill. "We are pressing forward along every available avenue to resolve this longstanding issue," said Hoekstra, R-Holland. "It is our continuing belief that taxpayers should not be asked to fund a government system that exploits prison labor to unfairly compete for their jobs. This represents a major step in our efforts to reform a fundamentally flawed system, but we will continue to work toward a permanent solution," Hoekstra said. The president is expected to sign the measure soon, most likely by noon today. Almost all civilian agencies had been operating under a series of continuing resolutions providing funding at fiscal year 2003 levels. To view the Omnibus legislation go tohttp://thomas.loc.govand search for H.R. 2673.