Letter to Dan Tangherlini, Administrator of the General Services Administration - Support for the AbilityOne Program

Letter

Dear Administrator Tangherlini,

We write today to express our support for the AbilityOne program and ask for the federal government's adherence to the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act in light of the General Services Administration's (GSA) decision to close the depot system for storing and distributing commonly used supply items.

The AbilityOne program is the largest single provider of employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities, such as blindness, and currently employ over 40,000 individuals at over 600 community-based non-profit agencies across the U.S. We are proud supporters of the AbilityOne Program in our offices and the terrific work they do to provide employment and other services for persons who are blind and disabled. As you know, approximately 70 percent of working age Americans who are blind are unemployed face serious barriers in finding employment that service their needs both on and off the job. The AbilityOne program provides participants with high quality job opportunities who would otherwise rely on public assistance allowing these people to be active members of their communities and productive members of society.

While we understand that strategic sourcing is an important tool for saving taxpayer dollars, we must continue to prioritize our commitment to the AbilityOne program. We urge you to work with stakeholders to develop additional tools and resources that federal agencies and government offices can use to ensure that they are correctly adhering to the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act which states that SKILCRAFT and AbilityOne products must be prioritized over and not substituted by commercial products in federal purchases. We also acknowledge that the GSA is committed to supporting the AbilityOne program and we urge you to recommit to the requirements set forth by the JWOD Act. Federal agencies need to be held accountable for their purchases under the premise of this law. This has been serious repercussions for our local community members employed by the AbilityOne Program, most of who are persons who are blind. The consequence will be hundreds of layoffs and furloughs for persons who are blind or severely disabled but whom otherwise can and want to become wage-earners and tax payers who have personal and economic independence. In New York State there are seven agencies, five that manufacture goods and two that contract services that employ a total of nearly 400 people who are legally blind. Of these agencies, four are at risk of closing down if GSA does not enforce this crucial law. GSA's cooperation is essential to making this happen.

Again, we implore GSA to work cooperatively with the AbilityOne Commission and National Industries for the Blind (NIB) to find ways to deliver real value for the federal customer through the availability and delivery of AbilityOne products and services and increase employment for persons who are blind and severely disabled.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
Kirsten Gillibrand

Source