[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 123 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 123
Directing legislative branch support offices to take certain actions to
promote the procurement of goods and services from the AbilityOne
program established under chapter 85 of title 41, United States Code
(commonly known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act), and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 2, 2024
Ms. Crockett (for herself, Mr. Molinaro, Mr. Loudermilk, and Mr.
Thompson of California) submitted the following concurrent resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Directing legislative branch support offices to take certain actions to
promote the procurement of goods and services from the AbilityOne
program established under chapter 85 of title 41, United States Code
(commonly known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act), and for other
purposes.
Whereas in 1971, Congress passed the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act to advance
employment opportunities for Americans who are blind or who have
significant disabilities by requiring the Federal Government, including
legislative entities, when seeking to procure a product or service, to
first assess whether their needs can be met by products or services
provided by Ability One Participating Agencies and included on the
AbilityOne Procurement List maintained by the AbilityOne Commission; and
Whereas, as a result of the AbilityOne Program, tens of thousands of Americans
who are blind or who have significant disabilities, including a large
and growing number of returning veterans, are employed at competitive
wages providing products and services to the Federal Government, greatly
enhancing their self-sufficiency and providing critical career skills:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
SECTION 1. APPOINTMENT OF ABILITYONE REPRESENTATIVE.
(a) Designation of Position.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the adoption of this resolution, the head of each Legislative Branch
Support Office shall designate an employee in the Office to serve in a
position to be known as the ``AbilityOne Representative''.
(b) Duties.--The employee serving as the AbilityOne Representative
of a Legislative Branch Support Office shall carry out the following
duties:
(1) Promoting the purchase and use of AbilityOne products
and services within the office.
(2) Providing the data required for preparing the annual
report required under section 2.
(3) Ensuring compliance with AbilityOne Commission
regulations, as applicable.
(4) Serving as a liaison to Members of Congress, AbilityOne
Participating Agencies, the AbilityOne Commission, and the
Commission's designated central nonprofit agencies on matters
in the Office which relate to the AbilityOne program.
(5) Developing and monitoring the implementation of a
written strategic plan for increasing procurement by the Office
from the AbilityOne program.
SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT.
Not later than January 1 of each calendar year, beginning with
2025, the head of each Legislative Branch Support Office shall submit
to Congress a report on--
(1) the total amount spent on the procurement of products
and services by the office during the previous fiscal year;
(2) of the amount described in paragraph (1), the total
amount spent on AbilityOne products and services;
(3) of the products and services described in paragraph
(1), a description of the products or services which were
purchased from the AbilityOne program and which were not;
(4) for each product and service described in paragraph (3)
which was not purchased from the AbilityOne program, an
explanation of why the product or service was procured from a
source outside of the AbilityOne program;
(5) qualitative information on efforts to increase
procurement through the AbilityOne program; and
(6) qualitative information on any obstacles faced in
increasing procurement from the AbilityOne program.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this resolution, the following definitions apply:
(1) The term ``AbilityOne Commission'' means the Committee
for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
established under section 8502 of title 41, United States Code.
(2) The term ``AbilityOne Participating Agency'' means a
nonprofit agency for the blind or a nonprofit agency employing
persons with significant disabilities which is authorized by
the AbilityOne Commission to provide products or services
pursuant to chapter 85 of title 41, United States Code
(commonly known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act), and associated
regulations.
(3) The term ``AbilityOne Procurement List'' means the list
of products and services determined by the AbilityOne
Commission to be suitable to be procured by the Federal
Government from AbilityOne Participating Agencies pursuant to
section 8503 of title 41, United States Code.
(4) The term ``AbilityOne program'' means the program
established under chapter 85 of title 41, United States Code
(commonly known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act).
(5) The term ``Legislative Branch Support Office'' means an
office for which appropriations for salaries and expenses for a
fiscal year are provided by the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act for such fiscal year, except that such term
does not include any office of the House of Representatives or
Senate.
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