NAGC Joins Senate Committee Chair in Asking GSA to Reconsider Decision to Eliminate Purchasing Program

Washington, D.C. -- The National Association of Government Contractors (NAGC) joins Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in urging the General Services Administration to reconsider it's decision to eliminate office supplies from its Global Supply stock program.

"This action will have an immediate and lasting impact on small businesses that supply this program," said J.R. Claeys, President of NAGC. "Buyers will now go to large corporations for their office supplies rather than having a choice for these supplies provided by smaller businesses through this program.

In response to plans by the General Services Administration to eliminate part of a purchasing program would adversely effect mainly small businesses, the chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee urged the agency reconsider it's decision.

In a letter to GSA Administrator Lurita Doan, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., asked the agency to reconsider dropping office supplies from its Global Supply stock program, which provides agencies with a variety of supplies and equipment. Close to 80 percent of government purchases of office supplies through this program are supplied by small businesses, the letter stated.

Kerry pointed out that by eliminating this program agencies would most likely find their supplies from larger corporations. He also expressed concern about the effect the decision will have on emergency readiness capabilities and the government's ability to react to major disasters.

"It's unacceptable for the administration to abandon innovative and effective small businesses in favor of a handful of big businesses," Kerry said in a statement. "Before GSA eliminates these contracts, we need to know exactly what it means, economically and operationally, for the small firms that have been doing business with the federal government."

The letter was also was signed by Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship ranking members Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Reps. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, and Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, the ranking member.

The letter stated that lawmakers will ask the Government Accountability Office to review the consequences of the decision since the program creates a "vital and readily accessible resource" to agencies in times of emergency.

The lawmakers asked GSA confirm within 30 days of receiving the letter that the agency has suspended any efforts to change the stock program until the matter is reviewed by GAO.

About NAGC: The National Association of Government Contractors (NAGC) is the home of America's procurement professionals. Thousands of business owners and executives working with government agencies, universities and private corporations trust NAGC as a professional resource for their procurement needs.