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Recently the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) created a new Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI) Blanket Purchasing Agreement (BPA). This BPA for office supplies was awarded to only 15 companies and includes two large businesses, only 13 Small Businesses, and merely one Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). This initiative, which is billed as a purchasing option, is being mandated by several government agencies. These agencies include the Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior, Veterans Administration, USDA and the Navy. These mandates mean that these agencies can only purchase office supplies from one of the 15 chosen FSSI companies. All of the other small businesses who used to sell to these agencies can no longer do so.
This extreme loss of business is creating economic hardship for hundreds of small businesses. Before the introduction of FSSI, government agencies purchased their office supplies through GSA Schedule 75. Almost 500 companies belong to Schedule 75 giving the government a broad range of companies from which to make their purchases competitively. More than 200 of these companies are small businesses. This BPA essentially makes it mandatory for government agencies to buy from a very select set of companies in order to meet their business needs. They will no longer buy from other small businesses. Our business is already feeling the negative effects of this BPA.
We are asking you to help the small business community by sending a letter to your Congressperson urging them to demand that the GSA and OMB reverse this BPA. To make the job even easier we are including text for a letter that does just that. Simply edit and then print this letter on your own company letterhead, sign it, and mail it to your Representative in Congress. It's a simple way to help small business, and the American economy. Thank you in advance for your help.
For more information, or if you have questions about FSSI, please click here to send a message to GSADepartment@coastcoast.com and a representative will contact you.
