Fire apparatus excluded from cooperative purchasing program
A report recently released by the General Accounting Office (GAO) excludes fire apparatus from the cooperative purchasing program. Established by Congress in 1994, the program authorized the General Services Administration (GSA) to allow state, local, Indian tribal, and Puerto Rican governments access to its supply schedule program (Public Law 103-355, Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994).
Fire service manufacturers as well as other industries voiced concerns about the effects the cooperative purchasing program might have on nonfederal governments and industry, including small businesses and local dealers.
In comments submitted to the GSA, representatives of the fire apparatus manufacturing industry explained that “local dealers` profits could be adversely affected if the schedules were opened up to nonfederal entities. Profits should be reduced because dealers would receive lower fees for sales through schedules in their geographic areas, and profits from warranty work would not be sufficient to sustain operations.” Another concern voiced was that “local governments would lose the benefit of the training assistance they [dealers] provide as part of their sales efforts.”
The GAO report states that the GSA “genuinely felt the cooperative purchasing program may have a detrimental effect on fire apparatus dealers because a high proportion of sales are made to state and local governments. This would affect the manufacturers` relationships with their dealers.” Also, the GAO noted, “Vendors currently on the schedule may elect to cancel their GSA contracts or increase their prices under the federal schedule program.” The report recommends that the GSA “establish a systematic process to determine which products should be included on the federal supply schedule in the future.”
The Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) had been monitoring this issue and, according to CFSI Executive Director Bill Webb, “When the leadership of FAMA [Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association] brought this issue to the Institute`s attention, I immediately notified Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA), founder of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus.” Weldon subsequently wrote to GAO Comptroller Charles Bowsher, requesting that he be kept apprised “of the on-going inquisition.”
A copy of the GAO report is available; refer to the GAO homepage at www.gao.gov.
