WASHINGTON NEWS BUREAU
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ROBERT GIBBS, Associate Editor
N e w plan announced to disseminate military and civilian procurement notices through D e p a r t m e n t of Commerce field offices . . . Bill to promote domestic production of strategic metals a n d minerals defeated in House •pvEALiNGS between American business*~J m e n a n d the largest single buyer i n the world, t h e Federal Government, a r e expected to be greatly improved a s t h e result of a recent agreement between t h e principal government agencies involved in civilian a n d military procurement. I n essence, the new program will utilize t h e services of t h e Department of Commerce to disseminate to all parts of the nation information regarding proposed purchases by t h e General Services Administration and t h e Department of Defense. The principal exception will be invitations t o bids, or awards on classified (seeret) contracts. Data on these bids will be available only to properly cleared representatives of concerns invited to bid o n this type of work. T h e objective of t h e plan is to give all American businessmen equal opportunities to compete for military a n d civilian procurement contracts. With respect to military procurement, under the plan each of t h e 55 major Army, Navy-, and Air Force purchasing offices in t h e field and in Washington will prepare daily synopses of all invitations to bid which have been approved that day. T h e synopses will contain a brief but a d e q u a t e description of the item t o b e procured, quantity to be purchased, t h e invitation number, and place and d a t e of bid opening or issuance. Copies of these synopses will be sent by air mail daily t o the Department of Commerce's Small Business Division in Washington a n d t o t h e 14 regional field offices of t h e D e partment of Commerce. T h e s e regional offices will, in turn, consolidate a n d r e produce t h e synopses and redistribute them to 28 Department of Commerce district offices and approximately 1 0 0 cooperating offices, including information centers in t h e 3 5 unemployment areas ( " E " a r e a s ) . These synopses will b e available to local businessmen. Businessmen w h o may be interested in further details can examine copies of t h e complete b i d s listed in t h e synopses, which will b e available at each of t h e regional offices. These persons c a n also write to t h e originating military purchasing office for a copy of the full b i d r e quest. The military purchasing office will continue to maintain lists for the mailing of bid invitations or a d v a n c e notices t o bona fide manufacturers or dealers. T h e General Services Administration, which is responsible for a large percentage of civilian procurement for various government agencies, will cooperate in a m a n n e r quite similar to t h e military. Under t h e 1006
plan, GSA will send by air mail to Comm e r c e Department regional field offices daily summaries of anticipated purchases i n advance of the time bid invitations arc issued. This information will include purchases to be m a d e by GSA's Federal Supply Service in Washington a n d at 12 field supply centers. Commerce Departm e n t field offices will distribute these d a t a as in t h e case of the military information. GSA data will cover all proposed purchases of over $500 which are to be effected through formal bid a n d award procedure or other written price solicitation. Information as to purchases of less t h a n $500 will b e m a d e available daily t o small businessmen in t h e area where t h e purchases are to b e made. Except for these small items, GSA purchasing is of t h r e e major types: open market, stock replenishment, a n d term contracts. Open market purchases are m a d e upon requisition from various federal agencies. B y furnishing details prior to issuing invitations to bid, interested businessmen will have u p to two extra weeks t o obtain, p r e p a r e , a n d submit b i d forms. This type of purchasing totals approximately $50 million a year. Stock replenishment purchases, which total approximately $90 million annually, are m a d e in Washington a n d in the field. These consist of items w h i c h are kept on hand at various supply center warehouses to fill the needs of civilian agencies. T h e term contracts call for indefinite quantities for a definite period of time. These are listed in the F e d e r a l Schedules of Supply a n d are o r d e r e d by the agencies from the supplier a t t h e contract price. These purchases total approximately $100 million a year. T h e 14 regional offices of the Departm e n t of Commerce are located at Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco, a n d Seattle. H o u s e Defeats National Minerals Act A proposed multi-million dollar program to stimulate domestic exploration for and conservation of strategic and critical ores, metals, and minerals suffered a rather unexpected defeat in t h e House of Representatives. T h e vote was 144 for, 166 against, and 122 not voting. During several days' discussion of the bill it app e a r e d that most Congressmen supported t h e objectives of t h e bill, with most opposition based on t h e grounds that it would increase federal expenditures. CHEMICAL
T h e proposed bill, entitled t h e National Minerals Act of 1949, dealt with two major problems, the first being the need for discovery of new sources of minerals and metals within the United States and the second being t h e need for conservation of k n o w n mineral resources. Exploration would b e stimulated by authorizing the Government to share with mine operators the cost of projects which offer reasonable hope of the discovery of new mineral resources, a n d which could not be conducted without government aid. Conservation would be accomplished in a similar manner. The Government would be authorized to contribute to t h e cost of maintaining mines in a standby status or to keep them in production through the purchase of their products. Aid w o u l d be limited to mines which otherwise would be abandoned or remain inactive. Government aid w o u l d be provided through individual contracts entered into with mine operators, and special provision would be m a d e for small mines to obtain such contracts easily a n d quickly. Contracts would not be allowed to extend for more than two years, a n d no contracts could be signed after three years from t h e effective d a t e of t h e act. Minerals purchased under the act would be delivered to the General Services Administration, which would be required to offer them to die Munitions Board for transfer to the stockpile of strategic materials. If t h e Munitions Board did not acquire them, they could b e sold in the open market only if such sale did not depress the market materially. They could not be sold at less than t h e approximate average price for which they were purchased b y t h e Government. A ceiling of $80 million a year was established. T h e Minerals Conservation Board, provided for in the bill, would h a v e b r o a d powers to determine how government aid would be allocated. Proponents of t h e bill believe that existing programs d o not go far enough. For example, they point out that the strategic minerals development program, handled b y t h e Bureau of Mines and the Geological Survey, operates on a budget of about $1.5 million a year. This prog r a m is concerned primarily with developing tonnages of low-grade strategic materials which could b e mined during an» emergency. T h e Munitions Board, which is responsible for collecting a stockpile of strategic a n d critical materials, purchases large amounts of these materials abroad. These supporters point out that other methods w h i c h might accomplish the desired objectives, b u t which are opposed by the administration, include high protective tariffs, "proper u s e " of the stockpiling authority under t h e "buy American" clause, b y tax incentives, and b y continuation of a premium price program. Although there are other bills pending in Congress which would accomplish some of the objectives of t h e defeated bill, it appears rather unlikely that they will be passed during the current session of Congress. AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
