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The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (Committee), proposes to publish a Rule implementing statutory changes section 846 of the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). These changes go into effect in FY 2019 and FY 2020 through the General Services Administration (GSA).

Essentially the same means comparable and similar in all the prominent physical, functional, or performance characteristics to items on the Procurement List, such that the Committee deems the item to be covered by the Procurement List mandate. A Committee determination of ETS does not necessarily mean that the product/item is "exactly" the same, but is indicative that any differences do not affect form, fit or function.

Currently, vendors seeking contracts for relevant Federal Supply Schedules are required to be authorized AbilityOne distributors, which includes a commitment to block the sale of ETS items and substitute AbilityOne products, to ensure that Federal customers using the Schedules comply with the Procurement List. All authorized AbilityOne distributors are required to follow the Committee's ETS policy, in order to maintain eligibility. To maintain fairness among AbilityOne authorized distributors and commercial e-Commerce platform providers, all participants in the section 846 pilot test must be required to follow the Committee's ETS requirements.