Crockett, Molinaro Call on House Committee on Administration to Increase Procurement from Americans with Disabilities

Today, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) and Congressman Marc Molinaro (NY-19) sent a letter to House Committee on Administration Chairman Brian Steil and Ranking Member Joe Morelle requesting the Committee take steps to increase Legislative Branch procurement through the AbilityOne Commission, including by appointing an AbilityOne Representative (ABOR) tasked with overseeing AbilityOne procurement, by seeing that more is done to promote AbilityOne products in the House Supply Store, and by requiring that data on procurement be released on a regular basis. 

Established by the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act, the AbilityOne Commission partners with SourceAmerica and National Industries for the Blind to maintain a list of products and services provided by Americans with disabilities that the federal government is required to evaluate before procuring any product or service to see if it meets their needs, and procure from the list if so. 

On December 11, 2023, Reps. Crockett and Molinaro led a letter to 9 procurement offices within the legislative branch asking several questions about how they ensure compliance with Javits-Wagner-O’Day, and how their office could work going forward to maximize procurement from AbilityOne. Over the last three weeks, responses from every office (with the exception of the Chief Administrative Officer) have committed to designating an AbilityOne Representative to serve as liaison with the Commission and promote the program within the office. These offices all also indicated that they are able to collate data on their procurement from AbilityOne, and are open to making that information publicly accessible.

“Congress has made a commitment to support full employment opportunity for Americans with disabilities,” said Crockett. “Today, we are taking an important step in turning words into action. When Congress passed the Javits-Wanger-O’Day Act, it required all federal entities, including Congress, to use our purchasing power to support the employment of Americans with disabilities. For those who already face so many barriers to participation in the workforce, we must honor our commitment that if you want to work, federal procurement contracts ensure work is available.

Over the years, the Executive Branch has taken steps to apply the letter of the law into day-to-day procedure with coordination, transparency, and promotion. But, unfortunately, the Legislative Branch has fallen far behind. I am glad to work with my fellow Freshman, Congressman Molinaro, in rekindling this commitment to Americans with disabilities. I so greatly appreciate the many positive responses from procurement offices within Congress committing to increase Congressional procurement through AbilityOne, and hope the House Committee on Administration will promptly respond to our letter seeking the codification of these gains for Americans with disabilities.”

“At its core, Ability One is an employment program. Full compliance with the Javits-Wagner O’Day Act means more demand for Ability One products and more opportunities for individuals with disabilities," said Molinaro. "With the percentage of the disability community not working still at nearly 80%, we need action from all Legislative Branch offices. I’ve been proud to work with Congresswoman Crockett on this bipartisan initiative and will keep pushing until we see progress.”

“National Industries for the Blind (NIB) applauds all the House members that have led and joined this bipartisan effort to remind the Legislative Branch agencies of their obligation to abide by the Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD) Act, and to encourage them to purchase AbilityOne products and services," said Kevin Lynch, President and CEO of National Industries for the Blind. "By utilizing these products and services, these agencies – as well as all congressional offices – help provide rewarding careers for Americans who are blind or who have significant disabilities."

The full text of the letter can be viewed below.

Dear Chairman Steil and Ranking Member Morelle:

On December 11th, 2023, we copied you on a letter sent to nine offices within the Legislative Branch that engage in procurement subject to the requirements of the Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD) Act that sought information regarding their engagement with the AbilityOne Commission throughout the procurement process. As you know, JWOD provides a crucial opportunity for tens of thousands of Americans with disabilities, including many blind Americans and a growing number of returning veterans, to secure good-paying jobs (with an average wage of over $15 per hour) providing products and services to the federal government.

Enclosed are the responses from the recipients of our December 11th letter. Many of the responses were exactly what we hoped for—demonstrating an earnest and enthusiastic desire to ensure full compliance with JWOD, and more generally increase procurement through AbilityOne. We hope the Committee on House Administration is inclined to work with us in carrying this momentum forward to increase Congressional participation in AbilityOne procurement.

Eight of the nine responses received acknowledged that they are covered by JWOD and expressed their commitment to compliance. The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer’s response, however, indicated that their office’s participation was voluntary. We therefore request the House Committee on Administration make clear to all legislative branch entities under its purview that these entities are required by law to engage with the AbilityOne process. Further, we request that this legal obligation be reflected in the Guidelines for Procurement of Goods and Services for the U.S. House of Representatives published by the Committee. Specifically, we ask that the Committee include in the Guidelines directions for procuring to the maximum extent possible from AbilityOne vendors.

Our letter also asked whether offices would commit to designating an AbilityOne Representative (ABOR). We wish to commend not only the two offices that already have an ABOR, but the three offices that committed to designing one in the near future, and the other three that designated an ABOR at the time of sending us their response. Between the small five-person offices to the offices that procure tens of millions of dollars per year, we were pleased to see legislative entities of all sizes and with many different procurement processes make this commitment. Given these developments following out letter, we ask whether the Committee will carry this effort forward by directing all legislative entities under its purview to designate an ABOR and ensure one is designated at all times going forward?

We also we want to ensure that extensive inquiry directed to each legislative entity by members of Congress is not necessary to verify Congressional compliance with JWOD, which is why our letter asked offices about their ability and willingness to provide data on AbilityOne procurement now and in the future. Fortunately, every response that acknowledged the question their ability to internally extract the percentage procurement data from AbilityOne vendors, or committed to tracking such data going forward—others also affirmatively stated their willingness to make public this internal data. Based on the offices’ ability to provide this data and the imperative of transparency in ensuring compliance with the statute, we ask that the Committee direct all legislative entities under its purview to provide an annual report to the Committee, which shall be made available to the public, containing:


1. The total dollar value of procurement from AbilityOne vendors;
2. The percentage of total procurement such procurement represents;
3. Qualitative information on the entity’s efforts to increase procurement with AbilityOne; and
4. Qualitative information on any obstacles the entity faced in increasing said procurement.


As Freshmen Members of the 118th Congress, we feel more can be done to educate new lawmakers about AbilityOne procurement opportunities when establishing their offices. Accordingly, in addition to ensuring compliance, we ask the Committee to take affirmative steps to further the goal of increasing Legislative Branch procurement through AbilityOne. Specifically, we ask that the Committee update the User’s Guide to Setting Up an Office that the Committee publishes to explain to Members what AbilityOne is and what each office can procure from AbilityOne when setting up a new office. We also ask that the Congressional Research Service be directed to include such information during its Freshman retreat.

Beyond increasing awareness of AbilityOne for new Members, we further seek to ensure that Members’ offices are able to procure AbilityOne products as easily as possible. Therefore, we ask that the Committee direct that the following changes be implemented in the House Supply Store:

1. Rank AbilityOne products as the first result in generic product filters and generic product searches in the online House Supply Store;
2. Create a product category for AbilityOne products on the home page of the online House Supply Store that includes all such products; and
3. Include prominent signage in the House Supply Store that identifies AbilityOne products year-round.

In closing, we want to reiterate our appreciation for the work already being done through the procurement process of many legislative entities to support the employment of Americans with disabilities and give special commendation to those entities that took this inquiry as an opportunity to improve their procurement process to ensure compliance with JWOD. Many of these entities have gone above and beyond the statutory requirements to truly embrace the spirit of the law, providing opportunities for tens of thousands of Americans with disabilities. It is our hope to hear back from the Committee swiftly to discuss how best to carry this momentum forward.