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Summary of Changes

Permanent Note: On May 1, 2006, the Interim Internal Purchasing Guidelines were replaced by the Postal Service’s Supplying Principles and Practices (SPs and Ps).

Effective October 31, 2019, the following parts and sections of the SPs and Ps have been revised:

2 — Evaluate Sources

3 — Select Suppliers

  • 3-5.2, Evaluate Background and Training, is revised to change the contracting officer training course from Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) within the obsoleted Learning Management System to SUPM Contracting Officers Representative within HERO, the Postal Service’s online training and development system.

4 — Deliver and Receive Requirements

5 — Measure and Manage Supply

7 — General Practices

  • 7-1.1, Contracting Officer Levels, is revised to include a new Level IV Contracting Officer with $15 million of contracting authority. This level is subject and pursuant to VP SM delegation of contracting officer authority, assigned to the 13 CMC manager positions.
  • 7-1.2, Educational Requirement, is revised to include supply chain management, business management, business administration, and business organization and operation for a description of the 24 semester hour subjects related to purchasing.
  • 7-1.4, Contracting Officer Level Qualifications, is revised to include re-delegated appointment authority from the VP SM. Within paragraphs a. Contracting Officer Level I, b. Contracting Officer Level II, revised the name of the Contract Law course, and c. Contracting Officer Level III, the “Note” regarding formal training was removed from each level and placed at the end of the section. Paragraph d. Contracting Officer Level IV is new, and pursuant to VP SM delegation of contracting officer authority, holding one of 13 CMC manager’s positions qualifies as the new Level IV Contracting Officer with up to $15 million approval authority. Paragraph e. Contracting Level V, are the portfolio managers with up to $20 million approval authority.
  • 7-1.6, Continuing Professionalism, is revised to clarify the role of the appointing officials and the 21 hours of annual training required by a Contracting Officer.
  • 7-7.1.12, Architectural Barriers Act (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.), is revised to remove the reference to “handicapped” and an inactive URL.
  • 7-7.1.14, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 702 et seq.), is revised to replace the description of the specific requirement of Section 503 with descriptions of the requirements of the Rehab Act generally and Section 508.
  • 7-7.1.14.1, Applicability, is revised to increase the threshold for application of and change the name of Clause 9-13.
  • 7-7.1.14.2, Requirements, is revised to include a citation to the United States Code and delete the reference to circumstances involving contracts with state or local governments, which likely occur infrequently.
  • 7-7.1.14.3, Waiver, is retitled as “Waiver” and revised to clarify that the VP, SM does not have direct exemption authority, but may request a waiver from the director, OFCCP for a specific contract or class of contracts.
  • 7-7.1.14.4, Section 508, is revised to change the phrase Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) to Information and Communication Technology (ICT), keeping in line with the same change in the recently issued regulations. Added a reference to 29 U.S.C. § 794d and the standards included in 36 CFR part 1194. Also added the requirement to use Clause 9-18, Information and Communication Technology Accessibility and referenced the commodity specific Section 8-4, Information Technology.
  • 7-7.1.14.5, Department of Labor Notices, is revised to remove the outdated source of notices and replace it with a hyperlink to the Department of Labor (DOL) website where they can be found.
  • 7-7.1.14.6, Collective Bargaining Agreements, is deleted because the guidance is non-applicable.
  • 7-7.1.14.7, Complaints, is renumbered to 7-7.1.14.6 and provides guidance on complaints to contracting officer’s for referral of supplier employees DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in accordance with the DOL notices.
  • 7-7.1.14.8, Department of Labor Sanctions, is renumbered to 7-7.1.14.7 and revised to change the title of Clause 9-13 from “Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers” to “Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities” and other minor editorial changes.
  • 7-7.1.19, Clauses and Provisions, is revised to include Clause 4-18: Information and Communication Technology Accessibility and change the name of Clause 9-13 to “Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities”.

8 — Commodity Specific

  • 8-4.1, Definitions, is revised to include a definition for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as defined within Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
  • 8-4.2, General, is revised to replace IT with ICT when described as technology being purchased within the sentence.
  • 8-4.3, Accessibility, is revised to change the terms “individuals” and “members of the public” to “customers” in order to emphasize that accessibility is a matter of customer service; and to replace specific “undue burden” reference with a more general reference to “exception” because the most common exceptions do not involve an undue burden analysis.
  • 8-4.4, Documentation, is revised to include a new paragraph that describes the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template® (VPAT®) and a hyperlink to a website where the template can be found.
  • 8-4.10, Clauses, is revised to change the name of Clause 4-18 from “Information Technology Accessibility Standards” to “Information and Communication Technology Accessibility.”

9 — Solicitation Provisions

  • Provision 1-2: Domestic Source Certificate – Supplies, is revised to include a check box and affirmative statement that by checking the box the offeror certifies that each end product, except those the supplier lists within the provision, is a domestic-source end product.
  • Provision 1-3: Domestic Source Certificate - Construction Materials, is revised to include a check box and statement that by checking the box the offeror certifies that only domestic construction materials will be used in the performance of this contract, except for foreign construction materials the supplier lists in the provision.
  • Provision 2-3: Evaluation of Options, is modified to provide clarity.
  • Provision 2-4: Evaluation Exclusive of Options, is eliminated and the number is reserved.
  • Provision 2-5: Evaluation Exclusive of Unpriced Options, is eliminated and the number is reserved.
  • Provision 4-2: Evaluation, is revised to reference Section 2-26, Develop Proposal Evaluation Strategy, and “performance evaluation” was changed to “evaluation”.
  • Provision 4-3: Representations and Certifications, format is revised, and revised the reference to Section 2-26.4.2, Supplier Capability within paragraph e(5), and in paragraph f. Incorporated by reference, to remove the references to Provision 1-2: Domestic Source Certificate - End Products and Provision 1-3: Domestic Source Certificate – Construction Materials. These provisions will be incorporated as full text within relevant contracts for the supplier to complete.

10 — Contract Clauses

  • Clause B-78: Renewal, is renamed Clause B-78: Renewal (Surface Transportation) and the clause is replaced with the version that is used by Surface Transportation.
  • Clause 1-9: Preference for Domestic Supplies, the references to Evaluate Foreign and Domestic Proposals in paragraphs a. and b. is revised to include the section number (Section 2-36). Paragraph a(2), language is revised for evaluation of foreign proposals under best value process, “When price is more important than the evaluation factors, six percent is added to the proposed price of the non-qualifying end product and this adjusted price is used for evaluation.” Rephrased “if proposal evaluation factors will have significant weight in proposal evaluation” to “When the evaluation factors are more important than, or equal to, price, domestic end products and designated country end products will receive a preference in the case of closely ranked proposals, but no price adjustment will be added.” And, the component test for domestic sourced end products is waived for the purchase of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) items.
  • Clause 1-10: Preference for Domestic Construction Materials, is revised to remove reference to B.042, to revise reference to Evaluate Foreign and Domestic Proposal to include the section number (Section 2-36), placed the trade agreement listing and dollar values in a table versus paragraph form.
  • Clause 2-17: Option for Increased Quantity, is modified to provide clarity. The contracting officer within 60 days prior to contract expiration will notify the supplier regarding exercising the option, unless a difference number of days is specified within the schedule.
  • Clause 2-18: Option Item, is renamed Clause 2-18: Option Item (CLIN) and modified to provide clarity. The contracting officer within 60 days prior to contract expiration will notify the supplier regarding exercising the option, unless a difference number of days is specified within the schedule.
  • Clause 2-19: Option to Extend (Services Contract), is renamed Clause 2-19: Option to Extend (Short Term) and modified to provide clarity. The contracting officer within 30 days prior to contract expiration will notify the supplier regarding exercising the option. The option may not be exercised more than once, but the duration of each extension shall not exceed 90 days, and the sum of all extension shall not in the aggregate exceed 6 months.
  • Clause 2-20: Option to Renew, (with preliminary notice) is renamed Clause 2-20: Option Period and modified to provide clarity. The contracting officer within 60 days prior to contract expiration will notify the supplier regarding exercising the option, unless a difference number of days is specified within the schedule. The total duration of this contract, including exercised option period extensions, may not exceed the time limit set forth in the schedule.
  • Clause 2-25: Unpriced Options, is eliminated and the number is reserved.
  • Clause 2-38: Payment (Time-and-Materials and Labor-Hour Contracts), paragraph a. is revised to define hourly rates. Hourly rates will only be paid for contract labor performed that meets contract labor qualifications unless the contracting officer specifically authorizes otherwise. In addition, this paragraph redefined the retainage process establishing that the right must be exercised by the contracting officer to be effective and to be accounted for by the supplier. The revision also requires a release of claims prior to payment of the retainage, in accordance with the new paragraph f. Paragraph b. defines material and material handling costs. Profit or fees will not be paid on the cost of subcontracts for materials or for services that are not covered by a labor category. Paragraph c. Total Cost, is revised to direct the supplier to provide a revised estimate of the total price when the Postal Service has reason to believe that the work required will be greater than or substantially less than the then stated ceiling price. Added a new paragraph f. on the assignment and release of claims.
  • Clause 4-2: Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Policies, Statutes or Executive Orders, is revised to change the name of Clause 9-13 in subparagraph 2(n) from “Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers” to “Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities.” The formatting of this clause is modified.
  • Clause 4-18: Information Technology Accessibility Standards, is revised to change the title of the clause to “Clause 4-18: Information and Communication Technology Accessibility (October 2019)” and to change the phrase Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) to Information and Communication Technology (ICT), keeping in line with the same change in the regulations. It is updated to reflect the current name of the regulations in part 1194 of 36 CFR, including removal of “Accessibility” and addition of “and Guidelines.” Paragraph b is changed to clarify that documentation of accessibility features, such as a (VPAT®), is required for all ICT products ordered.
  • Clause 9-6: Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, is revised to remove the word “handicapped,” replacing it with the phrase “with disabilities.”
  • Clause 9-10: Service Contract Act, is revised to remove the word “handicapped,” replacing it with the phrase “with disabilities” or word “disabled,” and the term “sheltered workshops,” replacing it with “work centers.”
  • Clause 9-13: Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers, is revised to change the title of the clause to “Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities” and replace the content with the short form of the DOL clause, as provided at 41 CFR 60-741.5(d); the proposed short form clause includes a citation to the full clause at 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and a summary of its purpose.

Acronyms




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