| June 3, 2004 | Contact: Jack Morgan |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | 877/770-9274 jmorgan@trsa.org |
Cocivera praises committee vote on federal procurement administrator
Alexandria, VA —The Textile Rental Services Association of America (TRSA) is disappointed that the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved the Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 2003 (S 346) without language that would protect service companies from unfair competition.
S 346 was passed out of committee on June 2 by voice vote. This paves the way for possible consideration by the Senate later this summer. Stripped from the bill before passage was language in Section 3 of the Act that would explicitly protect private textile rental and other service companies from unfair competition by Federal Prison Industries. “TRSA looks forward to working with bipartisan Senate leaders to address this concern before this bill becomes law,” said Roger Cocivera , TRSA president and CEO. “Otherwise, this legislation would leave textile rental and other service companies vulnerable to unfair competition from prison laborers earning roughly a dollar an hour. Most textile rental companies pay 10 times that in pay and benefits. And labor costs comprise roughly 50% of total expenses for these businesses. Congress should slam shut the cell door on unfair prison competition before it puts thousands of tax-paying private-sector service companies out of business,” Cocivera said.
In other action, Cocivera said TRSA is delighted that the same Senate committee on June 2 approved by voice vote the nomination of David Safavian to head the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
Cocivera said Safavian understands the importance of putting tax dollars to better use through competitive sourcing of various government services. “Mr. Safavian knows very well that when you’re spending taxpayer dollars you must get the maximum return on investment for the American public,” Cocivera said. “We believe Mr. Safavian will promote competitive sourcing in areas such VA hospital laundries. Taking this step would help free up additional resources for veterans, including U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan .”
Safavian now awaits confirmation by the full Senate.
The Textile Rental Services Association of America (TRSA) is a national trade association representing over 1,100 company locations across the nation. Since 1913, TRSA members have provided textile maintenance and rental services to commercial, industrial and institutional accounts-over 90 percent of TRSA member companies are small businesses. TRSA members serve hygienically clean textile and dust control items to millions of customers in commerce, industry, and other professions, from automobile service to manufacturing, restaurants and hospitals. The textile rental industry generates yearly sales of roughly $11 billion. U.S. linen supply and industrial laundering companies employ more than 110,000 people.
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