August 14, 2026

GSA Calls On AbilityOne to Verify Country-of-Origin Labeling Following Discovery of Chinese Products on Federal Buying Platforms

GSA Requests the U.S. AbilityOne Commission and Central Non-Profit Agencies Validate Made-in-USA Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) calls on the U.S. AbilityOne Commission to verify the country-of-origin of products it sells to the federal government after discovering Chinese-made products among its offerings.

The comprehensive review comes in response to President Trump’s recent Executive Orders, “Ensuring Truthful Advertising of Products Claiming to be Made in America” and “Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.”

AbilityOne is a U.S. federal program that creates jobs for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities. The program is intended to harness the potential of citizens who are blind or face severe disabilities by providing agencies with critical goods and services through meaningful career paths. However, AbilityOne has faced heavy criticism for straying from its original mission, leading blind and disabled American workers to repackage and relabel foreign-made goods rather than genuinely manufacture products in the USA.

“Federal tax dollars spent on the AbilityOne program should support jobs for blind and disabled Americans, not foreign competitors,” said GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst. “Many of AbilityOne’s product offerings raise serious national security concerns and cast doubt on its ability to carry out its mission. GSA will not allow questionable products to undermine the security of federal procurement.”

“For years, NCD has reported that AbilityOne is a policy relic that hasn’t kept up with the needs of Americans with disabilities,” said Neil Romano, Acting Chairman of the National Council on Disability, an independent federal advisory agency. “This is just another example of that overall failing.”

The Chinese merchandise listed on federal buying platforms include critical technology products vulnerable to espionage, such as flash drives, docking ports, and portable charging packs. 

AbilityOne has also been criticized for allegedly relying on segregated work settings and, historically, subminimum wages; weak oversight and accountability; high intermediary or executive compensation; and concerns that mandatory contracting can reduce competition while not always leading to competitive, integrated employment for workers with disabilities. 

A copy of the letter and its appendices can be viewed here [PDF - 267 KB].

Text of the letter can be found below:

August 14, 2026

Christina Brandt
Chairperson
U.S. AbilityOne Commission       

Dear Chairperson Brandt:

When the Federal Government buys products on behalf of the American people, taxpayers deserve transparency into how their dollars are spent. Stronger procurement transparency helps prevent waste, builds trust, and ensures every Federal dollar is working for the people it is meant to serve. President Trump’s “Ensuring Truthful Advertising of Products Claiming to be Made in America” Executive Order directs the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to verify the accuracy of all products represented as “Made in America” across all GSA-managed buying platforms, including those listed as Buy American Act (BAA) compliant or “Country of Origin USA.” This effort strengthens oversight of Federal purchasing channels and helps ensure agencies, vendors, and taxpayers can trust that “Made in America” claims are accurate, consistent, and verifiable.

The AbilityOne Commission’s (Commission) Procurement List (PL) is a mandatory source of supply and services for the entire Federal Government, and Nonprofit Agencies (NPAs) regularly sell thousands of products on GSA’s buying platforms. In light of this, GSA directs that the Commission complete a comprehensive review of all products offered for sale through GSA. GSA also requests that the Commission expand its participation in this review to identify all Countries of Origin (COO) of its products in the Federal Acquisition Service Verified Product Portal.

The Commission maintains the PL from which Federal agencies are required to procure products. Under the Javits–Wagner–O’Day Act, PL products are required to be manufactured or assembled by qualified NPAs designated by the Commission. On September 10, 2025, through Commission Directive 25-01, the Commission required the Central Nonprofit Agencies to inventory PL products for COO determinations and to flag supply chain risks within 120 days. On May 1, 2026, through Commission Directive 26-02, the Commission advised AbilityOne NPAs to maintain supply chain documentation and set forth the expectation that certifications will accompany PL additions and price changes going forward. We appreciate the Commission’s work to support the Administration’s Made in America efforts and the prior directive efforts, as well as actions initiated on July 1, 2026, in conjunction with GSA, to ensure that all new PL products are BAA compliant and that compliance is substantiated by a BAA Certificate or an approved waiver. 

While these are important first steps, GSA adheres to the highest standards for BAA compliance and has detected potential areas of concern with the AbilityOne Program that necessitate the request for a comprehensive review. For example, on the PL, GSA has found multiple examples of AbilityOne-associated technology products labeled on GSA procurement platforms as “Country of Origin: USA” that are, in fact, from China and other foreign countries (see Appendix A). Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of War (DoW), are required (41 U.S.C. § 8504) to procure these critical technology products from AbilityOne, raising both potential cyber risks and national security concerns. 

Additionally, it appears that the Commission’s application of the “Essentially the Same” (ETS) policy may allow AbilityOne to replace American-made products from GSA’s platforms with their own products that appear to be foreign-sourced from countries like China (see Appendix B). This raises significant concerns about harm to domestic manufacturers as well as our national security, as this may facilitate supply chain dependency on foreign countries.  

GSA has also identified several other concerning issues with the program, including inflated price markups, likely contributing to curiously high executive compensation for non-disabled nonprofit leadership, and prior False Claims Act lawsuits. For example, products sold to the Government by AbilityOne-affiliated nonprofits carry markups of up to 55 percent, delivering limited or no meaningful employment or value added to the taxpayer while likely helping fuel outsized executive compensation at affiliated nonprofits. Affiliated nonprofit CEOs enjoy salaries as high as $1.1 million funded by tax dollars through Federal procurement while blind workers make salaries, on average, of approximately $33,000 per year (see Appendix C). To remind you within the contiguous United States, the poverty line for a family of four is also $33,000 per year.

Regarding False Claims Act lawsuits, in 2020, a Wisconsin-based AbilityOne nonprofit, Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc. (IBVI), was accused of three things: misrepresenting to the Commission that it would maintain a 3:1 blind-to-sighted employee ratio on Federal furniture contracts, accepting payments and gifts from manufacturers, and improperly subcontracting screen-printing work to an entity that did not use blind labor. This resulted in IBVI paying the U.S. Government nearly $2 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act. More recently, in October 2021, Connecticut-based AbilityOne nonprofit, CW Resources, Inc., paid $600,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it submitted false annual certifications claiming compliance with the Program’s 75 percent direct labor hour requirement for significantly disabled employees, when the actual hours worked by qualified individuals were substantially lower and were not supported by adequate medical documentation.

In light of this, GSA requests that the Commission promptly conduct a full audit of all items offered for sale through GSA and related procurement data to verify COO representations, pricing, sourcing, and compliance with applicable law and policy. Such an audit is necessary to provide transparency and accountability to the American people, protect the integrity of Federal procurement, and ensure that taxpayer dollars are not supporting inaccurate or misleading claims. 

The Commission shall submit the following information by November 12, 2026:

• All items offered for sale to ensure that all are listed accurately and with the correct COO in the Federal Acquisition Service Verified Product Portal.
• Any products with accurate COOs that are currently certified as “N/A” or “ZZ.”
• Documentation on how the Commission will complete continuous reviews.

GSA holds all its contractors to the highest standards. To ensure we apply the same rules to the AbilityOne Program, I’m instructing my Senior Procurement Executive to promptly take appropriate action to eliminate the exception that permits the Commission to offer items originating in China and other non-allied nations. He will work with GSA and the Commission to ensure effective implementation.   

GSA appreciates the Commission’s prompt attention to this matter. Ensuring that PL products available through GSA channels are fully compliant is essential to maintaining the integrity of the AbilityOne Program, the Federal marketplace, and the Government’s procurement obligations.

Sincerely,

Edward C. Forst
Administrator

cc: Kimberly Zeich, Executive Director, AbilityOne Commission
      Soraya Correa, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Industries for the Blind
      Richard Belden, President and Chief Executive Officer, SourceAmerica
      Laura Stanton, Acting Commissioner, Federal Acquisition Service, General Services Administration 

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing approximately 360 million rentable square feet, overseeing over $126 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivering technology services to millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver exceptional customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology. To address nearly $50 billion in delinquent maintenance, GSA is leading a coalition of every cabinet agency and many federal leaders urgently advocating for full Federal Buildings Fund access and raising the prospectus threshold from $3.96 million to $75 million. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow @USGSA.