GOOD FAITH ANNOUNCEMENT FOLLOW-UP: CLASSIFICATION OF PROTECTIVE WEAR UNDERGARMENTS FEDERAL PRISON INDUSTRIES, INC. (FPI) On June 18, 1999, the Commerce Business Daily published a "good faith" announcement regarding FPI's proposal to manufacture protective wear undergarments and classify them under FSC 8415 -- Special Purpose Clothing, for sale to the Federal government as Protective Clothing, subject to the limitations of the Protective Clothing Board decision. The "good faith" announcement explained that while FPI considered these undergarments to be a protective clothing item, FPI recognized that a reasonable person may construe these protective wear undergarments to be a product separate and distinct from other items in the protective clothing category supplied by FPI. The June 18th announcement requested that interested parties submit comments regarding the classification of protective wear undergarments as Protective Clothing. As specified by FPI's guidelines, the announcement noted that such comments were due within 21 days of the publication of the announcement. The deadline for such comments was July 9, 1999. FPI received two letters in response to this matter, one from an association and one from a private sector company. The comments in the association's letter raised questions on several issues unrelated to the pertinent issue of classification of the undergarments. In addition, insufficient rationale was provided by the association's commenter as to why this item should be classified as something other than protective wear. The letter from the private sector company did not in any way address the issue of the classification of protective wear undergarments. FPI received no other comments or objections from private sector companies to the classification of protective wear undergarments as protective clothing. Therefore, for the reasons set forth in the June 18th announcement, it is FPI's determination that these undergarments, designed and fabricated to act as thermal regulators under protective wear, will be classified under FPI Protective Clothing as protective wear undergarments, FSC 8415 -- Special Purpose Clothing, and be subject to the limitations of the FPI Board of Directors' Protective Clothing decision. As discussed in FPI's guidelines, any interested party has a right to raise any question at any time with FPI's Board of Directors. Posted 08/06/99 (W-SN364384).

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