GSA is ordering a sweeping AbilityOne audit after finding technology made in China was listed as USA-made on federal procurement systems.
The GSA has launched a sweeping review of the AbilityOne procurement program after finding examples of technology made in China being listed on federal buying platforms as products of the United States. The move puts a spotlight on how federal agencies verify what they buy and whether taxpayer dollars are supporting American work, as intended.
In a draft letter reviewed by Fox News Digital, the General Services Administration directed the U.S. AbilityOne Commission to verify the country of origin for every item on its Mandatory Procurement List and to complete a broad audit of pricing, sourcing and compliance. GSA Administrator Edward Forst said federal money spent through AbilityOne should support jobs for blind and disabled Americans instead of foreign competitors. He also warned that several product offerings raise serious national security concerns and could undermine confidence in the federal marketplace.
AbilityOne runs a federal purchasing program designed to create jobs for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. Under the program, federal agencies are generally required to buy certain products and services from participating nonprofit groups. GSA said it found multiple AbilityOne-related technology products labeled on its procurement systems as having a country of origin in the USA when they were actually made in foreign countries, including China.
The letter gives the commission until Nov. 16 to respond to the identified concerns, correct country-of-origin information for products sold through the Federal Acquisition Service Verified Product Portal, explain listings with unclear origins and describe how it will maintain ongoing reviews. Forst wrote that the review is meant to increase transparency, protect the integrity of federal purchasing and ensure taxpayer dollars are not supporting inaccurate or misleading claims.
The review also tracks with President Donald Trump’s March 2026 executive order calling for truthful Made in America advertising in federal procurement. According to the report, Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud task force has also taken interest in the matter. GSA said it wants to remove an exception that currently allows the commission to offer items originating in China and other non-allied nations.
Beyond the origin labels, the letter raises broader questions about cost and compensation inside the program. GSA said AbilityOne-affiliated nonprofits can sell items to the government with markups as high as 55%, depending on pricing arrangements. It also said some products deliver little or no meaningful employment or taxpayer value while nonprofit executives can earn more than $1 million a year. GSA contrasted that with an average annual salary of about $33,000 for blind workers, citing National Industries for the Blind data. An appendix, according to the letter, lists several nonprofits where executive compensation ranged from $500,000 to more than $1 million.
GSA also pointed to earlier False Claims Act settlements involving AbilityOne nonprofits. Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a Wisconsin nonprofit, paid $1.9 million in 2020 to resolve federal allegations tied to false claims and kickbacks on government contracts. Connecticut-based CW Resources paid $600,000 in 2021 to settle allegations that it falsely certified compliance with AbilityOne labor rules. Those cases were separate from the new country-of-origin concerns, but they add to the pressure on the program.
The National Council on Disability has also criticized the system. Acting Chair Neil Romano said Friday that the council has long viewed AbilityOne as a policy relic that has not kept pace with the needs of Americans with disabilities. GSA is now also examining an AbilityOne policy known as Essentially the Same, which allows some products to replace items already approved for the mandatory list, after the agency said foreign-made goods had displaced American products through that process. For everyday Americans, the issue comes down to whether federal purchasing rules are truly backing U.S. workers and honest labeling, and what happens next will shape how tightly Washington polices its own supply chains.
