[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1624 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1624

To provide for the debarment or suspension from Federal procurement and 
  nonprocurement activities of persons that violate certain labor and 
                              safety laws.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 1997

   Mr. Evans (for himself, Mr. Gephardt, Mr. Bonior, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
Coyne, Mr. Frost, Mr. Olver, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Holden, Mr. Filner, Mr. 
   Faleomavaega, Mr. Klink, Mr. Mascara, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. 
      Borski, Mr. Rush, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Torres, Ms. Carson, Mr. 
 Abercrombie, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Brown of California, and Mr. Lipinski) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Government Reform and Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the debarment or suspension from Federal procurement and 
  nonprocurement activities of persons that violate certain labor and 
                              safety laws.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Procurement and Assistance 
Integrity Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to improve the efficiency and 
effectiveness and protect the integrity of the Federal procurement and 
assistance systems by ensuring that the Federal Government does 
business with responsible contractors and participants.

SEC. 3. DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION FOR VIOLATORS OF CERTAIN LABOR AND 
              SAFETY LAWS.

    (a) Debarment and Suspension.--The Secretary of Labor may debar or 
suspend a person from procurement activities or nonprocurement 
activities upon a finding, in accordance with procedures developed 
under this section, that the person violated any of the following laws:
            (1) The National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et 
        seq.).
            (2) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et 
        seq.).
            (3) The Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 651 
        et seq.).
            (4) Section 4212(a) of title 38, United States Code.
    (b) Procedures.--The Secretary of Labor and the National Labor 
Relations Board shall jointly develop procedures to determine whether a 
violation of a law listed in subsection (a) is serious enough to 
warrant debarment or suspension under that subsection. The procedures 
shall provide for an assessment of the nature and extent of compliance 
with such laws, including whether there are or were single or multiple 
violations of those laws or other labor or safety laws and whether the 
violations occur or have occurred at one facility, several facilities, 
or throughout the company concerned. In developing the procedures, the 
Secretary and the Board shall consult with departments and agencies of 
the Federal Government and provide, to the extent feasible, for ongoing 
exchanges of information between the departments and agencies and the 
Department of Labor and the Board in order to accurately carry out such 
assessments.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``debar'' means to exclude, pursuant to 
        established administrative procedures, from Government 
        contracting and subcontracting, or from participation in 
        nonprocurement activities, for a specified period of time 
        commensurate with the seriousness of the failure or offense or 
        the inadequacy of performance.
            (2) The term ``suspend'' means to disqualify, pursuant to 
        established administrative procedures, from Government 
        contracting and subcontracting, or from participation in 
        nonprocurement activities, for a temporary period of time 
        because an entity or individual is suspected of engaging in 
        criminal, fraudulent, or seriously improper conduct.
            (3) The term ``procurement activities'' means all 
        acquisition programs and activities of the Federal Government, 
        as defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
            (4) The term ``nonprocurement activities'' means all 
        programs and activities involving Federal financial and 
        nonfinancial assistance and benefits, as covered by Executive 
        Order No. 12549 and the Office of Management and Budget 
        guidelines implementing that order.
    (d) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect on October 1, 1997.
    (e) Regulations.--The Federal Acquisition Regulation and the 
regulations issued pursuant to Executive Order No. 12549 shall be 
revised to include provisions to carry out this Act.
    (f) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor 
Relations Board shall jointly submit to Congress a report on the 
implementation of this Act.
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