[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1339 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1339

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 1, 1999

  Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
           referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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) Debar.--The term ``debar'' means to exclude, pursuant 
        to established administrative procedures, from Federal 
        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) Nonprocurement activities.--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.
            (3) Procurement activities.--The term ``procurement 
        activities'' means all acquisition programs and activities of 
        the Federal Government, as defined in the Federal Acquisition 
        Regulation.
            (4) Suspend.--The term ``suspend'' means to disqualify, 
        pursuant to established administrative procedures, from Federal 
        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.
    (d) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect on October 1, 1999.
    (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 1 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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