[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 679 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 679

 To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the registration of 
contractors' taxpayer identification numbers in the Central Contractor 
Registry database of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2005

Mr. Coleman (for himself and Mr. Levin) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the registration of 
contractors' taxpayer identification numbers in the Central Contractor 
Registry database of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Central Contractor Registry Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. CENTRAL CONTRACTOR REGISTRY DATABASE.

    (a) Authority.--Chapter 137 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 2302d the following new section:
``Sec. 2302e. Central contractor registry
    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense shall maintain a 
centralized, electronic database for the registration of sources of 
property and services who seek to participate in contracts and other 
procurements entered into by the various procurement officials of the 
United States. The database shall be known as the `Central Contractor 
Registry'.
    ``(b) Taxpayer Information.--(1) The Central Contractor Registry 
shall include the following tax-related information for each source 
registered in that registry:
            ``(A) Each of that source's taxpayer identification 
        numbers.
            ``(B) The source's authorization for the Secretary of 
        Defense to obtain from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue--
                    ``(i) verification of the validity of each of that 
                source's taxpayer identification numbers; and
                    ``(ii) in the case of any of such source's 
                registered taxpayer identification numbers that is 
                determined invalid, the correct taxpayer identification 
                number (if any).
    ``(2)(A) The Secretary of Defense shall require each source, as a 
condition for registration in the Central Contractor Registry, to 
provide the Secretary with the information and authorization described 
in paragraph (1).
    ``(B) The Secretary shall--
            ``(i) warn each source seeking to register in the Central 
        Contractor Registry that the source may be subject to backup 
        withholding for a failure to submit each such number to the 
        Secretary; and
            ``(ii) take the actions necessary to initiate the backup 
        withholding in the case of a registrant who fails to register 
        each taxpayer identification number valid for the registrant 
        and is subject to the backup withholding requirement.
    ``(3) A source registered in the Central Contractor Registry is not 
eligible for a contract entered into under this chapter or title III of 
the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 
251 et seq.) if that source--
            ``(A) has failed to provide the authorization described in 
        paragraph (1)(B);
            ``(B) has failed to register in that registry all valid 
        taxpayer identification numbers for that source; or
            ``(C) has registered in that registry an invalid taxpayer 
        identification number and fails to correct that registration.
    ``(4)(A) The Secretary of Defense shall make arrangements with the 
Commissioner of Internal Revenue for each head of an agency within the 
Department of Defense to participate in the taxpayer identification 
number matching program of the Internal Revenue Service.
    ``(B) The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall cooperate with the 
Secretary of Defense to determine the validity of taxpayer 
identification numbers registered in the Central Contractor Registry. 
As part of the cooperation, the Commissioner shall promptly respond to 
a request of the Secretary of Defense or the head of an agency within 
the Department of Defense for electronic validation of a taxpayer 
identification number for a registrant by notifying the Secretary or 
head of an agency, respectively, of--
            ``(i) the validity of that number; and
            ``(ii) in the case of an invalid taxpayer identification 
        number, any correct taxpayer identification number for such 
        registrant that the Commissioner can promptly and reasonably 
        determine.
    ``(C) The Secretary shall transmit to a registrant a notification 
of each of the registrant's taxpayer identification numbers, if any, 
that is determined invalid by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and 
shall provide the registrant with an opportunity to substitute a valid 
taxpayer identification number.
    ``(5) The Secretary of Defense shall require that, at the place in 
the Central Contractor Registry where the taxpayer identification 
numbers of a registrant are to be displayed, the display bear (as 
applicable)--
            ``(A) for each taxpayer identification number of that 
        registrant, an indicator of whether such number has been 
        determined valid, is being reviewed for validity, or has been 
        determined invalid; or
            ``(B) an indicator that no taxpayer identification number 
        is required for the registrant.
    ``(6) This subsection applies to each source who registers any 
information regarding that source in the Central Contractor Registry 
after December 31, 2005, except that paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) do 
not apply to a source who establishes to the satisfaction of the 
Secretary of Defense that such source is not required to have a 
taxpayer identification number.
    ``(c) Confidentiality of Information.--The Secretary of Defense 
shall ensure that taxpayer identification numbers in the Central 
Contractor Registry are not made available to the public. The Secretary 
shall prescribe a requirement for procurement officials of the United 
States having access to such numbers in that registry to maintain the 
confidentiality of those numbers.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
2302d the following new item:

``2302e. Central Contractor Registry.''.
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