[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF GOOD CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP AND FEDERAL PROCUREMENT 
                             INCENTIVES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 25, 1997

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, at a time when some American corporations 
commonly use large-scale layoffs in order to reap hundreds of millions 
of dollars in profits on the stock market, demand give-backs in order 
to pit American workers in competition with cheap, unprotected foreign 
workers, and invest overseas to escape health, safety, and 
environmental standards here at home, we do not believe that the United 
States Government should be rewarding such shortsighted companies with 
billions of dollars in federal contracts vis-a-vis companies that are 
good corporate citizens here at home and overseas. Instead, we should 
be using the purchasing power of the Federal Government to reward 
socially responsible and environmentally responsible companies.
  Every year the U.S. Government buys more than $200 billion in goods 
and services, ranging from weapons systems to cleaning supplies, making 
it the largest customer in the American marketplace. This purchasing 
power needs to be harnessed--through targeted procurement preferences--
and used as an engine of progress and as a powerful source of 
marketplace leverage to reward exemplary corporate behavior in the 
bottom line.
  The economist Adam Smith recognized that free markets, left to their 
own devices, do not deal with matters of economic justice and social 
equity, let alone environmental sustainability. In that vein, our 
Federal Government should also be doing more than just trying to save a 
buck. Uncle Sam should be an enlightened consumer and encourage more of 
the business community to practice good corporate citizenship. Just as 
with the individual citizen, the good corporate citizen should be 
expected to act ethically and should be rewarded accordingly in the 
marketplace. That means not only acting responsibly as a company in 
producing goods and services, but also responding to the needs and 
interests of host communities as well as employees and customers. This 
approach is far from revolutionary because companies of all sizes and 
sectors have realized that good conduct can result in long-term 
profitability. That is why more than 100 U.S. companies have already 
adopted codes of conduct to govern their internal operations and 
external affairs.
  My colleagues, Congressmen Evans, Filner, Lipinski, and Lewis join me 
today in introducing legislation to give a substantial preference, when 
bidding on Federal contracts, to companies that adopt and enforce a 
corporate code of conduct and open their operations to outside 
monitoring of compliance. In other words, priority will go to companies 
which provide a safe and healthy workplace, avoid racial or gender 
discrimination, comply with laws that ensure fair competition, and 
uphold a responsible environmental record at home and in their overseas 
operations.
  Specifically, our bill--the Good Corporate Citizenship and Federal 
Procurement Incentives Act--does the following:
  Requires the director of each Federal agency to establish procedures 
to give a preference to contracting with companies that have adopted 
and are enforcing codes of conduct;
  Requires that corporate codes of conduct build upon the workplace 
code of conduct recently agreed upon by the Apparel Industry 
Partnership as well as the model business principles developed and 
announced in 1995 after lengthy White House consultations with business 
leaders, public interest groups, and concerned individuals;
  Ensures that all employees are well informed about the specific 
provisions of the corporate code of conduct adopted by their employing 
company;
  Establishes an annual Federal interagency review, a public petition 
process, and public hearings to be spearheaded by the U.S. Department 
of Commerce to investigate and determine whether companies that have 
been awarded preferences are, in fact, complying with and enforcing 
their corporate codes of conduct;
  Allows any person or organization--including independent monitors--
with pertinent factual information to file a petition and request a 
public hearing on evidence that a company that has received or is 
receiving a procurement preference is not in compliance with its own 
corporate code of conduct; and
  Authorizes Federal agencies to take into account when extending trade 
mission support, OPIC/EX-IM Bank assistance and other taxpayer-financed 
benefits and to withdraw, suspend, or limit procurement preferences 
awarded on a contract or company basis or both as a result of 
investigations and public hearing(s) in which it is determined that a 
company is not enforcing its corporate code of conduct. The decisions 
of Federal agencies in this regard would also be subject to judicial 
review.
  Mr. Speaker, this is very timely and ground-breaking legislation to 
give a significant preference in the awarding of more than $200 billion 
in Federal contracts to U.S. companies that practice good corporate 
citizenship day in and day out.

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