[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 23, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H2569-H2572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONTRACTORS AND FEDERAL SPENDING ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2008
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3033) to improve Federal agency awards and oversight of contracts
and assistance and to strengthen accountability of the Government-wide
suspension and debarment system, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3033
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 ``Contractors and Federal
Spending Accountability Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. DATABASE FOR CONTRACTING OFFICERS AND SUSPENSION AND
DEBARMENT OFFICIALS.
(a) In General.--Subject to the authority, direction, and
control of the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, the Administrator of General Services shall establish
and maintain a database of information regarding integrity
and performance of persons awarded Federal contracts and
grants for use by Federal officials having authority over
contracts and grants.
(b) Persons Covered.--The database shall cover any person
awarded a Federal contract or grant if any information
described in subsection (c) exists with respect to such
person.
(c) Information Included.--With respect to a person awarded
a Federal contract or grant, the database shall include
information (in the form of a brief description) for at least
the most recent 5-year period regarding--
(1) any civil or criminal proceeding, or any administrative
proceeding to the extent that such proceeding results in both
a finding of fault on the part of the person and the payment
of restitution to a government of $5,000 or more, concluded
by the Federal Government or any State government against the
person, and any amount paid by the person to the Federal
Government or a State government;
(2) all Federal contracts and grants awarded to the person
that were terminated in such period due to default;
(3) all Federal suspensions and debarments of the person in
that period;
(4) all Federal administrative agreements entered into by
the person and the Federal Government in that period to
resolve a suspension or debarment proceeding and, to the
maximum extent practicable, agreements involving a suspension
or debarment proceeding entered into by the person and a
State government in that period; and
(5) all final findings by a Federal official in that period
that the person has been determined not to be a responsible
source under either subparagraph (C) or (D) of section 4(7)
of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C.
403(7)).
(d) Requirements Relating to Information in Database.--
(1) Direct input and update.--The Administrator shall
design and maintain the database in a manner that allows the
appropriate officials of each Federal agency to directly
input and update in the database information relating to
actions it has taken with regard to contractors or grant
recipients.
(2) Timeliness and accuracy.--The Administrator shall
develop policies to require--
(A) the timely and accurate input of information into the
database;
(B) notification of any covered person when information
relevant to the person is entered into the database; and
(C) an opportunity for any covered person to append
comments to information about such person in the database.
(e) Availability.--
(1) Availability to all federal agencies.--The
Administrator shall make the database available to all
Federal agencies.
(2) Availability to the public.--The Administrator shall
make the database available to the public by posting the
database on the General Services Administration website.
(3) Limitation.--This subsection does not require the
public availability of information that is exempt from public
disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, United States
Code.
SEC. 3. REVIEW OF DATABASE.
(a) Requirement to Review Database.--Prior to the award of
a contract or grant, an official responsible for awarding a
contract or grant shall review the database established under
section 2.
(b) Requirement to Document Present Responsibility.--In the
case of a prospective awardee of a contract or grant against
which a judgment or conviction has been rendered more than
once within any 3-year period for the same or similar
offences, if each judgment or conviction is a cause for
debarment, the official responsible for awarding the contract
or grant shall document why the prospective awardee is
considered presently responsible.
SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE IN APPLICATIONS.
(a) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, Federal regulations shall be
amended to require that in applying for any Federal grant or
submitting a proposal or bid for any Federal contract a
person shall disclose in writing information described in
section 2(c).
(b) Covered Contracts and Grants.--This section shall apply
only to contracts and grants in an amount greater than the
simplified acquisition threshold, as defined in section 4(11)
of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C.
401(11)).
SEC. 5. ROLE OF INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.
(a) Requirement.--The Interagency Committee on Debarment
and Suspension shall--
(1) resolve issues regarding which of several Federal
agencies is the lead agency having responsibility to initiate
suspension or debarment proceedings;
(2) coordinate actions among interested agencies with
respect to such action;
(3) encourage and assist Federal agencies in entering into
cooperative efforts to pool resources and achieve operational
efficiencies in the Governmentwide suspension and debarment
system;
(4) recommend to the Office of Management and Budget
changes to Government suspension and debarment system and its
rules, if such recommendations are approved by a majority of
the Interagency Committee;
(5) authorize the Office of Management and Budget to issue
guidelines that implement those recommendations;
(6) authorize the chair of the Committee to establish
subcommittees as appropriate to best enable the Interagency
Committee to carry out its functions; and
(7) submit to the Congress an annual report on--
(A) the progress and efforts to improve the suspension and
debarment system;
(B) member agencies' active participation in the
committee's work; and
(C) a summary of each agency's activities and
accomplishments in the Governmentwide debarment system.
(b) Definition.--The term ``Interagency Committee on
Debarment and Suspension'' means such committee constituted
under sections 4 and 5 and of Executive Order 12549.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF INDEPENDENT AGENCIES.
Any agency, commission, or organization of the Federal
Government to which Executive Order 12549 does not apply is
authorized to participate in the Governmentwide suspension
and debarment system and may recognize the suspension or
debarment issued by an executive branch agency in its own
procurement or assistance activities.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator of General Services such funds as may be
necessary to establish the database described in section 2.
SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of
General Services shall submit to Congress a report.
(b) Contents of Report.--The report shall contain the
following:
(1) A list of all databases that include information about
Federal contracting and Federal grants.
[[Page H2570]]
(2) Recommendations for further legislation or
administrative action that the Administrator considers
appropriate to create a centralized, comprehensive Federal
contracting and Federal grant database.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Towns) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3033, the Contractors and Federal Spending
Accountability Act of 2008, will help give Federal contracting
officials the information they need to award contracts to most
deserving companies. The Federal Government must spend taxpayer dollars
as efficiently and responsibly as possible, and it is our job to make
sure that happens. This bill will help Federal officials to decide
whether or not a company bidding for a contract is responsible enough
to get it.
If someone has to spend a lot of money on something, like a car, the
responsible thing to do is to make sure that the person or dealership
you will be doing business with is responsible and won't rip you off.
You would want to find all the information that you can about how they
do business.
The Federal Government must spend taxpayer dollars as efficiently and
responsibly as possible, and it is our job to make sure that happens.
This bill will help Federal officials to decide whether or not a
company bidding for a contract is responsible enough to get it.
H.R. 3033 mandates the creation of a database that will record legal
proceedings brought by the Federal Government and State governments
against contractors. It will also record suspensions and debarments,
whether previous contracts have been terminated for cause, and any
previous finding by contracting officials that a company does not have
a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics. All Federal
officials who award contracts will have access to this data, and it
will go a long way to help them make informed decisions about the
companies they are considering.
The bill also requires that if the database shows that someone is a
repeat offender, two or more serious convictions or judgments for the
same issue within 3 years, then the contracting officer has to explain
in writing why they believe the contractor is currently responsible
before a new contract can be awarded. This is another commonsense idea
that will save money for the taxpayers.
I want to thank my friend and colleague from New York, Carolyn
Maloney, for sponsoring this bill and for putting so much work into it.
When she was on the New York City Council, she passed a similar law.
The New York City database, called Vendex, has been a great success,
and it is the model of the Federal database that this bill creates.
I also want to thank the chairman of our full committee, Congressman
Waxman. Of course, I want to thank Ranking Member Davis, and I want to
thank the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Bilbray, for his
support as well.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3033 will be an important tool to help Federal
officials make the best use of taxpayer dollars when awarding
contracts. I am proud to be a cosponsor of the bill, and I urge my
colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, today we rise to take up H.R. 3033, the Contractors and
Federal Spending Accountability Act. This legislation would provide
Federal contracting officials with information about contractors'
performance and ethics.
Maintaining an ethical contractor base is critical to the integrity
of the procurement system and to our Nation's governance. This bill
would make a number of changes to the procurement laws in an attempt to
ensure that government only contracts with responsible firms. It will
require the General Services Administration to establish a publicly
accessible Web site database containing information on contractors'
performance and ethics.
Specifically the database would be required to include civil,
criminal and administrative proceedings concluded by Federal and State
Governments against Federal contractors or grant assistance recipients
which result both in a finding of fault and a payment of $5,000 or more
to the government within the most recent 5-year period.
The database would also include Federal suspensions and debarments
against a contractor and related administrative agreements, contract
terminations for default by the contractor, and final determinations
that a prospective contractor is not a ``responsible'' source because
of performance, integrity, or ethics concerns.
Further, the bill would require the contracting or grant official to
review the database to determine if, during any 3-year period, a
potential awardee has had, more than once, a judgment or conviction for
an offense which would constitute a cause for debarment. And if so, the
official must document why a prospective awardee is eligible for
award--why the prospective awardee is ``presently responsible.''
Additionally, the bill would require any entity seeking a Federal
contract or grant to disclose all of the information required to be
included in the database. Since H.R. 3033 was introduced, it has been
much improved. The original version would have created a draconian
enforcement measure, establishing a ``blacklist'' which would defame
and degrade firms merely accused of wrongdoing, not necessarily
convicted or adjudicated but simply accused.
The Chamber of Commerce sent out a letter to Members dated April 22
opposing this legislation. They urged Members to oppose H.R. 3033.
While I appreciate the Chamber's efforts on these issues, and I agree
with the concerns that they raise, the version of the bill discussed in
their letter is the version that was reported by the committee, a bill
which I also did not support. But it is precisely for the reason
described in the Chamber's letter that the bill was modified before we
agreed to bring this bill to the House floor on suspension today. I
want to note for the Record that the issues that we raised, the
minority raised in committee and raised by the Chamber, have been fully
addressed. I fully support this legislation now.
It was unclear to me what beneficial purpose would have been served
by the collection of the information originally. But the chairman and
the sponsor were open to our suggestions to revise the bill to include
only concluded proceedings as opposed to mere allegations.
However, the most problematic section of H.R. 3033, as introduced,
was the ``two strikes and you're out'' provision. That section would
have mandated the automatic initiation of debarment proceedings against
firms convicted of two offenses which otherwise would be a cause for
debarment. It is appropriate to use the debarment process to prevent
bad actors from getting Federal contracts, but there is no need to
limit the discretion of the government's debarment officials in
bringing these actions at the appropriate time. It smacks of
punishment, and punishment is not what has long been and should remain
the intent of the suspension debarment process. That process is to
protect the government, not to punish wrongdoers.
I appreciate the opportunity to work with Chairman Waxman and the
author of this legislation, Mrs. Maloney, to delete what I felt was a
misguided concept and replace it with the provisions in the bill we are
considering today, which requires officials to take a careful look at
firms with multiple convictions to determine their present
responsibility.
As I pointed out during the markup of the bill, under the original
``two strikes and you're out'' provision, many contractors relied upon
by the government, for example the Boeing company, would have debarment
proceedings initiated against them. In the relevant time period, for
example, Boeing had been involved in the following
[[Page H2571]]
incidents which could have resulted in the initiation of debarment
proceedings:
In 2007, a $1.1 million settlement for alleged over billing for
aircraft parts.
In 2006, a $30 million payment to settle claims that the nearly 100
neighbors of the Santa Susana Field nuclear research facility were
sickened by decades of radioactive and toxic contamination. The
settlement, which ended an 8-year legal battle, was supposed to remain
confidential, but one of the plaintiffs divulged the terms to the local
media.
In 2004, a $615 million settlement to resolve the Darleen Druyun
scandal and other pending investigations.
In 2003, an $18 million settlement for alleged violations of the Arms
Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulation, a
settlement to the Boeing company.
In 2003, a $6 million settlement for violations of the Arms Export
Control Act, involving further transfer of data to China.
In 2003, a $4 million fine for violations of the Arms Export Control
Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulation.
In 2003, a $2.5 million settlement for alleged defective pricing.
In 2003, a $490,000 settlement for a qui tam action for alleged false
claims.
Additionally, Boeing business units were suspended from receiving new
Federal contracts from July 24, 2003, to March 4, 2005. The suspensions
were based on a pending criminal investigation into Boeing's unlawful
possession and use of a competitor's proprietary documents in
connection with the competition for a U.S. Air Force contract. Under
the bill as introduced, this involvement would have resulted in
automatic debarment proceedings.
I was certain my colleagues would not have wanted that, and after I
pointed this out, they realized it was not realistic. But not only
would Boeing be affected, other Federal contractors with comparable
records of involvement with the legal and administrative remedies
available to the government would have been similarly impacted. This is
not a sign contractors are all corrupt, it is a sign the system is
working and bad behavior is being rooted out.
It is difficult to argue against contracting officers having
available to them information concerning concluded State and Federal
civil, criminal and administrative proceedings resulting in findings of
fault and fines as well as Federal suspensions, debarments, and default
terminations. The value of placing such information on a public Web
site isn't clear unless it would be to punish or intimidate firms, so I
continue to believe our time would have been better spent on
legislation to improve our acquisition system.
This bill, while much improved, and while I support it, will do
little to improve the government's ability to get the best value goods
and services it needs at fair and reasonable prices.
With that said, I thank Chairman Waxman, Mrs. Maloney and the staff
for their willingness to work with us and the Armed Services Committee
to make this a better bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New
York (Mrs. Maloney) who is the person who sponsored the bill and has
done some tremendous work.
{time} 1200
Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his
hard work on so many important issues to the great city of New York and
our country.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 3033, the Contractor and Federal
Spending Accountability Act, legislation I have authored to help bring
integrity and accountability to the Federal procurement system. I want
to thank Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis, Chairman Towns and
their staffs, and my own staff, for working so hard on this
legislation.
The bill before us today has been modified from the version reported
out by the committee to address concerns raised by some Members,
including Ranking Member Davis. I want to thank him for his positive
efforts on this bill, and for many positive efforts he has given to
this committee in working in a collaborative way, and express my regret
that he is retiring this year from this body.
Also, the concerns of the Chamber of Commerce have been addressed in
the underlying bill. H.R. 3033, as amended, will fortify the current
Federal suspension and debarment system by establishing a centralized
and comprehensive database on actions taken against Federal contractors
and assist participants requiring a description of each of these
actions.
While the government has several separate information systems,
currently there is no centralized comprehensive database for
contracting officers to review prior performance and to review
information on contractors before making an award or an additional
contract award to contractors.
It requires the contracting officer to document why a prospective
awardee is deemed responsible if that awardee has two or more offenses
which would be cause for debarment within a 3-year period. H.R. 3033,
as amended, specifies and clarifies that a ``concluded'' proceeding is
one in which there is a finding of fault on the part of the person and
the payment of restitution to a Federal or State government of $5,000
or more.
Additionally, it improves and clarifies the role of the Interagency
Committee on Debarments and Suspension, and requires the administrator
of General Services to report to Congress within 180 days with
recommendations for further action to create the database.
This legislation has been strongly and consistently supported by the
Campaign for Quality Construction and the Project on Government
Oversight.
Currently the Federal Government's watchdogs, the Federal suspension
and debarment officials, lack the information that they need to protect
our business interests and taxpayers' dollars.
This system will give government procurement officers who are making
these decisions more information about the qualifications and track
records of the contractors. Beyond a listing of currently debarred or
suspended persons, officials are now limited to their individual
agency's knowledge of an entity's track record. This bill will make it
easier for these procurement officers to prevent them giving contracts
to those who repeatedly violate Federal laws or have poor performance,
and it will prevent them from receiving future dollars from the Federal
Government.
As a New York City councilwoman, I successfully led an effort to
reform the contracting system of New York City. Included in that effort
was a Vendex system which checked the backgrounds and the work of the
contractors before awarding contracts. It has been credited with saving
the city of New York hundreds of millions of dollars.
The United States is the largest purchaser of goods and services in
the world, spending more than $419 billion on procurement awards in
2006, and over $440 billion on grants in 2005. It is Congress's
responsibility to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used wisely and not
wasted, certainly not wasted in our contracting system, and we should
not be giving awards to contractors who have poor performance records.
I believe by improving the system for awarding contracts, I believe
that this is critical for boosting the public's faith in our government
and it will save taxpayers' dollars. I urge my colleagues to support
this reform bill.
Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TOWNS. I yield 5 minutes to the chairman of the full committee,
the Honorable Henry Waxman from the great State of California.
Mr. WAXMAN. I thank the gentleman from the great State of New York,
the able chairman of the subcommittee, for yielding to me.
H.R. 3033, as amended, would create a centralized governmentwide
database of information to more effectively monitor the award of
Federal tax dollars. It would include not only information on companies
and grantees that have been debarred by the Federal Government, but
also information on civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings
that have been concluded against contractors and grant recipients.
No such comprehensive database currently exists, and creating one
would allow more efficient monitoring of Federal procurement and
assistance programs.
[[Page H2572]]
This is a commonsense initiative that would allow the Federal
Government to track fraudulent contractors and grantees and stop them
from moving from agency to agency if they are debarred.
The bill was introduced by Representative Maloney, and it is modeled
on legislation that she passed for the city of New York when she was a
city council member. That law has been very effective for the city.
The ranking member of the Oversight Committee, Representative Tom
Davis, raised a number of concerns with the bill as originally drafted,
and we worked with Representative Davis and his staff to try to address
these concerns, and I thank him for his willingness to work with us on
this matter.
We have also made changes reflected in the bill before us today to
address concerns raised by other committees with certain provisions in
the bill. As I understand it, some letters have been sent out in
opposition to the bill without knowing that those changes have been
made to address the concerns that were raised. The result that we have
before us today is a measure that enjoys bipartisan support. I urge
Members to support H.R. 3033, as amended.
Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Let me just say again to Chairman Waxman and
to the gentlelady from New York, we appreciate you working with us. We
have a bill now that enhances the system, and we have met the
objections of some of the groups like the U.S. Chamber and that had
been raised on our side of the aisle. I appreciate it, and urge its
adoption.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of
H.R. 3033, the ``Contractors and Federal Spending Accountability Act of
2008.'' H.R. 3033 mandates the establishment of a database that
includes detailed information on civil, criminal, and administrative
proceedings concluded against contractors and grant recipients by State
and Federal governments; a listing, by contractor or grant recipient,
of all contracts or grants that were terminated; any suspensions or
debarments, or any agreement to resolve a suspension or debarment; any
findings that the contractor or recipient is not a ``responsible''
source for Federal contracts.
As the great justice Louis Brandeis famously wrote, ``sunlight is
said to be the best of disinfectants.'' H.R. 3033 will shed some
sunlight on the contracting world.
This database will have myriad uses. Governments at all levels can
turn to it when considering whether to award a contract or grant.
Citizens can look to see how their tax dollars are being spent--and
what steps are being taken to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. Job
seekers can look up prospective employers to find out what kind of
company they might work for. Companies can do a little due diligence
about prospective customers or vendors. In this information age, there
is simply no reason information such as this should not be available to
all of us.
My committee oversees the Department of Homeland Security. It is
still young, as are many of its contracting professionals. But even the
``old pros'' of the Department are new to homeland security
contracting--because homeland security contracting itself is new. A
database like this--that allows these officials to quickly examine the
history of prospective, contractors--might have helped the Department
avoid some of the contracting fiascos that have plagued it to date. I
am hopeful it will help the Department pick the best contractors in the
future.
I encourage all of my colleagues to support this important
legislation.
Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Serrano). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3033, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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