House Approves Three Contractor-Accountability Bills

April 30, 2008

Three contractor accountability bills introduced by Democratic members of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform were approved last week by voice vote in the House of Representatives, after being modified to meet concerns raised by Committee Republicans.

Contractors and Federal Spending Accountability Act (H.R. 3033)
Introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the Contractors and Federal Spending Accountability Act (H.R. 3033) would require the establishment and maintenance of a database on contractors' involvement in civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings initiated by the federal government.

At the behest of Rep. Tom Davis, the bill was modified from its original version to ensure that information in the database would not include incidents based on mere allegations, but rather incidents involving "concluded" state and federal civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings that resulted in findings of fault, fines, or federal suspension.

The bill also would require that contracting officers (COs) carefully examine firms with multiple infractions and document why they awarded contracts to firms that committed two or more offenses, for which they could be debarred, within a three-year period.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) announced, following the House vote, that she was introducing a Senate companion bill to H.R. 3033, which she hoped to quickly attach as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2009 defense authorization bill.

Government Contractor Accountability Act (H.R. 3928)
The Government Contractor Accountability Act (H.R. 3928) was introduced by Rep. Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.) in reaction to the refusal by the founder of Blackwater USA to provide the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform with information on the company’s profits. It would require contractors that are not publicly traded and that receive more than 80 percent of their annual gross revenues from federal contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements to disclose the salaries of their most highly compensated employees and their directors when they receive contracts worth more than $25 million in any fiscal year.

Close the Contractor Fraud Loophole Act (H.R. 5712)
Introduced by Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vermont), the Close the Contractor Fraud Loophole Act (H.R. 5712) would extend the notification requirements of a proposed Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule requiring contractors to notify COs and agency inspector generals of overpayments and violations of criminal law in the award or performance of contracts performed overseas and contracts for commercial items.

A draft revised version of the proposed rule that would similarly extend coverage to overseas and commercial item contracts is under review at the Office of Management and Budget.