II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2383

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 

MAY 5, 2004

Mr. COLEMAN (for himself, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. REED) 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.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Central Contractor 

5 Registry Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. CENTRAL CONTRACTOR REGISTRY DATABASE. 

2 (a) AUTHORITY.—Chapter 137 of title 10, United 

3 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2302d 

4 the following new section: 

5 ‘‘§ 2302e. Central contractor registry 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Defense 

7 shall maintain a centralized, electronic database for the 

8 registration of sources of property and services who seek 

9 to participate in contracts and other procurements entered 

10 into by the various procurement officials of the United 

11 States. The database shall be known as the ‘Central Con12 tractor Registry’. 

13 ‘‘(b) TAXPAYER INFORMATION.—(1) The Central 

14 Contractor Registry shall include the following tax-related 

15 information for each source registered in that registry: 

16 ‘‘(A) Each of that source’s taxpayer identifica17 tion numbers. 

18 ‘‘(B) The source’s authorization for the Sec19 retary of Defense to obtain from the Commissioner 

20 of Internal Revenue—

21 ‘‘(i) verification of the validity of each of 

22 that source’s taxpayer identification numbers; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any of such source’s 

25 registered taxpayer identification numbers that 
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1 is determined invalid, the correct taxpayer iden2 tification number (if any). 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary of Defense shall require each 

4 source, as a condition for registration in the Central Con5 tractor Registry, to provide the Secretary with the infor6 mation and authorization described in paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall—

8 ‘‘(i) warn each source seeking to register in the 

9 Central Contractor Registry that the source may be 

10 subject to backup for a failure to submit each such 

11 number to the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) take the actions necessary to initiate the 

13 backup withholding in the case of a registrant who 

14 fails to register each taxpayer identification number 

15 valid for the registrant and is subject to the backup 

16 withholding requirement. 

17 ‘‘(3) A source registered in the Central Contractor 

18 Registry is not eligible for a contract entered into under 

19 this chapter or title III of the Federal Property and Ad20 ministrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) 

21 if that source—

22 ‘‘(A) has failed to provide the authorization de23 scribed in paragraph (1)(B); 
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1 ‘‘(B) has failed to register in that registry all 

2 valid taxpayer identification numbers for that 

3 source; or 

4 ‘‘(C) has registered in that registry an invalid 

5 taxpayer identification number and fails to correct 

6 that registration. 

7 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary of Defense shall make ar8 rangements with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

9 for each head of an agency within the Department of De10 fense to participate in the taxpayer identification number 

11 matching program of the Internal Revenue Service. 

12 ‘‘(B) The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall co13 operate with the Secretary of Defense to determine the 

14 validity of taxpayer identification numbers registered in 

15 the Central Contractor Registry. As part of the coopera16 tion, the Commissioner shall promptly respond to a re17 quest of the Secretary of Defense or the head of an agency 

18 within the Department of Defense for electronic validation 

19 of a taxpayer identification number for a registrant by no20 tifying the Secretary or head of an agency, respectively, 

21 of—

22 ‘‘(i) the validity of that number; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an invalid taxpayer identi24 fication number, any correct taxpayer identification 
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1 number for such registrant that the Commissioner 

2 can promptly and reasonably determine. 

3 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall transmit to a registrant a 

4 notification of each of the registrant’s taxpayer identifica5 tion numbers, if any, that is determined invalid by the 

6 Commissioner of Internal Revenue and shall provide the 

7 registrant with an opportunity to substitute a valid tax8 payer identification number. 

9 ‘‘(5) The Secretary of Defense shall require that, at 

10 the place in the Central Contractor Registry where the 

11 taxpayer identification numbers of a registrant are to be 

12 displayed, the display bear (as applicable)—

13 ‘‘(A) for each taxpayer identification number of 

14 that registrant, an indicator of whether such number 

15 has been determined valid, is being reviewed for va16 lidity, or has been determined invalid; or 

17 ‘‘(B) an indicator that no taxpayer identifica18 tion number is required for the registrant. 

19 ‘‘(6) This subsection applies to each source who reg20 isters any information regarding that source in the Cen21 tral Contractor Registry after December 31, 2004, except 

22 that paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) do not apply to a source 

23 who establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of De24 fense that such source is not required to have a taxpayer 

25 identification number. 
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1 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—The Sec2 retary of Defense shall ensure that taxpayer identification 

3 numbers in the Central Contractor Registry are not made 

4 available to the public. The Secretary shall prescribe a re5 quirement for procurement officials of the United States 

6 having access to such numbers in that registry to maintain 

7 the confidentiality of those numbers.’’. 

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

9 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

10 after the item relating to section 2302d the following new 

11 item:

‘‘2302e. Central Contractor Registry.’’.

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