II 

Calendar No. 682 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2782 

To provide personal jurisdiction in causes of action against contractors of 

the United States performing contracts abroad with respect to members 

of the Armed Forces, civilian employees of the United States, and United 

States citizen employees of companies performing work for the United 

States in connection with contractor activities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2009 

Mrs. MCCASKILL (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

NELSON of Florida, Mr. LEMIEUX, Mr. CASEY, Mr. TESTER, Mr. 

LEAHY, and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 9, 2010 

Reported by Mr. LIEBERMAN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide personal jurisdiction in causes of action against 

contractors of the United States performing contracts 

abroad with respect to members of the Armed Forces, 

civilian employees of the United States, and United 

States citizen employees of companies performing work 

for the United States in connection with contractor activities, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Lieutenant Colonel 

5 Dominic ‘Rocky’ Baragona Justice for American Heroes 

6 Harmed by Contractors Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEBARMENT OR SUSPENSION OF UNITED STATES 

8 GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS FOR EVASION 

9 OF PROCESS OR FAILURE TO APPEAR IN AC10 TIONS IN CONNECTION WITH GOVERNMENT 

11 CONTRACTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition 

14 Regulatory Council established under section 25(a) of the 

15 Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 

16 421(a)) shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

17 to provide that a contractor with the United States may 

18 be debarred or suspended from contracting with the 

19 United States if— 

20 (1) the contractor evades service of process in 

21 any civil action or criminal prosecution brought 

22 against the contractor by the United States or a cit23 izen or national of the United States in connection 

24 with the performance of the contract; or 


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1 (2) the contractor refuses or fails to appear be2 fore a Federal court in a matter brought against the 

3 contractor by the United States or a citizen or na4 tional of the United States in connection with the 

5 performance of the contract. 

6 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments to the Fed7 eral Acquisition Regulation made under subsection (a) 

8 shall apply to any action of a contractor that occurs on 

9 or after the effective date of the amendments. 

10 SEC. 3. PERSONAL JURISDICTION IN COVERED CIVIL AC11 TIONS BY MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES, 

12 CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED 

13 STATES, AND UNITED STATES CITIZEN EM14 PLOYEES OF COMPANIES PERFORMING 

15 WORK FOR THE UNITED STATES AGAINST EN16 TITIES UNDER UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 

17 CONTRACTS PERFORMED ABROAD. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition 

20 Regulatory Council established under section 25(a) of the 

21 Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 

22 421(a)) shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

23 to require that any covered contract— 

24 (1) requires that the contractor consent to per25 sonal jurisdiction over the contractor by the Federal 


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1 courts with respect to any covered civil action, in2 cluding a covered civil action against 1 or more em3 ployees of the contractor for which the contractor 

4 may be liable under theories of vicarious liability; 

5 (2) specifies that consent to personal jurisdic6 tion under paragraph (1) shall not operate to de7 prive or terminate personal jurisdiction of the con8 tractor in any court that otherwise has personal ju9 risdiction under another provision of law; 

10 (3) requires the contractor to consent to per11 sonal jurisdiction in the United States District 

12 Court for the District of Columbia for a covered civil 

13 action in which— 

14 (A) the events giving rise to the cause of 

15 action occurred outside the United States; and 

16 (B) personal jurisdiction cannot be estab17 lished in another Federal court; and 

18 (4) if the covered contract has a value of not 

19 less than $5,000,000 and was awarded to a con20 tractor that does not maintain an office in the 

21 United States, requires that the contractor designate 

22 an agent located in the United States for service of 

23 process in any covered civil action; and 

24 (5) requires that— 


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1 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 

2 (B), any covered civil action shall be analyzed 

3 in accordance with the laws of the United 

4 States; and 

5 (B) the substantive law of the State in 

6 which the covered civil action is brought shall 

7 be the law applicable to a covered civil action 

8 if— 

9 (i) the substantive law otherwise ap10 plicable to the covered civil action would be 

11 the law of the location where the events 

12 giving rise to the cause action occurred; 

13 and 

14 (ii) the location is designated as a 

15 hazardous duty zone by the Secretary of 

16 Defense. 

17 (b) APPLICABILITY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments to the 

19 Federal Acquisition Regulation made under sub20 section (a) shall apply with respect to any covered 

21 contract that is entered into on or after the effective 

22 date of the amendments under subsection (a). 

23 (2) PROSPECTIVE APPLICABILITY UNDER CER24 TAIN CURRENT CONTRACTS.—For a covered contract 

25 that is an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity conVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:36 Dec 10, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2782.RS S2782

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1 tract or blanket purchase agreement in effect on the 

2 effective date of the amendments to the Federal Ac3 quisition Regulation made under subsection (a), the 

4 amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

5 made under subsection (a) shall apply to any task 

6 order under the covered contract, including any sub7 contract of the covered contract, that is made on or 

8 after the effective date of the amendments. 

9 SEC. 4. PERSONAL JURISDICTION FOR CIVIL OR CRIMINAL 

10 SUITS BROUGHT BY THE UNITED STATES 

11 GOVERNMENT ALLEGING WRONGDOING 

12 UNDER UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CON13 TRACTS PERFORMED ABROAD. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition 

16 Regulatory Council established under section 25(a) of the 

17 Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 

18 421(a)) shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

19 to require that any covered contract— 

20 (1) requires that the contractor consent to per21 sonal jurisdiction over the contractor by the Federal 

22 courts with respect to any civil action or criminal 

23 prosecution brought by the United States alleging 

24 wrongdoing associated with the performance of the 

25 covered contract; 


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1 (2) specifies that consent to personal jurisdic2 tion under paragraph (1) shall not operate to de3 prive or terminate personal jurisdiction of the con4 tractor in any other court that has personal jurisdic5 tion under another provision of law; 

6 (3) requires the contractor to consent to per7 sonal jurisdiction in the United States District 

8 Court for the District of Columbia for a civil action 

9 or criminal prosecution described in paragraph (1) 

10 in which— 

11 (A) the events giving rise to the cause of 

12 action occurred outside the United States; and 

13 (B) personal jurisdiction cannot be estab14 lished in another Federal court; and 

15 (4) if the covered contract has a value of not 

16 less than $5,000,000 and was awarded to a con17 tractor that does not maintain an office in the 

18 United States, requires that the contractor designate 

19 an agent located in the United States for service of 

20 process in any civil action or criminal prosecution 

21 described in paragraph (1). 

22 (b) APPLICABILITY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments to the 

24 Federal Acquisition Regulation made under sub25 section (a) shall apply with respect to any covered 


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1 contract that is entered into on or after the effective 

2 date of the amendments under subsection (a). 

3 (2) PROSPECTIVE APPLICABILITY UNDER CER4 TAIN CURRENT CONTRACTS.—For a covered contract 

5 that is an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity con6 tract or blanket purchase agreement in effect on the 

7 effective date of the amendments to the Federal Ac8 quisition Regulation made under subsection (a), the 

9 amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

10 made under subsection (a) shall apply to any task 

11 order under the covered contract, including any sub12 contract of the covered contract, that is made on or 

13 after the effective date of the amendments. 

14 SEC. 5. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

15 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit any 

16 cause of action or remedy under any other provision of 

17 law. 

18 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘contractor’’, 

21 with respect to a contract, includes the contractor 

22 under the contract, any subcontractor under the 

23 contract, any subordinate contractor under the con24 tract, any subsidiary, parent company, or successor 

25 entity of the contractor formed to act as a successor 


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1 in interest of the contractor, and any employee 

2 thereof performing work under or in connection with 

3 the contract. 

4 (2) COVERED CIVIL ACTION.—The term ‘‘cov5 ered civil action’’ means a civil action alleging a rape 

6 or sexual assault of or serious bodily injury to a 

7 member of the Armed Forces of the United States, 

8 civilian employee of the United States, or employee 

9 of a company performing work for the United States 

10 who is a citizen or national of the United States. 

11 (3) COVERED CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘covered 

12 contract’’— 

13 (A) means a contract, grant, or cooperative 

14 agreement— 

15 (i) for work to be performed outside 

16 the United States that is awarded or en17 tered into by the United States (including 

18 any executive department, independent es19 tablishment, or agency thereof); and 

20 (ii) with a value of not less than 

21 $1,000,000; and 

22 (B) includes any subcontract or subordi23 nate contract, grant, or cooperative agreement 

24 under a contract, grant, or cooperative agree25 ment described in subparagraph (A). 


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1 (4) RAPE.—The term ‘‘rape’’ means conduct 

2 that would violate section 920(a) of title 10, United 

3 States Code (article 120(a) of the Uniform Code of 

4 Military Justice), if the conduct was committed by 

5 a person subject to chapter 47 of title 10, United 

6 States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

7 (5) SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.—The term ‘‘seri8 ous bodily injury’’ has the meaning given that term 

9 in section 1365 of title 18, United States Code. 

10 (6) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘‘sexual as11 sault’’ means conduct that would violate section 

12 920(c), (h), or (m) of title 10, United States Code 

13 (article 120(c), (h), or (m) of the Uniform Code of 

14 Military Justice), if the conduct was committed by 

15 a person subject to chapter 47 of title 10, United 

16 States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

17 (7) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

18 States’’, in a geographic sense— 

19 (A) means the several States and the Dis20 trict of Columbia; and 

21 (B) does not include any military installa22 tion or facility located outside the area de23 scribed in subparagraph (A). 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lieutenant Colonel 

3 Dominic ‘Rocky’ Baragona Justice for American Heroes 

4 Harmed by Contractors Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEBARMENT OR SUSPENSION OF UNITED STATES 

6 GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS FOR EVASION 

7 OF PROCESS OR FAILURE TO APPEAR IN AC8 TIONS IN CONNECTION WITH GOVERNMENT 

9 CONTRACTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regu12 latory Council established under section 25(a) of the Office 

13 of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 421(a)) shall 

14 amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide that 

15 a contractor with the United States may be debarred or 

16 suspended from contracting with the United States if— 

17 (1) the contractor evades service of process in 

18 any civil action or criminal prosecution brought 

19 against the contractor by the United States or a cit20 izen or national of the United States in connection 

21 with an obligation under the terms of the contract; or 

22 (2) the contractor refuses or fails to appear be23 fore a Federal court in a matter brought against the 

24 contractor by the United States or a citizen or na25 tional of the United States in connection with an ob26 ligation under the terms of the contract. 


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1 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments to the Federal 

2 Acquisition Regulation made under subsection (a) shall 

3 apply to any action of a contractor that occurs on or after 

4 the effective date of the amendments. 

5 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

6 shall be construed to limit the ability of a contractor to 

7 assert any settled right under the Constitution of the United 

8 States. 

9 SEC. 3. PERSONAL JURISDICTION IN COVERED CIVIL AC10 TIONS BY MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES, 

11 CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED 

12 STATES, AND UNITED STATES CITIZEN EM13 PLOYEES OF COMPANIES PERFORMING WORK 

14 FOR THE UNITED STATES AGAINST ENTITIES 

15 UNDER UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CON16 TRACTS PERFORMED ABROAD. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regu19 latory Council established under section 25(a) of the Office 

20 of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 421(a)) shall 

21 amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require that 

22 any covered contract— 

23 (1) requires that the contractor consent to per24 sonal jurisdiction over the contractor in accordance 

25 with paragraphs (3) through (5) with respect to any 


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1 covered civil action, including a covered civil action 

2 against 1 or more employees of the contractor for 

3 which the contractor may be liable under theories of 

4 vicarious liability; 

5 (2) specifies that consent to personal jurisdiction 

6 under paragraph (1) shall not operate to deprive or 

7 terminate personal jurisdiction of the contractor in 

8 any court that otherwise has personal jurisdiction 

9 under another provision of law; 

10 (3) requires the contractor to consent to personal 

11 jurisdiction in the United States District Court for 

12 the District of Columbia for a covered civil action in 

13 which— 

14 (A) the events giving rise to the cause of ac15 tion occurred outside the United States; and 

16 (B) personal jurisdiction cannot be estab17 lished in another Federal court; and 

18 (4) if the covered contract was awarded to a con19 tractor that does not maintain an office in the United 

20 States, requires that the contractor designate an agent 

21 located in the United States for service of process in 

22 any covered civil action; and 

23 (5) requires that— 

24 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 

25 (B), any covered civil action shall be analyzed in 


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1 accordance with the laws of the United States; 

2 and 

3 (B) the substantive law of the State (includ4 ing the District of Columbia) in which the cov5 ered civil action is brought shall be the law ap6 plicable to a covered civil action if— 

7 (i) the substantive law otherwise appli8 cable to the covered civil action would be the 

9 law of the location where the events giving 

10 rise to the cause action occurred; and 

11 (ii) the location is designated as a haz12 ardous duty zone by the Secretary of De13 fense. 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments to the Federal 

15 Acquisition Regulation made under subsection (a) shall 

16 apply with respect to any covered contract that is entered 

17 into on or after the effective date of the amendments under 

18 subsection (a). 

19 SEC. 4. PERSONAL JURISDICTION FOR ACTIONS BROUGHT 

20 BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AL21 LEGING WRONGDOING UNDER UNITED 

22 STATES GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS PER23 FORMED ABROAD. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition ReguVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:36 Dec 10, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2782.RS S2782

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1 latory Council established under section 25(a) of the Office 

2 of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 421(a)) shall 

3 amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require that 

4 any covered contract— 

5 (1) requires that the contractor consent to per6 sonal jurisdiction over the contractor by the Federal 

7 courts with respect to any action brought by the 

8 United States alleging wrongdoing associated with the 

9 performance of the covered contract; 

10 (2) specifies that consent to personal jurisdiction 

11 under paragraph (1) shall not operate to deprive or 

12 terminate personal jurisdiction of the contractor in 

13 any other court that has personal jurisdiction under 

14 another provision of law; 

15 (3) requires the contractor to consent to personal 

16 jurisdiction in the United States District Court for 

17 the District of Columbia for any action described in 

18 paragraph (1) in which— 

19 (A) the events giving rise to the cause of ac20 tion occurred outside the United States; and 

21 (B) personal jurisdiction cannot be estab22 lished in another Federal court; and 

23 (4) if the covered contract was awarded to a con24 tractor that does not maintain an office in the United 

25 States, requires that the contractor designate an agent 


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1 located in the United States for service of process in 

2 any action described in paragraph (1). 

3 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments to the Federal 

4 Acquisition Regulation made under subsection (a) shall 

5 apply with respect to any covered contract that is entered 

6 into on or after the effective date of the amendments under 

7 subsection (a). 

8 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

9 shall be construed to limit any other jurisdictional basis 

10 for a civil action against or criminal prosecution of a con11 tractor. 

12 SEC. 5. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit any 

14 cause of action or remedy under any other provision of law. 

15 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘contractor’’, with 

18 respect to a contract, includes the contractor under 

19 the contract, any subcontractor under the contract, 

20 any subordinate contractor under the contract, any 

21 subsidiary, parent company, or successor entity of the 

22 contractor formed to act as a successor in interest of 

23 the contractor, and any employee thereof performing 

24 work under or in connection with the contract. 


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1 (2) COVERED CIVIL ACTION.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 civil action’’ means a civil action alleging a rape or 

3 sexual assault of or serious bodily injury to a member 

4 of the Armed Forces of the United States, civilian em5 ployee of the United States, or employee of a company 

6 performing work arising out of the performance of the 

7 covered contract for the United States who is a citizen 

8 or national of the United States. 

9 (3) COVERED CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘covered 

10 contract’’— 

11 (A) means a contract— 

12 (i) for work to be performed outside the 

13 United States that is awarded or entered 

14 into by the United States (including any 

15 executive department, independent establish16 ment, or agency thereof); and 

17 (ii) with a value of not less than 

18 $5,000,000; and 

19 (B) includes any subcontract or subordinate 

20 contract under a contract described in subpara21 graph (A). 

22 (4) RAPE.—The term ‘‘rape’’ means conduct that 

23 would violate section 920(a) of title 10, United States 

24 Code (article 120(a) of the Uniform Code of Military 

25 Justice), if the conduct was committed by a person 


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1 subject to chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code 

2 (the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

3 (5) SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.—The term ‘‘serious 

4 bodily injury’’ has the meaning given that term in 

5 section 1365 of title 18, United States Code. 

6 (6) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘‘sexual as7 sault’’ means conduct that would violate section 

8 920(c), (h), or (m) of title 10, United States Code (ar9 ticle 120(c), (h), or (m) of the Uniform Code of Mili10 tary Justice), if the conduct was committed by a per11 son subject to chapter 47 of title 10, United States 

12 Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

13 (7) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United States’’, 

14 in a geographic sense— 

15 (A) means the several States and the Dis16 trict of Columbia; and 

17 (B) does not include any military installa18 tion or facility located outside the area described 

19 in subparagraph (A). 


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Calendar No. 682 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2782 

A BILL 

To provide personal jurisdiction in causes of action 

tivities, and for other purposes. United States in connection with contractor acployees of companies performing work for the the United States, and United States citizen embers of the Armed Forces, civilian employees of forming contracts abroad with respect to memagainst contractors of the United States perDECEMBER 9, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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