People who are writing checks to Uncle Sam should know that their hard-earned money will soon be flowing freely to big corporations that break the law. Its like speeding, if you get caught three times driving 50 mph in a school zone, there should be ramifications. These rules simply allow officials to consider, as one factor, a company's history of violating the law when determining whether that company should be awarded a government contract.
Some big businesses view compliance with regulatory protections as an economic decision.
These rules level the playing field by ensuring that the government does not reward lawbreakers with taxpayer money. By withdrawing the government's ability to consider a corporation's past history of illegal activity, the Bush Administration would provide incentives to violate the law. During the three years it took to craft these rules, big corporations unsuccessfully lobbied Congress to kill these common-sense protections. The Bush Administration has now given big businesses that break the law exactly what they want. PIRGs are nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest advocacy groups active across the nation.