I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1624
To provide for the debarment or suspension from Federal procurement and
nonprocurement activities of persons that violate certain labor and safety
laws.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 15, 1997
Mr. EVANS (for himself, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. BONIOR, Ms. NORTON, Mr.
COYNE, Mr. FROST, Mr. OLVER, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr.
FILNER, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. KLINK, Mr. MASCARA, Mr. DOYLE,
Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. RUSH, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. TORRES, Ms.
CARSON, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BROWN of California,
and Mr. LIPINSKI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and in addition to
the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for the debarment or suspension from Federal
procurement and nonprocurement activities of persons
that violate certain labor and safety laws.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Procurement
and Assistance Integrity Act’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to improve the efficiency
and effectiveness and protect the integrity of the Federal
procurement and assistance systems by ensuring that the
Federal Government does business with responsible con-
tractors and participants.
SEC. 3. DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION FOR VIOLATORS OF
CERTAIN LABOR AND SAFETY LAWS.
(a) DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION.—The Secretary
of Labor may debar or suspend a person from procure-
ment activities or nonprocurement activities upon a find-
ing, in accordance with procedures developed under this
section, that the person violated any of the following laws:
(1) The National Labor Relations Act (29
U.S.C. 151 et seq.).
(2) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. 201 et seq.).
(3) The Occupational Safety and Health Act
(29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.).
(4) Section 4212(a) of title 38, United States
Code.
(b) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of Labor and the
National Labor Relations Board shall jointly develop pro-
cedures to determine whether a violation of a law listed
in subsection (a) is serious enough to warrant debarment
or suspension under that subsection. The procedures shall
provide for an assessment of the nature and extent of com-
pliance with such laws, including whether there are or
were single or multiple violations of those laws or other
labor or safety laws and whether the violations occur or
have occurred at one facility, several facilities, or through-
out the company concerned. In developing the procedures,
the Secretary and the Board shall consult with depart-
ments and agencies of the Federal Government and pro-
vide, to the extent feasible, for ongoing exchanges of infor-
mation between the departments and agencies and the De-
partment of Labor and the Board in order to accurately
carry out such assessments.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) The term ‘‘debar’’ means to exclude, pursu-
ant to established administrative procedures, from
Government contracting and subcontracting, or from
participation in nonprocurement activities, for a
specified period of time commensurate with the seri-
ousness of the failure or offense or the inadequacy
of performance.
(2) The term ‘‘suspend’’ means to disqualify,
pursuant to established administrative procedures,
from Government contracting and subcontracting, or
from participation in nonprocurement activities, for
a temporary period of time because an entity or indi-
vidual is suspected of engaging in criminal, fraudu-
lent, or seriously improper conduct.
(3) The term ‘‘procurement activities’’ means
all acquisition programs and activities of the Federal
Government, as defined in the Federal Acquisition
Regulation.
(4) The term ‘‘nonprocurement activities’’
means all programs and activities involving Federal
financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits, as
covered by Executive Order No. 12549 and the Of-
fice of Management and Budget guidelines imple-
menting that order.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect on
October 1, 1997.
(e) REGULATIONS.—The Federal Acquisition Regula-
tion and the regulations issued pursuant to Executive
Order No. 12549 shall be revised to include provisions to
carry out this Act.
(f) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor and
the National Labor Relations Board shall jointly submit
to Congress a report on the implementation of this Act.
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