On the recordMay 29, 2014
This amendment is identical to other amendments that have been inserted by voice vote into every appropriations bill this year and last year that has been considered under an open rule. This amendment would expand the list of parties the Federal Government is prohibited from contracting with because of misconduct on the part of those contractors. This list would include contractors who have been convicted of fraud; have violated Federal or State antitrust laws; who have been convicted of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, violation of Federal tax laws, and other items outlined in section 52.209-5 of title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations. These are all offenses which any contractor doing business with the Federal Government must disclose to the contracting officer, but oddly enough, the contracting officer, absent this amendment, would then be free to ignore these transgressions and award contracts to the offending entities. I commend the authors of this bill for their inclusion of sections 536 and 537. I still believe, however, that we can improve on the bill by prohibiting agencies from contracting with those entities who have engaged in the activities described above. It is my hope that this amendment will remain noncontroversial, as it has been, and, again, will be passed unanimously by the House. I yield back the balance of my time.
