Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, this amendment is duplicative and ignores the existing contractor award system that we already have in place. Contracting officers must already consult the system for award management to ensure a contractor can be awarded a contract. Businesses on the excluded parties list systems have been suspended or debarred through a due process system and may not be eligible to receive or renew Federal contracts for cited offenses. So the best way to ensure that the government contracts provide grants to the best employers is to enforce the existing suspension and debarment system. Bad actors who are in violation of the basic worker protections should not be awarded Federal contracts. Everybody agrees with that. That is why the Federal Government has already got a system in place to deny Federal contracts to bad actors. If a contractor fails to maintain high standards of integrity and business ethics, agencies already have the authority to suspend or debar the employer from government contracting. In 2014, for instance, Federal agencies issued more than 1,000 suspensions and nearly 2,000 debarments to employees who bid on Federal contracts. This amendment is just going to delay the procurement process, with harmful consequences. On numerous occasions, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has highlighted costly litigation stemming from the complex regulatory rules, including from the Fair Labor Standards Act.…”