Suspension And Debarment PDF Download

The amount spent on government contracts, coupled with widely reported contractor misconduct, has generated congressional interest in debarment and suspension. Debarment or suspension of contractors is one means agencies use to ensure that they deal only with contractors who are responsible in fulfilling their legal and contractual obligations. Debarment removes a contractor's eligibility for government contracts for a fixed period of time, while suspension temporarily debars a contractor for the duration of an agency investigation or litigation. Like government procurement law generally, the law of suspension and debarment has multiple sources, and contractors can currently be debarred or suspended either under statutory provisions or under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Some statutes require or allow agency officials to exclude contractors that have engaged in conduct prohibited under the statute. Such statutory debarments and suspensions are also known as inducement debarments and suspensions because they further induce contractor compliance with statutes. Statutory debarments and suspensions are federal-government-wide; they are often mandatory, or at least beyond agency heads' discretion; and they are punishments. Statutes prescribe the debarments' duration, and agency heads generally cannot waive statutory debarments. The FAR also authorizes debarment and suspension of contractors. Such administrative debarments and suspensions are also known as procurement debarments and suspensions because they protect government interests in the procurement process. Administrative debarments can result when contractors are convicted of, found civilly liable for, or found by agency officials to have committed certain offenses, or when other causes affect contractor responsibility. Administrative suspensions can similarly result when contractors are suspected of, or indicted for, certain offenses, or when other causes affect contractor responsibility. Debarred or suspended contractors are excluded from contracts with executive branch agencies. Administrative exclusions are discretionary and can be imposed only to protect government interests. Agencies can use administrative agreements instead of debarment and can continue current contracts of debarred contractors. The seriousness of a debarment's cause determines its length, which generally cannot exceed three years, but agency heads can waive debarments for compelling reasons.