(a) In General.—Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator of General Services shall establish and maintain a database of information regarding the integrity and performance of certain persons awarded Federal agency contracts and grants for use by Federal agency officials having authority over contracts and grants.

Terms Used In 41 USC 2313

  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • association: when used in reference to a corporation, shall be deemed to embrace the words "successors and assigns of such company or association" in like manner as if these last-named words, or words of similar import, were expressed. See 1 USC 5
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7

(b) Persons Covered.—The database shall cover the following:

(1) Any person awarded a Federal agency contract or grant in excess of $500,000, if any information described in subsection (c) exists with respect to the person.

(2) Any person awarded such other category or categories of Federal agency contract as the Federal Acquisition Regulation may provide, if any information described in subsection (c) exists with respect to the person.


(c) Information Included.—With respect to a covered person, the database shall include information (in the form of a brief description) for the most recent 5-year period regarding the following:

(1) Each civil or criminal proceeding, or any administrative proceeding, in connection with the award or performance of a contract or grant with the Federal Government with respect to the person during the period to the extent that the proceeding results in the following dispositions:

(A) In a criminal proceeding, a conviction.

(B) In a civil proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in the payment of a monetary fine, penalty, reimbursement, restitution, or damages of $5,000 or more.

(C) In an administrative proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in—

(i) the payment of a monetary fine or penalty of $5,000 or more; or

(ii) the payment of a reimbursement, restitution, or damages in excess of $100,000.


(D) To the maximum extent practicable and consistent with applicable laws and regulations, in a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, a disposition of the matter by consent or compromise with an acknowledgment of fault by the person if the proceeding could have led to any of the outcomes specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).

(E) In an administrative proceeding—

(i) a final determination of contractor fault by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to section 823(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 111-84); or

(ii) a substantiated allegation, pursuant to section 1704(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, that the contractor, a subcontractor, or an agent of the contractor or subcontractor engaged in any of the activities described in section 106(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)).


(2) Each Federal contract and grant awarded to the person that was terminated in the period due to default.

(3) Each Federal suspension and debarment of the person.

(4) Each Federal administrative agreement entered into by the person and the Federal Government in the period to resolve a suspension or debarment proceeding.

(5) Each final finding by a Federal official in the period that the person has been determined not to be a responsible source under paragraph (3) or (4) of section 113 of this title.

(6) Other information that shall be provided for purposes of this section in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(7) To the maximum extent practicable, information similar to the information covered by paragraphs (1) to (4) in connection with the award or performance of a contract or grant with a State government.

(8) Whether the person is included on any of the following lists maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury:

(A) The specially designated nationals and blocked persons list (commonly known as the “SDN list”).

(B) The sectoral sanctions identification list.

(C) The foreign sanctions evaders list.

(D) The list of persons sanctioned under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) that do not appear on the SDN list (commonly known as the “Non-SDN Iranian Sanctions Act list”).

(E) The list of foreign financial institutions subject to Part 561 of Title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.


(d) Requirements Relating to Database Information.—

(1) Direct input and update.—The Administrator of General Services shall design and maintain the database in a manner that allows the appropriate Federal agency officials to directly input and update information in the database relating to actions that the officials have taken with regard to contractors or grant recipients.

(2) Timeliness and accuracy.—The Administrator of General Services shall develop policies to require—

(A) the timely and accurate input of information into the database;

(B) the timely notification of any covered person when information relevant to the person is entered into the database; and

(C) opportunities for any covered person to submit comments pertaining to information about the person for inclusion in the database.


(3) Information on corporations.—The information in the database on a person that is a corporation shall, to the extent practicable, include information on any parent, subsidiary, or successor entities to the corporation, and an identification of any beneficial owner of such corporation, in a manner designed to give the acquisition officials using the database a comprehensive understanding of the performance and integrity of the corporation in carrying out Federal contracts and grants.

(4) Definitions.—In this subsection:

(A) Beneficial ownership.—The term “beneficial ownership” has the meaning given under section 847 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1505; 10 U.S.C. 2509 note).

(B) Corporation.—The term “corporation” means any corporation, company, limited liability company, limited partnership, business trust, business association, or other similar entity.


(e) Use of Database.—

(1) Availability to government officials.—The Administrator of General Services shall ensure that the information in the database is available to appropriate acquisition officials of Federal agencies, other government officials as the Administrator of General Services determines appropriate, and, on request, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the committees of Congress having jurisdiction.

(2) Review and assessment of data.—

(A) In general.—Before awarding a contract or grant in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold under section 134 of this title, the Federal agency official responsible for awarding the contract or grant shall review the database and consider all information in the database with regard to any offer or proposal, and in the case of a contract, shall consider other past performance information available with respect to the offeror in making any responsibility determination or past performance evaluation for the offeror.

(B) Documentation in contract file.—The contract file for each contract of a Federal agency in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold shall document the manner in which the material in the database was considered in any responsibility determination or past performance evaluation.


(f) Disclosure in Applications.—The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall require that persons with Federal agency contracts and grants valued in total greater than $10,000,000 shall—

(1) submit to the Administrator of General Services, in a manner determined appropriate by the Administrator of General Services, the information subject to inclusion in the database as listed in subsection (c) current as of the date of submittal of the information under this subsection; and

(2) update the information submitted under paragraph (1) on a semiannual basis.


(g) Rulemaking.—The Administrator of General Services shall prescribe regulations that may be necessary to carry out this section.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 23 Contents