Bush yanks "blacklisting" for federal contractors
Date: 01-Jan-02
Country: USA
Author: Andy Sullivan
The move means government officials will not have to take into account a company's history when awarding billions of dollars' worth of federal business.
The "blacklisting" rule, widely opposed by business groups, was put into place on Jan. 19 by then-President Clinton, a Democrat, after years of development.
President Bush, a Republican, suspended the rule in April while his administration reviewed it. The decision on Thursday revokes the rule permanently.
The rule stated that businesses must have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics and must comply with environmental, tax, labor, antitrust and consumer-protection laws in order to win federal contracts valued over $100,000.
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, which oversees government contracts, said contracting officials could use the rule to make arbitrary decisions.
Existing laws already require contractors to have a solid record of integrity and ethics and government officials already have the authority to make judgment calls, the council said in a notice in the Federal Register.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce praised the move, saying the rule would have subjected businesses to more paperwork and left them vulnerable to rumors or smear campaigns.
"Mere allegations of wrongdoing could prevent a business from winning a federal contract," said Randel Johnson, a vice president for labor and employee benefits at the chamber.
"Government agents could have wielded virtually unlimited power under this rule," he added.
The AFL-CIO, an organization of labor unions, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the move.
"It is hypocritical for the Bush Administration, a strong proponent of individual responsibility in the area of law enforcement, to look the other way when corporate contractors violate laws enacted to protect the public," the statement said.
Businesses that took in $38 billion in federal contracts were cited with more than 5,000 violations of health in safety laws in one year, according to a congressional study cited by the AFL-CIO.