WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Peter King (R-NY) along with Reps. Gary Miller (R-CA), Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), Major Owens (D-NY), Edolphus Towns (D-NY), and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced the Contractor Accountability Act of 2003, which would improve Federal agency oversight of contracts with private companies and strengthen accountability of the government-wide debarment and suspension system. This legislation stems from a long commitment to increased disclosure in government contracts and a revised report and database of contractor irresponsibility by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) www.pogo.org. <http://www.pogo.org.>

"The Federal government should not be in the business of repeatedly rewarding contracts to companies that repeatedly break the rules," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).

"At a bare minimum, they should be able to keep a list of those which break the rule," said Rep. Maloney.

"Each year on behalf of the American People, the Federal Government spends over $265 Billion for goods and services. It is our responsibility to ensure that these funds are used wisely and not wasted by contractors who are more interested in lining their pockets with profits then providing the American people with the goods and services they are paying for," said Rep. Maloney.

"It is imperative that we strengthen the accountability and integrity of our federal contractual process," said Rep. Peter King (R-NY).

"The performance record and business practices of government contractors must be transparent and accountable in order to ensure that federal contractors meet the highest standards of integrity, business ethics, quality and performance, said Rep. Major Owens (D-NY). "It is incumbent upon the federal government to raise the quality and integrity bar to exclude the unscrupulous contractors from the bidding pool for federal projects."

The POGO today has added to its contractor database a total of 70 instances of misconduct and alleged misconduct and $357 million in fines paid by the federal government's top ten contractors. In all, POGO's new data, updated in the past year, shows that from 1990 through 2001 the top ten federal contractors had a total of 280 instances of misconduct and alleged misconduct and have paid over $1.97 billion dollars in fines, penalties, restitution, settlements and cleanup costs.

The Contractor Accountability Act of 2003, does the following:

. Establishes a centralized database on actions taken against federal contractors and assistance participants, requiring a description of each of these actions. This will provide debarring officials with the information they need to protect the business interests of the United States.

. Places the burden of proving responsibility and subsequent eligibility for contracts or assistance on the on the person seeking contracts or assistance should they have been previously convicted of two exact or similar violations that constitutes a charge for debarment.

. It improves/clarifies the role of the Interagency Committee on Debarments and Suspension and provides for retention by the prosecuting Federal agency of fines paid by offender for reimbursement of costs associated with suspension and debarment activities.