Suspension and Debarment: Increased Enforcement Calls for Increased Attention to Compliance

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Over the past year and a half, numerous reports have concluded that government agencies must improve their suspension and debarment programs and increase their use of administrative exclusion to prohibit poorly performing contractors from receiving federal contract or grant funds. Coupled with these reports, recent legislative and policy changes appear to have shifted away from contractor rehabilitation and instead have focused on punitive measures, trending towards mandatory use of suspension and debarment for certain misconduct. This radical shift in focus has resulted in a marked increase in the use of suspension and debarment by nearly every agency, with DoD proposed debarments approximately doubling between fiscal years 2010 and 2011 and suspension and debarment activity increasing at non-DoD agencies as well.

This 90-minute webinar will provide an overview of the current suspension and debarment environment, including policy changes and recent and pending legislation. The webinar will also provide the speakers views on the future, as well as practical information about the suspension and debarment process, highlighting differences between procurement and non-procurement suspension and debarment, causes for suspension and debarment, the types of evidence considered by debarment officials, the effect of suspension and debarment, and contractor reporting requirements.

Contractors attending the webinar will also learn about steps they can take now to address the increased risk of suspension and debarment. Addressing risk early is essential as companies faced with suspension or debarment often simultaneously confront the burden of responding to allegations of wrongdoing that form the basis of the administrative exclusion; resolving both the allegations and suspension and debarment exclusions will tax the resources of even the most prepared company.