Contractor Accountability Rider Questioned

Amy Laderberg O'Sullivan, a Washington, D.C.-based Government Contracts partner, discusses with Bloomberg Law an amendment authored by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) that was intended to prevent contract awards from being given to firms suspected or convicted of wrongdoing. Industry representatives are considering the amendment unnecessary given the existing suspension and debarment system. O'Sullivan stated she believes the existing process works well because it allows a contractor and the government to negotiate an agreement "as opposed to having the sort of automatic consequences” called for within the Grayson amendment.