New Contractor Database Is a Catalog of Trouble Some call it the government’s “bad boy” list. Its formal name is the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System, or FAPIIS. Starting April 22, the database will be a one-stop for contracting officers to find information on adverse actions against a contractor. It will provide access to the Excluded Parties List System, the list of companies that have been suspended or debarred; and the Past Performance Information Retrieval System, where contractors’ performance evaluations are collected. In addition FAPIIS will include contracting officers’ non-responsibility determinations (agency assessments that prospective contractors do not meet responsibility standards to perform for the government), contract terminations for default or cause, agency defective pricing determinations and administrative agreements to resolve a suspension or debarment. When submitting an offer on a contract worth more than $500,000, any company holding more than $10 million in active federal contracts must self-report criminal convictions, civil liability and adverse administrative actions. A company will be notified anytime new information about it is entered into the database and will be given a chance to comment. In issuing a final rule March 23, the Federal Acquisition Regulation Councils said, “FAPIIS is designed to significantly enhance the Government’s ability to evaluate the business ethics and quality of prospective contractors competing for Federal contracts and to protect taxpayers from doing business with contractors that are not responsible sources.” The database was mandated by Congress in the 2009 Defense Authorization Act. The information will be available only to federal government personnel, but a watchdog group, the Project on Government Oversight, said it should be open to the public. “If the government is serious about improving federal spending accountability, it just missed its chance to prove it.” POGO’s general counsel Scott Amey said.