House Votes to Debar Tax Delinquents The House has passed legislation that would require debarment of any contractor with “seriously delinquent Federal tax debts,” and prohibit contract or grant awards to such companies. Under the Contracting and Tax Accountability Act, H.R. 4881, companies would be required to certify that they have no such debt when they bid on a contract. The House passed the bill by voice vote on April 14. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-IN, said, “The definition of serious delinquent tax debt was carefully defined as an outstanding debt for which a Notice of Lien has been filed in the public record. The definition also excludes tax debt that is being repaid in accordance with an installment agreement, and a tax debt for which a collection due process has been requested.” The Federal Acquisition Regulation councils are preparing a final rule that would accomplish some of the same purposes. Federal procurement policy administrator Paul Denett told Congress in February that the rule would add tax delinquency to the list of grounds for debarment, but he did not specify whether the debarment would be automatic in such cases. (SAA, 3/7) The House-passed bill gives an agency head authority to waive the debarment provision. A series of reports by the Government Accountability Office and inspectors general found that thousands of federal contractors owed billions of dollars in overdue taxes. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-IA, said the bill “will reward responsible taxpaying contractors with more opportunities to continue serving the Federal Government for abiding by the law. And it should increase collections because companies will get current on their tax bills if they want to continue receiving Federal contracts.” A similar bill is pending in the Senate.