New Database a One-Stop for Contractor Information Federal regulators have outlined plans for a new database that will track contractors’ past performance and any adverse actions against them. Contracting officers will be required to consult the database to determine whether a contractor is responsible and to assess past performance before awarding new contracts over $500,000. The Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System was created by Congress in the 2009 Defense Authorization Act. In a proposed rule, the Federal Acquisition Regulation councils said the database will incorporate information from the existing Past Performance Information Retrieval System and Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System as well as the Excluded Parties List, which covers suspensions and debarments. In addition, contractors doing more than $10 million in federal work will be required to report all criminal, civil and administrative proceedings against them over the past three years. Contracting officers must provide information on determinations of non-responsibility and terminations for default or cause. Agency suspension/debarment officials must report any administrative agreements to settle charges against contractors. The proposed rule states, “A contractor will have an opportunity to post comments regarding information that has been posted by the Government.” A contractor will be allowed to see its own file. The database will be available only to federal government personnel, not to the public. The General Services Administration will run it. The law creating the database was sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY. She described it as a one-stop resource for contracting officers to determine whether a company had performed efficiently and responsibly. Others called it a “bad-boy list.” Maloney proposed that criminal and civil judgments should be grounds for suspension or debarment, but that provision was removed from the final bill. The FAR councils said, “The procedures emphasize that certain past information in the system may no longer be relevant to a determination of present responsibility.” The proposed rule is FAR Case 2008-027. Comments are due Oct. 5. Similar requirements for federal grant recipients will be published later.