I.	INTRODUCTION -- Ethics, Ethics, Ethics
	A.	WorldCom, Enron, Sarbanes-Oxley, Martha Stewart The American corporate landscape is awash with allegations of wrongdoing. Eliott Spitzer and other government watchdogs ride high on the steed that bears them - public demand for personal and corporate accountability.
	B.	The Biggest Government Contracting Scandal in 25 Years
		1.	The Air Force's former top acquisition official (Darleen Druyun) conceded that she traded billions of dollars of contracts for jobs for her and her family members.
		2.	Portions of Boeing Co. space systems operations remain ineligible to receive government contracts (suspended from government contracting).
	C.	Suspension and Debarment
		1.	Perhaps the most effective tool in the government's arsenal of enforcement devices is its power to suspend or debar companies and people from doing business with governmental entities or from participating in many governmental programs. The suspension and debarment tools are designed:
			a.	To protect the government from entering into business relations with dishonest, unethical or otherwise irresponsible companies and persons; and
			b.	To influence the behavior of those doing business with federal, state and local governments.
		2.	"Suspension" or "debarment" means that the affected entity or person is: 1.) ineligible to perform federal and most state contracts, grants and cooperative agreements; and 2.) may be ineligible to participate in or receive benefits under certain federal non-procurement programs:
			a.	For a temporary period in the case of suspension; and
			b.	For not more than three years in the case of debarment
	D.	Violations of Federal Securities Laws
		1.	Presently, it is rare, if ever, that the government would suspend or debar a company for violating securities laws.
		2.	However, we think this will change, and perhaps very soon.
		3.	The present mood of the public and officials indicates that they view the personal conduct of corporate officers as a direct reflection of their company's "ethical health."
			a.	Reasoning: A company adopts the character of its leaders. If a company's leaders demonstrate unethical behavior, it is likely that the company culture is laced with less than fully ethical threads.
		4.	The federal government and an increasing number of state and local governments use a single, consolidated list of suspended and debarred companies to determine whether particular companies and persons are eligible to receive government contracts or benefits.
		5.	The applicable federal regulations recognize two types of suspension and debarment:
			a.	Procurement: Prohibits a company or person from receiving and performing federal contracts. 1/
			b.	Non-procurement: Prohibits a company or person from receiving benefits under a number of federal programs. 2/
		6.	Increasingly, a suspension or debarment for any cause effects a suspension and debarment for all government contracts and for many benefit programs.

II.	THE CONCEPT OF SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT
	A.	"Present Responsibility"
		1.	The federal government has promulgated regulations that prohibit it from contracting with or extending certain benefits to any company or person whom the government deems to be "nonresponsible." 3/
		2.	This concept is prospective-looking, not retroactive. That is, the regulations are designed to protect the government and influence future contractor and beneficiary behavior; they are not meant to punish. Pursuit of punitive measures is left to the criminal and civil enforcement authorities. Therefore, the concept is known as "Present Responsibility" - e.g., is a contractor that is competing for award of a federal contract presently responsible - honest, ethical and trustworthy?
	B.	Suspension and Debarment: Safeguards to protect the government and vehicles for influencing the pursuit of ethical behavior
		1.	Suspension
			a.	A suspending official for a government agency may disqualify a business or person temporarily from contracting or participating in covered transactions pending completion of an investigation or legal proceeding. 4/
			b.	Suspension is temporary, not to exceed 12 months, which can be extended by an additional 6 months when an assistant attorney general finds need to do so. Thus, a suspension may not last more than 18 months. 5/
		2.	Debarment
			a.	A debarring official for a government agency may disqualify a business or person from contracting or participating in covered transactions for a reasonable, specified period not to exceed 3 years. 6/
			b.	The difference between a suspension and debarment is that a suspension is used to allow the government to determine whether a debarment or other action is warranted pending an investigation. A debarment is used once the government determines, through investigation or otherwise, that the debarred entity lacks "present responsibility" and the government cannot take the risk of contracting with or extending benefits to the entity.
		3.	Covered Transaction A "covered transaction" is a procurement or nonprocurement transaction with a governmental entity at the primary tier (prime contractor or beneficiary level) or at a lower tier. 7/
		4.	Causes for Suspension or Debarment
			a.	The regulation gives examples of situations that constitute causes for suspension or debarment. However, after providing examples, the regulation makes clear that suspension and debarment are matters of considerable discretion with the suspending and debarring officials:
					"...based on any other cause of so serious or compelling a nature that it affects the present responsibility of the contractor or subcontractor." 8/
			b.	Specific Causes
				1.	Congress has enacted many statutes establishing socio-economic goals that are deemed so important to the public that violation of the implementing statute or regulations mandates debarment.
				2.	Examples:
						Payment of particular wages and benefits on government projects, e.g., the Davis Bacon Act 9/ and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act 10/ for construction contracts; the Walsh Healey Act 11/ for government contracts that involving manufacturing; the Service Contract Act for government contracts that involve performance of services. 12/
						The Clean Air and Clean Water acts. 13/
						Drug-Free Workplace Act. 14/
						Customs and Trade Act of 1990. 15/
						Requirements of the Export-Import Bank of America and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
						Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act (part of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992). 16/
						Generic Drug Enforcement Act of 1992. 17/
						National Endowment for the Arts grant program. 18/
						Health Care Provider Exclusions. 19/
						Striking Worker Replacement Ban. 20/
						Hiring illegal aliens. 21/
	C.	Procurement Suspension and Debarment
		1.	For government contractors, the most significant concern is suspension or debarment from contracting with the government.
		2.	When a contractor is suspended or debarred, it is:
			a.	Company-wide unless the contractor can negotiate exceptions; and
			b.	Federal government-wide and applied under many state systems to exclude the contractor from receiving contracts from the states. 22/
		3.	The exclusion does not apply to existing contracts, only to contract awards to be made, task orders to be awarded under existing contracts, options extending contracts - in other words, to new work. 23/ Thus, the government will not take action to terminate a contractor's existing contracts merely because the contractor has been suspended or debarred. However, the government may be entitled under criminal or civil forfeiture statues or contract provisions to terminate the contracts since the cause that gave rise to the government's suspension or debarment action also may constitute a cause that entitles the government to terminate the contract for default (e.g., fraud in the performance of one or more government contracts). 24/
	D.	Non-Procurement Transactions
		1.	Again, companies and persons can be suspended or debarred:
			a.	For a non-procurement cause; and/or
			b.	From receiving certain non-procurement benefits and participating in certain government programs, even if they do not perform contracts for the government.
		2.	The rules and procedures for suspensions and debarments involving non-procurement transactions are provided by the Common Rule. Individual agencies adopt the Common Rule and incorporate it into their agency regulations. The list of agencies that have adopted the Common Rule and citations to their regulations are in Endnote 25/.
	E.	Implementation of Suspension and Debarment
		1.	Exclusion and Listing
			a.	When a company or person is suspended, debarred or proposed for debarment (under the procurement system but not the nonprocurement system), the company or person is listed on the federal government-wide Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA). EPLS is updated daily. 26/
			b.	Prime procurement contractors may not use subcontractors on the EPLS. Thus, prime contractors are obligated to check EPLS before subcontracting. They are helped in this regard by FAR's requirement that subcontractors execute the non-suspension/debarment certification that prime contractors must execute.
			c.	Most states and some localities use EPLS.
					This means that when a party is suspended or debarred by the federal government, that party is deemed suspended or debarred under a number of state programs. 27/
					States, and some localities, have their own suspension and debarment systems. Sixteen state procurement systems have adopted the ABA Model Procurement Code for States and Local Governments and have patterned their suspension and debarment systems after the federal system. These systems provide for complete reciprocity --- suspension or debarment by one state means suspension or debarment in another. 28/
					Some states require bidders and offerors to disclose federal convictions or convictions by other states. 29/
					Federal certification and many state certifications require contractors and subcontractors to disclose if they have been charged (civilly or criminally) by any federal, state or local governmental entity or convicted of an offense that involves fraud or false statements. 30/
		2.	Present Responsibility Certification
			a.	The certification is not called "The Present Responsibility" Certification, but that is what it is. Rather, it is called "Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Proposed Debarment, and Other Responsibility Matters." Most states, and some local governments, have patterned their Present Responsibility certifications after the federal certification. This certification can be tricky: "CERTIFICATION REGARDING DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION, PROPOSED DEBARMENT, AND OTHER RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (DEC 2001)" (a) (1) The Offeror certifies, to the best of its knowledge and belief, that--
				(i)	The Offeror and/or any of its Principals--
					(A)	Are ___ are not ___ presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, or declared ineligible for the award of contracts by any Federal agency;
					(B)	Have ___ have not ___ within a three-year period preceding this offer, been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for: commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, state, or local) contract or subcontract; violation of Federal or state antitrust statutes relating to the submission of offers; or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, tax evasion, or receiving stolen property; and
					(C)	Are ___ are not ___ presently indicted for, or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity with, commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (a)(1)(i)(B) of this provision.
				(ii)	The Offeror has ___ has not ___ within a three-year period preceding this offer, had one or more contracts terminated for default by any Federal agency." 31/
			b.	The trickiest and most unfortunate part of the certification is contained in subsection (C) referring to subsection (B), highlighted above. Contractors and subcontractors are required to disclose if they have been:
					Charged, criminally or civilly
					By any governmental entity
					For any offense that relates to:
						commission of fraud in the performance of a federal, state or local contract; or
						falsification or destruction of records; or
						making false statements.
				The problem is that a contractor becomes obligated to disclose in every contract certification that it has been civilly charged by a state or local government if that government included a false claims count in a typical contested contract performance lawsuit. Lawyers for many government agencies, including federal agencies, have begun to include civil false claims counts in the complaints or counter-claims in what would otherwise be merely contract dispute lawsuits. This gives them considerable leverage in attempting to secure concessions or settlements from the contractors. A contractor or subcontractor is not automatically eliminated from consideration for award of a federal contract when it makes a disclosure in its certification. But, it sits in a very uncomfortable position because the Contracting Officer is obligated to investigate the disclosure. The contractor or subcontractor includes whatever mitigating explanation it wishes to include - as is routinely done when a contractor discloses that one of its contracts has been terminated for default, but the contractor is vigorously contesting the propriety of the termination. It is rare that a contractor is eliminated from possible award of a separate government contract when it is contesting the termination of another government contract unless the termination is based on established fraud or some other activity that seriously calls into question the contractor's business integrity.
		3.	Collateral Effects
			a.	A suspension or debarment can have a number of potentially serious collateral effects beyond the company's normal dealings with government agencies.
			b.	Examples include:
					International business consequences: Under the Arms Export Control Act, the State Department may deny an export license to a company on the EPLS. 32/
					Facility security clearances: The government may revoke or deny renewal of a company's facilities security clearance. 33/
					Right to act as a surety: A company may be prevented from acting as a surety on federal programs. 34/
					Bank financing: Some banks check the EPLS when considering financing applications
		4.	SEC Disclosure Obligations
			a.	A publicly traded company must carefully consider whether or not it must disclose in its SEC filings that it has been suspended or debarred and, in some cases, merely if it has been notified that the government is considering suspension or debarment.
			b.	This can be difficult. Suspension is by nature a contingent event - in one sense, it is a temporary condition imposed by a governmental entity while the entity considers whether or not it should impose a more serious sanction. On the other hand, it is not a contingent event - the contractor is prohibited from receiving any government contracts while the suspension is in effect. If government business is important to the contractor's overall bottom line, suspension, debarment and even the prospect of either can be considered material information that should be disclosed in SEC filings.

III.	MECHANICS OF THE GOVERNMENT'S PURSUIT OF SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT
	A.	The government's initiation of suspension or debarment
		1.	The government's consideration of suspension or debarment of a contractor or program participant begins with suspicion that the entity has engaged in activity that adversely implicates the business integrity or beneficiary status of the entity.
		2.	Most procurement suspensions or debarments begin when government lawyers notify a suspension or debarring official that a contractor is being investigated or has been criminally or civilly charged with an offense that is mentioned in Subsection (B) of the Certification quoted above.
		3.	The suspending or debarring official sends the contractor a letter notifying the contractor that the government is considering suspension or debarment.
	B.	Suspension and Debarment Proceedings
		1.	In many instances, a period of informal discussion between the contractor and lawyers for the suspension and debarment officials may ensue after notification.
		2.	This is a tense time for a contractor.
			a.	On the one hand, the contractor needs to resolve the matter as expeditiously as possible. Government contracting agencies often delay awards they might otherwise make to contractors if they fear that the contractor is about to be suspended or debarred - in other words, they self-impose a de facto suspension. This can have the effect of elongating a suspension.
			b.	On the other hand, the contractor does not wish to push the government suspension officials into taking a suspension action when they might not do so if they become convinced that the contractor already has taken sufficient steps to address the perceived problem.
		3.	Formal Notification
			a.	If the contractor performs contracts for more than one federal agency, as is typically the case, one agency will be designated the lead agency. The suspension and debarment officials for that agency will make the necessary determinations.
			b.	Once a decision has been made to suspend or debar a contractor, the suspension-debarment official must send the contractor formal notice. 35/
			c.	The notice will inform the contractor that it is entitled to present information and materials in writing or in person to challenge the suspension within 30 days from receipt of the notice. The contractor also may be entitled to additional hearings to present information regarding
					The suspension is based on an indictment; or
					Legal proceedings the government is contemplating or pursuing against the contractor would be prejudiced.
		4.	Primary Factors that Suspension-Debarment Officials Consider FAR sets out in fairly explicit terms what suspension-debarment officials are to consider when making their determinations:
				1.	Whether the contractor had effective standards of conduct and internal control systems in place at the time of the activity that constitutes cause for debarment or had adopted such procedures before any government investigation of the activity cited as a cause for debarment.
				2.	Whether the contractor brought the activity cited as a cause for debarment to the attention of the appropriate government agency in a timely manner.
				3.	Whether the contractor has fully investigated the circumstances surrounding the cause for debarment and, if so, made the result of the investigation available to the debarment official.
				4.	Whether the contractor cooperated fully with government agencies during the investigation and any court or administrative action.
				5.	Whether the contractor has paid or has agreed to pay all criminal, civil and administrative penalties and damages for the improper activity, including any investigative or administrative costs incurred by the government, and has made or agreed to make full restitution.
				6.	Whether the contractor has taken appropriate disciplinary action against the persons responsible for the activity that constitutes cause for debarment.
				7.	Whether the contractor has implemented or agreed to implement remedial measures, including any identified by the government.
				8.	Whether the contractor has instituted or agreed to institute new or revised review and control procedures and ethics training programs.
				9.	Whether the contractor has had adequate time to eliminate the circumstances within the contractor's organization that led to the cause for debarment.
				10.	Whether the contractor's management recognizes and understands the seriousness of the misconduct giving rise to the cause for debarment and has implemented programs to prevent recurrence. The existence or nonexistence of any mitigating factors or remedial measures such as set forth in this paragraph (a) is not necessarily determinative of a contractor's present responsibility. Accordingly, if a cause for debarment exists, the contractor has the burden of demonstrating, to the satisfaction of the debarring official, its present responsibility and that debarment is not necessary. 36/

IV.	ACTIONS A COMPANY SHOULD TAKE TO REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF A SUSPENSION OR DEBARMENT
	A.	As is evident from the FAR provision quoted above, once a company finds itself in the vortex of a suspension or debarment proceeding, it often feels powerless.
		1.	A number of actions should be taken as a matter of course simply to reduce the pain to which the company will be subjected if it ever finds itself in a suspension or debarment situation.
		2.	However, no matter how thorough a company's internal controls are before the government's initiation of suspension or debarment proceedings, in nearly every situation the government will request that the company do more in order to avoid suspension or debarment. How much the government requests is almost always tied to the government's perception of the seriousness with which the company implemented its compliance programs before there was a suspension or debarment issue.
	B.	Actions a company should take before a specific event launches governmental suspension or debarment proceedings:
		1.	Develop evidence that the company's management has personally invested in the company's ethics programs.
		2.	Implement a company-wide compliance program, including:
			a.	Corporate Code of Ethics. Implementing documents should include ethics policy statements and standards of conduct.
			b.	Employee training.
			c.	Enforcement:
					Company compliance officer.
					Ethics hotline.
					Procedures for audits and internal investigations.
					Disciplinary action.
			d.	Advance cooperation with the government: The voluntary disclosure program.
	C.	Actions that should be taken after the government has initiated suspension or debarment proceedings:
		1.	Enter a dialogue with the lead agency:
			a.	Most agency dialogue will be with counsel to the suspension-debarment official.
			b.	Listen to them; do not profess innocence.
			c.	Educate company management regarding the government's view of the seriousness of the conduct and project to government officials the company management's recognition of the seriousness of the conduct.
		2.	Eliminate the circumstances and conditions that led to the conduct that caused the proposed suspension or debarment - without forfeiting legal rights if possible. 37/
		3.	Cooperate in government investigations and proceedings.
		4.	Make restitution to the government and pay fines, judgments, investigative costs, attorney fees.
		5.	Discipline personnel.
		6.	Take proactive steps to reach a settlement: Propose terms for an administrative settlement agreement; take actions to implement some of the proposed terms even before they are agreed with the government.
	D.	Execution of an anti-suspension/debarment agreement (administrative settlement agreement).
		1.	Resolution of a suspension or debarment, or in some instances a proposed suspension or debarment, is effected through an Administrative Settlement Agreement.
		2.	Most agencies have model Administrative Settlement Agreements, which are modified to reflect the particular situation being addressed.
		3.	The agreement will recount the events that led to the suspension or debarment.
		4.	The meat of the agreement will obligate the contractor to enhance its compliance program in each of the areas listed above. It typically will require the contractor to implement additional steps to address the problem that gave rise to the suspension or debarment.
		5.	If the contractor was accused of cost mischarging, the agreement typically will require the contractor to:
				Engage an independent accounting firm or consultant to assess the sufficiency of the contractor's cost accounting system and procedures and report the results to the government.
				Revise the company's accounting procedures where appropriate.
				Train employees in the areas identified.
				Discipline specific employees.
				Make restitution to the government for the systemic weaknesses and the cost of the suspension and debarment proceedings (separate from any costs the contractor might be required to pay as a result of litigation with the government or in settlement.)
				Conduct periodic independent audits and file the audit reports (usually quarterly) with the suspension-debarment officials for a set period, usually three years.
				Inform the suspension-debarment officials of all internal investigations the company conducts relating to its government contracts and the content of all calls it receives on its Ethics Hotline.
				Provide that a violation of any of the terms of the agreement is per se a violation of the agreement, which entitles the government to reinstitute the suspension or debarment without further proceedings.

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ENDNOTES

1/	Federal contracting activities are governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which is at 48 CFR Chapter 1.
2/	FAR 9.403: " 'Nonprocurement Common Rule' means the procedures used by Federal Executive Agencies to suspend, debar, or exclude individuals or entities from participation in nonprocurement transactions under Executive Order 12549. Examples of nonprocurement transactions are grants, cooperative agreements, scholarships, fellowships, contracts of assistance, loans, loan guarantees, subsidies, insurance, payments for specified use, and donation agreements."
3/	FAR 9.103 a. and b. state in pertinent part:
	a.	Purchases shall be made from, and contracts shall be awarded to, responsible prospective contractors only.
	b.	No purchase or award shall be made unless the contracting officer makes an affirmative determination of responsibility. In the absence of information clearly indicating that the prospective contractor is responsible, the contracting officer shall make a determination of nonresponsibility.
4/	FAR 9.403 and 9.407; Common Rule § ___.605a. (The "Common Rule" is cited in this manner because, unlike FAR, it takes effect only when each agency publishes the Common Rule in its own regulations. This particular rule will carry the suffix .605a in all agency regulations. The prefix will be unique to each agency that promulgates the Common Rule. The list of agencies that adopted the Common Rule and citations to their regulations are in Endnote 25.)
5/	FAR 9.407-4 (b). Any "responsible prosecuting official" can request the six-month extension. Common Rule §___.760.
6/	FAR 9.403; 9.406-1; 9.406-4.
7/	Common Rule §___.200.
8/	FAR 9.406-2 (c).
9/	40 USC §§276a to 277a.
10/	41 USC §351.
11/	41 USC §§35 to 45.
12/	41 USC §351.
13/	42 USC §7413 (c); 33 USC §1319 (c).
14/	41 USC §701.
15/	16 USC §620d.
16/	P.L. No. 102-550, 106 Stat. 4044 (codified in various sections of 12 USC).
17/	21 USC §335a.
18/	20 USC §954 (1).
19/	42 USC §1230a-7.
20/	60 Fed. Reg. 13.023 (March 10, 1995).
21/	Executive Order 12989 (Feb. 13, 1996).
22/	FAR 9.406-1 states:
	(b)	Debarment constitutes debarment of all divisions or other organizational elements of the contractor, unless the debarment decision is limited by its terms to specific divisions, organizational elements, or commodities. The debarring official may extend the debarment decision to include any affiliates of the contractor if they are-
		(1)	Specifically named;
		(2)	Given written notice of the proposed debarment and an opportunity to respond (see 9.406-3 (c)).
	(c)	A contractor's debarment, or proposed debarment, shall be effective throughout the executive branch of the Government, unless the agency head or a designee (except see 23.506 (e)) states in writing the compelling reasons justifying continued business dealings between that agency and the contractor.
23/	FAR 9.405-1a.; Common Rule §___.305.
24/	See for example, FAR 9.406-2: The debarring official may debar--
	(a)	A contractor for a conviction of or civil judgment for-
		(1)	Commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with-
			(i)	Obtaining;
			(ii)	Attempting to obtain; or
			(iii)	Performing a public contract or subcontract
	(b)(1)		A contractor, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, for-
			(i)	Violation of the terms of a Government contract or subcontract so serious as to justify debarment, such as-
				(A)	Willful failure to perform in accordance with the terms of one or more contracts; or
				(B)	A history of failure to perform, or of unsatisfactory performance of, one or more contracts.
25/	Office of Personnel Management, 5 CFR Part 970 Department of Agriculture, 7 CFR Parts 3017 and 3021 Department of Energy, 10 CFR Parts 606, 607 and 1036 Small Business Administration, 13 CFR Parts 145 and 147 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 14 CFR Parts 1265 and 1267 Department of Commerce, 15 CFR Parts 26 and 29 Social Security Administration, 20 CFR Parts 436 and 439 Office of National Drug Control Policy, 21 CFR Parts 1404 and 1405 Department of State, 22 CFR Parts 137 and 139 Agency for International Development, 22 CFR Parts 208 and 210 Peace Corps, 22 CFR Parts 310 and 312 Inter-American Foundation, 22 CFR Parts 1006 and 1008 African Development Foundation, 22 CFR Parts 1508 and 1509 Department of Labor, 29 CFR Parts 94 and 98 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 29 CFR Parts 1471 and 1472 Department of Defense, 32 CFR Parts 25 and 26 Department of Education, 34 CFR Parts 84, 85, 668 and 682 National Archives and Records Administration, 36 CFR Parts 1209 and 1212 Department of Veterans Affairs, 38 CFR Parts 44 and 48 Environmental Protection Agency, 40 CFR Parts 32 and 36 General Services Administration, 41 CFR Parts 105-68 and 105-74 Department of the Interior, 43 CFR Parts 12, 42 and 43 Federal Emergency Management Agency, 44 CFR Parts 17 and 21 Department of Health and Human Services, 45 CFR Parts 76 and 82 National Science Foundation, 45 CFR Parts 620 and 630 National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, 45 CFR Parts 1154 and 1155 National Endowment for the Humanities, 45 CFR Parts 1169 and 1173 Institute of Museum and Library Services, 45 CFR Parts 1185 and 1186 Corporation for National and Community Service, 45 CFR Parts 2542 and 2545 Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Parts 29 and 32
26/	epls.arnet.gov; FAR 9.404 (a) (1), FAR 9.404 (d) (2); Common Rule §§__.140, __.530.
27/	See for example, Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 29, §29F (c) (2).
28/	See e.g., Minnesota Rules 1230.1150.
29/	See e.g., Maryland Code, State Finance and Procurement §16-311.
30/	FAR 52.209-5.
31/	Id. [emphasis added].
32/	22 CFR §126.7 (a) (5).
33/	Department of Defense Industrial Security Regulation DoD 5220.22-R §§C2.1.12.7 and C2.1.19.10, et seq. (December 4, 1985).
34/	FAR 28.203-7.
35/	FAR 9.406-3 (c); Common Rule §__.805; FAR 9.406-3 (c); Common Rule §___.715.
36/	FAR 9.406-1 (a).
37/	This paper does not attempt to address the complex issue of the advisability of pursuing a global settlement under which a contractor attempts to resolve in one document or at one time all actions the government has initiated against the contractor, including criminal, civil and administrative matters, including suspension or debarment.

©2005 Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP