Government contractor

“ A contractor receives no authority from Government; his contract was derived from an officer, and all the power he possessed was derived from him, who was only amenable for the performance of the duty to the person who appointed him. A contractor could not, therefore, be considered as an officer under the constitution, amenable to the United States. ”

“ In any case in which a small-business concern or group of such concerns has been certified by or under the authority of the Administration to be a competent Government contractor with respect to capacity and credit as to a specific Government procurement contract, the officers of the Government having procurement powers are directed to accept such certification as conclusive, and are authorized to let such Government procurement contract to such concern or group of concerns without requiring it to meet any other requirement with respect to capacity and credit. ”

“ WHEREAS existing Executive orders require the government contracting agencies to include in their contracts a provision obligating the government contractor not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin and obligating the government contractor to include a similar provision in all subcontracts ”

“ The Contractor shall act as the purchasing agent of the Government in effecting such procurement and the Government shall be directly liable to the vendors for the purchase price. The exercise of this agency is subject to the obtaining of approval in the instances and in the manner required by subparagraph (c) of this article. The Contractor shall negotiate and administer all such purchases and shall advance all payments therefor unless the Officer-in-Charge shall otherwise direct. ”

“ So that when a man bids for more than one route, for instance, a hundred or a thousand, and gets them and carries them all absolutely according to his contract but one, he can be declared a failing contractor on all. What does that mean? It means not simply ruin to him, but ruin to every one of his sureties, unless they are in a condition to go on and carry the mail. I want you to understand something of the obligation of a contractor with the Government of the United States. ”

“ In that case the contract is the means employed for carrying into execution the powers of the government, and the contract alone, and not the contractor, is exempt from taxation or other interference by the State government.
But where the General government creates a corporation as a means of carrying out a national object, that corporation and its powers, property, and faculties, employed in accomplishing the service, are the instrumentalities by which the government effects its objects. ”

“ In order to ensure economy and efficiency in government procurement, the head of each Executive agency and Military Department shall ensure that their contracts incorporate, on and after January 1, 1979, a clause which requires compliance by the contractor, and by his subcontractors and suppliers, with the standards set forth in Section 1-102 of this Order. ”

“ This is to ignore the direct bearing of the exaction on the transaction between the contractor and the government. The fact that the tax is laid upon him who contracts with the government rather than upon the contract as such, or the government itself, is immaterial. Every purchaser of government obligations is an independent contractor with the government. If the fact that the taxpayer is an independent contractor were significant, it would have validated every tax laid upon the ownership of government obligations or upon the interest received therefrom. ”

“ The evil of such contracts is that the profit of the other party to the contract increases in proportion to that other party's costs expended in the performance. The danger guarded against by the Congressional prohibition was the incentive to a government contractor who already had a binding contract with the Government for payment of undetermined future costs to pay liberally for reimbursable items because higher costs meant a higher fee to him, his profit being determined by a percentage of cost. ”

“ Regulations shall be issued and published providing for the right of any governmental
unit or agency awarding a public contract to have access to and have the authority to
audit a contractor’s financial records related to the public contract that was awarded.
This right to audit, together with any additional oversight responsibilities, shall be
exercised by an office that is not responsible for tender issuance. The Office of
Government Public Contract Policy may establish a central agency for public
procurement audit services. ”

“ In the contract that we give to the Government certain things are provided. You will find that a copy of it will be intro duced. The contractor is left to the mercy of discretion-I believe that is the word—of the Postmaster-General You will find that if he fails to carry the mail one trip, no matter by what he may be prevented, by flood or storm or fire, he is not to be paid for it. Although he is there ready with his men and horses, if he is prevented by the elements he has no pay. ”

“ You will see, gentlemen, how perfectly, how absolutely, the contractor is in the power of the department. The Government enforces its contracts. No matter how many years may elapse they are still after the sureties and are still after the principal. Nothing relieves a man but, death. Only a little while ago a case was decided in the Supreme Court of which I will speak to you. An importer of sugar gave the importers' bond to pay the duty upon that sugar. By the custom of trade, sugar is sold in bond. ”

“ Whenever a contracting agency terminates a contract, or whenever a contractor has been debarred from further government contracts, because of noncompliance with the contractor provisions with regard to non-discrimination, the Committee, or the contracting agency involved, shall promptly notify the Comptroller General of the United States. ”

“ The Contracting Officer may terminate this contract, or any part
hereof, for cause in the event of any default by the Contractor, or if the Contractor fails to comply
with any contract terms and conditions, or fails to provide the Contracting Officer, upon request,
with adequate assurances of future performance. In the event of termination for cause, the
Government agency shall not be liable to the Contractor for any amount of supplies or services not
accepted, and the Contractor shall be liable for any and all rights and remedies provided by law. ”

“ The contractor will comply with all provisions of the Secretary's Notice, and related rules, regulations, and orders of the Secretary of Labor. ``3. In the event that the contractor does not comply with any of the requirements set forth in paragraphs (1) or (2) above, this contract may be cancelled, terminated, or suspended in whole or in part, and the contractor may be declared ineligible for further Government contracts in accordance with procedures authorized in or adopted pursuant to Executive Order [number as provided by the Federal Register] of [insert new date] . ”

“ By providing our Government workforce with additional tools and training to apply and enforce existing policy, and by providing additional clarity to Government contractors and subcontractors on the steps necessary to fully comply with that policy, this order will help to protect vulnerable individuals as contractors and subcontractors perform vital services and manufacture the goods procured by the United States. ”

“ However, the line between inherently governmental activities that should not be outsourced and commercial activities that may be subject to private sector competition has been blurred and inadequately defined. As a result, contractors may be performing inherently governmental functions. Agencies and departments must operate under clear rules prescribing when outsourcing is and is not appropriate. ”

“ Like private individuals and businesses, the Government enjoys the unrestricted power to produce its own supplies, to determine those with whom it will deal, and to fix the terms and conditions upon which it will make needed purchases. [15] Acting through its agents as it must of necessity, the Government may for the purpose of keeping its own house in order lay down guide posts by which its agents are to proceed in the procurement of supplies, and which create duties to the Government alone. It has done so in the Public Contracts Act. ”

“ It is not the duty or responsibility of contracting officers of the Federal Government, by means of restrictive specifications, to enforce contractors to comply with the requirements of pric-fixing acts of a State. ”

“ By analogy to these tax cases, state regulation of independent contractors has also been sustained in the face of increased economic burdens passed on indirectly to the Government by the independent contractors. ”

“ It is one thing to attribute to Congress the desire to confine the Government's remedies for breaches of its ordinary procurement contracts to the rules of law governing ordinary commercial contracts. ”

“ If one starts with the assumption that, in the absence of specific Congressional authority, a fixed rule of law precludes contracting officers from providing in a Government contract terms reasonably calculated to assure its performance even though there be no money loss through a particular default, there is no problem. ”

“ Provide that any contracting agency shall refrain from entering into further contracts, or extensions or other modifications of existing contracts, with any noncomplying contractor, until such contractor has satisfied the Secretary of Labor that such contractor has established and will carry out personnel and employment policies in compliance with the provisions of this Order. ”

“ But in our country we do things differently. Here it would be considered a stretch of power for any administration to enter into a contract with a private company—a contract binding the Government for a period of twenty-five years, and involving an annual appropriation of money—without the action of Congress. ”

“ We also need do no more than mention cases where, absent a conflicting federal regulation, a State seeks to impose safety or other requirements on a contractor who does business for the United States. ”

“ The contractors have fairly good representation in this House, and many things are to be said in their favour; but the Government has no right to use the money of the nation in building machinery and then to allow it to stand idle in the interests [Pg 203] of outside firms, no matter who they are or what influence they may have. ”

“ Contracting departments and agencies shall treat as allowable costs incurred in maintaining satisfactory relations between the contractor and its employees (other than the costs of any activities undertaken to persuade employees to exercise or not to exercise, or concerning the manner of exercising, the right to organize and bargain collectively) , including costs of labor management committees, employee publications, and other related activities. ”

“ Additionally, federal contractors, including subcontractors and vendors performing under government contracts, shall not be investigated, debarred, or otherwise penalized for purported violations of E.O. 13950. ”

“ Before final acceptance, the contractor must furnish evidence to satisfy the Department that all the material used by him, his sub-contractors, or his agents, has been fully paid for and all laborers and other employees working for him, his sub-contractors, or his agents, have been fully paid. ”

“ It is not laid upon the choice of means, the making of the contracts, the contracts themselves, or any transaction to which the federal government is a party or in which it is immediately or directly concerned. ”

“ To amend Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to protect the “gig economy” and small businesses that operate in large part through contractor services from the threat of costly class action litigation, and for other purposes. ”

“ A provision that obligates the contractor to cooperate fully in providing reasonable access to the contractor's records, documents, persons, or premises if reasonably requested by authorized officials of the contracting agency, the Department of the Treasury, or the Department of Justice, for the purpose of determining whether forced or indentured child labor was used to mine, produce, or manufacture any product furnished under the contract. ”