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Debarment
[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 3, Parts 500 to 1199]
[Revised as of October 1, 1997]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR1154]
[Page 369-372]
TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
CHAPTER XI--NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
PART 1154--GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) AND GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (GRANTS)--Table of Contents
Subpart A--General
Sec. 1154.100 Purpose.
(a) Executive Order (E.O.) 12549 provides that, to the extent
permitted by law, Executive departments and agencies shall participate
in a governmentwide system for nonprocurement debarment and suspension.
A person who is debarred or suspended shall be excluded from Federal
financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits under Federal
programs and activities. Debarment or suspension of a participant in a
program by one agency shall have governmentwide effect.
(b) These regulations implement section 3 of E.O. 12549 and the
guidelines promulgated by the Office of Management and Budget under
section 6 of the E.O. by:
(1) Prescribing the programs and activities that are covered by the
governmentwide system;
(2) Prescribing the governmentwide criteria and governmentwide
minimum due process procedures that each agency shall use;
(3) Providing for the listing of debarred and suspended
participants, participants declared ineligible (see definition of
``ineligible'' in Sec. 1154.105), and participants who have voluntarily
excluded themselves from participation in covered transactions;
(4) Setting forth the consequences of a debarment, suspension,
determination of ineligibility, or voluntary exclusion; and
(5) Offering such other guidance as necessary for the effective
implementation and administration of the governmentwide system.
(c) These regulations also implement Executive Order 12689 (3 CFR,
1989 Comp., p. 235) and 31 U.S.C. 6101 note (Public Law 103-355, sec.
2455, 108 Stat. 3327) by--
(1) Providing for the inclusion in the List of Parties Excluded from
Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs all persons proposed for
debarment, debarred or suspended under the Federal Acquisition
Regulation, 48 CFR Part 9, subpart 9.4; persons against which
governmentwide exclusions have been entered under this part; and persons
determined to be ineligible; and
(2) Setting forth the consequences of a debarment, suspension,
determination of ineligibility, or voluntary exclusion.
(d) Although these regulations cover the listing of ineligible
participants and the effect of such listing, they do not prescribe
policies and procedures governing declarations of ineligibility.
[60 FR 33040, 33062, June 26, 1995]
Sec. 1154.105 Definitions.
The following definitions apply to this part:
Adequate evidence. Information sufficient to support the reasonable
belief that a particular act or omission has occurred.
Affiliate. Persons are affiliates of each other if, directly or
indirectly, either one controls or has the power to control the other,
or, a third person controls or has the power to control both. Indicia of
control include, but are not limited to: interlocking management or
ownership, identity of interests among family members, shared facilities
and equipment, common use of employees, or a business entity organized
following the suspension or debarment of a person which has the same or
similar management, ownership, or principal employees as the suspended,
debarred, ineligible, or voluntarily excluded person.
Agency. Any executive department, military department or defense
agency or other agency of the executive branch, excluding the
independent regulatory agencies.
Arts Endowment. National Endowment for the Arts.
Civil judgment. The disposition of a civil action by any court of
competent jurisdiction, whether entered by verdict, decision,
settlement, stipulation, or otherwise creating a civil liability for the
wrongful acts complained of; or a final determination of liability under
the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1988 (31 U.S.C. 3801-12).
Conviction. A judgment or conviction of a criminal offense by any
court of
[[Page 370]]
competent jurisdiction, whether entered upon a verdict or a plea,
including a plea of nolo contendere.
Debarment. An action taken by a debarring official in accordance
with these regulations to exclude a person from participating in covered
transactions. A person so excluded is ``debarred.''
Debarring official. An official authorized to impose debarment. The
debarring official is either:
(1) The agency head, or
(2) An official designated by the agency head.
Indictment. Indictment for a criminal offense. An information or
other filing by competent authority charging a criminal offense shall be
given the same effect as an indictment.
Ineligible. Excluded from participation in Federal nonprocurement
programs pursuant to a determination of ineligibility under statutory,
executive order, or regulatory authority, other than Executive Order
12549 and its agency implementing regulations; for exemple, excluded
pursuant to the Davis-Bacon Act and its implementing regulations, the
equal employment opportunity acts and executive orders, or the
environmental protection acts and executive orders. A person is
ineligible where the determination of ineligibility affects such
person's eligibility to participate in more than one covered
transaction.
Legal proceedings. Any criminal proceeding or any civil judicial
proceeding to which the Federal Government or a State or local
government or quasi-governmental authority is a party. The term includes
appeals from such proceedings.
List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement
Programs. A list compiled, maintained and distributed by the General
Services Administration (GSA) containing the names and other information
about persons who have been debarred, suspended, or voluntarily excluded
under Executive Orders 12549 and 12689 and these regulations or 48 CFR
part 9, subpart 9.4, persons who have been proposed for debarment under
48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4, and those persons who have been determined
to be ineligible.
Notice. A written communication served in person or sent by
certified mail, return receipt requested, or its equivalent, to the last
known address of a party, its identified counsel, its agent for service
of process, or any partner, officer, director, owner, or joint venturer
of the party. Notice, if undeliverable, shall be considered to have been
received by the addressee five days after being properly sent to the
last address known by the agency.
Participant. Any person who submits a proposal for, enters into, or
reasonably may be expected to enter into a covered transaction. This
term also includes any person who acts on behalf of or is authorized to
commit a participant in a covered transaction as an agent or
representative of another participant.
Person. Any individual, corporation, partnership, association, unit
of government or legal entity, however organized, except: foreign
governments or foreign governmental entities, public international
organizations, foreign government owned (in whole or in part) or
controlled entities, and entities consisting wholly or partially of
foreign governments or foreign governmental entities.
Preponderance of the evidence. Proof by information that, compared
with that opposing it, leads to the conclusion that the fact at issue is
more probably true than not.
Principal. Officer, director, owner, partner, key employee, or other
person within a participant with primary management or supervisory
responsibilities; or a person who has a critical influence on or
substantive control over a covered transaction, whether or not employed
by the participant. Persons who have a critical influence on or
substantive control over a covered transaction are:
(1) Principal investigators.
(2) [Reserved]
Proposal. A solicited or unsolicited bid, application, request,
invitation to consider or similar communication by or on behalf of a
person seeking to participate or to receive a benefit, directly or
indirectly, in or under a covered transaction.
[[Page 371]]
Respondent. A person against whom a debarment or suspension action
has been initiated.
State. Any of the States of the United States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or possession
of the United States, or any agency of a State, exclusive of
institutions of higher education, hospitals, and units of local
government. A State instrumentality will be considered part of the State
government if it has a written determination from a State government
that such State considers that instrumentality to be an agency of the
State government.
Suspending official. An official authorized to impose suspension.
The suspending official is either:
(1) The agency head, or
(2) An official designated by the agency head.
Suspension. An action taken by a suspending official in accordance
with these regulations that immediately excludes a person from
participating in covered transactions for a temporary period, pending
completion of an investigation and such legal, debarment, or Program
Fraud Civil Remedies Act proceedings as may ensue. A person so excluded
is ``suspended.''
Voluntary exclusion or voluntarily excluded. A status of
nonparticipation or limited participation in covered transactions
assumed by a person pursuant to the terms of a settlement.
[53 FR 19201, 19204, May 26, 1988, as amended at 60 FR 33041, 33062,
June 26, 1995]
Sec. 1154.110 Coverage.
(a) These regulations apply to all persons who have participated,
are currently participating or may reasonably be expected to participate
in transactions under Federal nonprocurement programs. For purposes of
these regulations such transactions will be referred to as ``covered
transactions.''
(1) Covered transaction. For purposes of these regulations, a
covered transaction is a primary covered transaction or a lower tier
covered transaction. Covered transactions at any tier need not involve
the transfer of Federal funds.
(i) Primary covered transaction. Except as noted in paragraph (a)(2)
of this section, a primary covered transaction is any nonprocurement
transaction between an agency and a person, regardless of type,
including: grants, cooperative agreements, scholarships, fellowships,
contracts of assistance, loans, loan guarantees, subsidies, insurance,
payments for specified use, donation agreements and any other
nonprocurement transactions between a Federal agency and a person.
Primary covered transactions also include those transactions specially
designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in
such agency's regulations governing debarment and suspension.
(ii) Lower tier covered transaction. A lower tier covered
transaction is:
(A) Any transaction between a participant and a person other than a
procurement contract for goods or services, regardless of type, under a
primary covered transaction.
(B) Any procurement contract for goods or services between a
participant and a person, regardless of type, expected to equal or
exceed the Federal procurement small purchase threshold fixed at 10
U.S.C. 2304(g) and 41 U.S.C. 253(g) (currently $25,000) under a primary
covered transaction.
(C) Any procurement contract for goods or services between a
participant and a person under a covered transaction, regardless of
amount, under which that person will have a critical influence on or
substantive control over that covered transaction. Such persons are:
(1) Principal investigators.
(2) Providers of federally-required audit services.
(2) Exceptions. The following transactions are not covered:
(i) Statutory entitlements or mandatory awards (but not subtier
awards thereunder which are not themselves mandatory), including
deposited funds insured by the Federal Government;
(ii) Direct awards to foreign governments or public international
organizations, or transactions with foreign governments or foreign
governmental entities, public international organizations, foreign
government owned (in whole or in part) or controlled entities, entities
consisting wholly or partially
[[Page 372]]
of foreign governments or foreign governmental entities;
(iii) Benefits to an individual as a personal entitlement without
regard to the individual's present responsibility (but benefits received
in an individual's business capacity are not excepted);
(iv) Federal employment;
(v) Transactions pursuant to national or agency-recognized
emergencies or disasters;
(vi) Incidental benefits derived from ordinary governmental
operations; and
(vii) Other transactions where the application of these regulations
would be prohibited by law.
(b) Relationship to other sections. This section describes the types
of transactions to which a debarment or suspension under the regulations
will apply. Subpart B, ``Effect of Action,'' Sec. 1154.200, ``Debarment
or suspension,'' sets forth the consequences of a debarment or
suspension. Those consequences would obtain only with respect to
participants and principals in the covered transactions and activities
described in Sec. 1154.110(a). Sections 1154.325, ``Scope of
debarment,'' and 1154.420, `"Scope of suspension,'' govern the extent to
which a specific participant or organizational elements of a participant
would be automatically included within a debarment or suspension action,
and the conditions under which affiliates or persons associated with a
participant may also be brought within the scope of the action.
(c) Relationship to Federal procurement activities. In accordance
with E.O. 12689 and section 2455 of Public Law 103-355, any debarment,
suspension, proposed debarment or other governmentwide exclusion
initiated under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) on or after
August 25, 1995 shall be recognized by and effective for Executive
Branch agencies and participants as an exclusion under this regulation.
Similarly, any debarment, suspension or other governmentwide exclusion
initiated under this regulation on or after August 25, 1995 shall be
recognized by and effective for those agencies as a debarment or
suspension under the FAR.
[53 FR 19201, 19204, May 26, 1988, as amended at 60 FR 33041, 33062,
June 26, 1995]
Sec. 1154.115 Policy.
(a) In order to protect the public interest, it is the policy of the
Federal Government to conduct business only with responsible persons.
Debarment and suspension are discretionary actions that, taken in
accordance with Executive Order 12549 and these regulations, are
appropriate means to implement this policy.
(b) Debarment and suspension are serious actions which shall be used
only in the public interest and for the Federal Government's protection
and not for purposes of punishment. Agencies may impose debarment or
suspension for the causes and in accordance with the procedures set
forth in these regulations.
(c) When more than one agency has an interest in the proposed
debarment or suspension of a person, consideration shall be given to
designating one agency as the lead agency for making the decision.
Agencies are encouraged to establish methods and procedures for
coordinating their debarment or suspension actions.
National Endowment for the Arts
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