Contracting and Tax Accountability Act of 2007

To prohibit the awarding of a contract or grant in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold unless the prospective contractor or grantee certifies in writing to the agency awarding the contract or grant that the contractor or grantee has no seriously delinquent tax debts, and for other purposes.

4/14/2008--Passed House amended. (This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on April 10, 2008. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Contracting and Tax Accountability Act of 2008 - Establishes a policy that no U.S. government contracts or grants should be awarded to individuals or companies with seriously delinquent tax debts.
Requires a person who has such a debt to be proposed for debarment from any federal government contract unless such requirement is waived by a federal agency head. Requires an agency head that issues an invitation for bids or a request for proposals for a contract in an amount greater than the simplified acquisition threshold to require prospective contractors to:
(1) certify that they do not have such a debt; and
(2) authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to disclose information describing whether they have such a debt. Exempts contracts designated by agency heads as assisting the agency in the performance of disaster relief authorities or as necessary to national security.
Prohibits the head of an agency offering a grant exceeding such threshold from awarding it to a person who does not submit such certification and authorization. Requires the Federal Acquisition Regulation and regulations governing grants to be revised to require such certification and authorization. Defines "seriously delinquent tax debt" as an outstanding tax debt for which a notice of lien has been filed in public records. Excludes a tax debt:
(1) that is being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an installment agreement; or
(2) for which a collection due process hearing, or for which relief from liability for a tax deficiency applicable to joint filers, is requested or pending.


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Sponsor

• Rep. Brad Ellsworth [D, IN-8]
• and 1 Co-Sponsors
  • Rep. Edolphus Towns [D, NY-10]
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Committees

• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
• 2 more
  • House Oversight and Government Reform
  • House Oversight and Government Reform
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Amendments

This bill has no amendments.

Amendments to H.R.4881

Number	Status	Purpose

Bill Status

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Introduced		Voted on by House		Voted on by Senate		Considered By President		Bill Becomes Law
December 19, 2007		April 14, 2008

Show All Actions (14 actions)Hide Actions

All Bill Actions

• Apr 15, 2008: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
• Passed by voice vote in the House on Apr 14, 2008. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
• Apr 14, 2008: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4881.
• Apr 14, 2008: Considered under suspension of the rules.
• Apr 14, 2008: Mr. Braley (IA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
• Added to calendar on Apr 10, 2008: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 356..
• Apr 10, 2008: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Oversight and Government. H. Rept. 110-578.
• Mar 13, 2008: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
• Added to calendar on Mar 13, 2008: Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote..
• Mar 11, 2008: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .
• Mar 11, 2008: Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
• Jan 16, 2008: Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement.
• Introduced on Dec 19, 2007.
• Dec 19, 2007: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

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Related Bills:

• S.2519

Related Issue Areas:

• Public contracts
• Budgets
• Business
• Collection of accounts
• 13 more
• Corporations
• Debt
• Federal aid programs
• Finance
• Fines (Penalties)
• Government contractors
• Government procurement
• Income tax
• Law
• Partnerships
• Subsidies
• Tax liens
• Taxation

Data from the Congressional Research Service

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Blog Coverage

November 08, 2008 An Overview of the Tax Gap

Id. Notably, the final rule was published in the Federal Register within days of the U.S. House of Representatives passing H.R. 4881, 110th Congress, The Contracting and Tax Accountability Act (2008). Id. This bill would prohibit ...

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September 05, 2008 Contracting Reform Bills Stuck in Election Year Limbo

With the '08 election campaign heading into the homestretch, you can pretty much write off the chance of any meaningful legislation passing Congress. This is especially true for the blizzard of comprehensive contracting reform bills ...

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August 07, 2008 new government documents at milner, july 2008

call no: y 1.1/8:110-578, title: contracting and tax accountability act of 2008 : report together with additional views (to accompany hr 4881) (including cost estimate of the congressional budget office). author: united states. ...

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Source: Government Documents

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