Government-Wide Debarment and Suspension Regulations After a Decade - A Constitutional Framework - Yet, Some Issues Remain in Transition

Abstract

Because of the tensions between the government's interests in procurement integrity and contractors interest in continuing to pursue government work-and perhaps as a result of the heightened activity by the federal government in the debarment and suspension arena-a number of scholars and practitioners have written about the process. In particular, several of these writers either have questioned the constitutional validity or otherwise have been critical of the government's debarment and suspension process. This author respectfully disagrees with these analyses, and a major focus of this article is an examination of the reasons why agency adherence to the current debarment and suspension regulations will result in actions that comport with constitutional due process requirements. On the other hand, even though these government rules provide a constitutional framework, the regulations remain in transition and have been the subject of periodic changes. Thus, new matters will continue to arise. Accordingly, this article also will explore certain issues regarding not only recent but also contemplated changes to the debarment and suspension procedures.