Title 41 — Public ContractsRelease 119-73
§6504 Three-year prohibition on new contracts in case of breach or violation
Title 41 › Subtitle Subtitle II— - Other Advertising and Contract Provisions › Chapter CHAPTER 65— - CONTRACTS FOR MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, ARTICLES, AND EQUIPMENT EXCEEDING $10,000 › § 6504
Summary
Each federal agency gets from the Comptroller General a list of people the Secretary found broke a term or promise in a covered contract. Unless the Secretary says otherwise, those people and any company they control may not get that kind of contract for 3 years after the finding.
Full Legal Text
Title 41, §6504
Public Contracts — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Comptroller General shall distribute to each agency of the United States a list containing the names of persons found by the Secretary to have breached or violated a representation or stipulation included in a contract under section 6502 of this title.
(b)Unless the Secretary recommends otherwise, a contract described in section 6502 of this title may not be awarded to a person named on the list under subsection (a), or to a firm, corporation, partnership, or association in which the person has a controlling interest, until 3 years have elapsed from the date of the determination by the Secretary that a breach or violation occurred.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 650441:37.June 30, 1936, ch. 881, § 3, 49 Stat. 2037. In this section, the words “or firms” are omitted because of the definition of “person” in 41:41, restated in section 6501 of the revised title. In subsection (a), the words “or violated” are added for consistency in the chapter. In subsection (b), the words “contract described in section 6502 of this title” are substituted for “contracts” to clarify the scope of the prohibition. The words “the date of the determination by the Secretary that a breach or violation occurred” are substituted for “the date the Secretary of Labor determines such breach to have occurred” to clarify that the three-year period begins with the date of the Secretary’s determination and not with the date of the breach or violation. The words “or violation” are added for consistency in the chapter.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
41 U.S.C. § 6504
Title 41 — Public Contracts
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73