PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Contracting and grant officers must quickly send any credible report that a recipient, subcontractor, or their agent may have done trafficking-related acts (see section 7104(g)) to their agency’s Office of Inspector General. The contracting officer can also order the contractor to fix the problem or follow a compliance plan under section 7104a. The Inspector General must review the information and decide soon whether to open an investigation, and must record why they did not investigate if they choose not to. If the case is sent to the Department of Justice for criminal charges, the Inspector General may pause their probe, must tell the agency head about any indictment, information, or criminal complaint, and must decide whether to restart the investigation if prosecutors do not move forward. When an investigation finishes, the Inspector General must report the findings to the agency head and say if the allegations were substantiated. If wrongdoing is substantiated or there is a criminal charge, the agency head must refer the case to the suspension and debarment official and consider remedies such as removing employees from the work, ending subcontracts, suspending payments, withholding award fees, not exercising contract options, or terminating the contract. The agency can use other remedies too. The agency may treat having and following a compliance plan as a reason for leniency, or failure to fix problems when told as a reason for stricter action. Any substantiated finding must be entered in FAPIIS and the contractor must be allowed to respond.

Title 22, §7104b

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Referral and investigation

(1)Referral

If the contracting or grant officer of an executive agency for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement receives credible information that a recipient of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; any subgrantee or subcontractor of the recipient; or any agent of the recipient or of such a subgrantee or subcontractor, has engaged in an activity described in section 7104(g) of this title, as amended by section 1702, including a report from a contracting officer representative, an auditor, an alleged victim or victim’s representative, or any other credible source, the contracting or grant officer shall promptly refer the matter to the agency’s Office of Inspector General for investigation. The contracting officer may also direct the contractor to take specific steps to abate an alleged violation or enforce the requirements of a compliance plan implemented pursuant to section 7104a of this title.

(2)Investigation

An Inspector General who receives a referral under paragraph (1) or otherwise receives credible information that a recipient of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; any subgrantee or subcontractor of the recipient; or any agent of the recipient or of such a subgrantee or subcontractor, has engaged in an activity described in section 7104(g) of this title, as amended by section 1702, shall promptly review the referral or information and determine whether to initiate an investigation of the matter. In the event that an Inspector General does not initiate an investigation, the Inspector General shall document the rationale for the decision not to investigate.

(3)Criminal investigation

If the matter is referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution, the Inspector General may suspend any investigation under this subsection pending the outcome of the criminal prosecution. The Inspector General shall notify the head of the executive agency that awarded the contract, grant, or cooperative agreement of an indictment, information, or criminal complaint against the recipient of a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement; any subgrantee or subcontractor of the recipient; or any agent of the recipient or of a subgrantee or subcontractor. If the criminal investigation results in a decision not to prosecute, the Inspector General shall promptly determine whether to resume any investigation that was suspended pursuant to this paragraph. In the event that an Inspector General does not resume an investigation, the Inspector General shall document the rationale for the decision.

(b)Report

Upon completion of an investigation under subsection (a), the Inspector General shall submit a report on the investigation to the head of the executive agency that awarded the contract, grant, or cooperative agreement. The report shall include the Inspector General’s conclusions regarding whether or not any allegations that the recipient of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; any subcontractor or subgrantee of the recipient; or any agent of the recipient or of such a subcontractor or subgrantee, engaged in any of the activities described in section 7104(g) of this title, as amended by section 1702, are substantiated.

(c)Remedial actions

(1)In general

Upon receipt of an Inspector General’s report substantiating an allegation that the recipient of a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement; any subgrantee or subcontractor of the recipient; or any agent of the recipient or of a subgrantee or subcontractor, engaged in any of the activities described in section 7104(g) of this title, as amended by section 1702, or notification of an indictment, information, or criminal complaint for an offense under subsection (a)(3), the head of agency shall refer the matter to the agency suspension and debarment official and consider taking one or more of the following remedial actions:

(A)Requiring the recipient to remove an employee from the performance of work under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.

(B)Requiring the recipient to terminate a subcontract or subgrant.

(C)Suspending payments under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement until such time as the recipient of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement has taken appropriate remedial action.

(D)Withholding award fees, consistent with the award fee plan, for the performance period in which the agency determined the contractor or subcontractor engaged in any of the activities described in such section 7104(g) of this title.

(E)Declining to exercise available options under the contract.

(F)Terminating the contract for default or cause, in accordance with the termination clause for the contract.

(2)Savings clause

Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the scope of applicable remedies available to the Federal Government.

(3)Mitigating factor (4) Aggravating factor

Where applicable, the head of an executive agency may consider whether the contractor or grantee had a plan in place under section 7104a of this title, and was in compliance with that plan at the time of the violation, as a mitigating factor in determining which remedies, if any, should apply.

(d)Inclusion of report conclusions in FAPIIS

(1)In general

The head of an executive agency shall ensure that any substantiated allegation in the report under subsection (b) is included in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) and that the contractor has an opportunity to respond to any such report in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations.

(2)Omitted

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 7104(g) of this title, as amended by section 1702, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (2), (b), and (c)(1), means section 7104(g) of this title, as amended by section 1702 of Pub. L. 112–239. Codification Section is comprised of section 1704 of Pub. L. 112–239. Subsec. (d)(2) of section 1704 of Pub. L. 112–239 amended section 2313 of Title 41, Public Contracts. Section was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, and not as part of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 117–211, § 2(a)(1), which directed insertion of “refer the matter to the agency suspension and debarment official and” before “consider taking one of the following actions”, was executed in introductory provisions by making the insertion before “consider taking one or more of the following remedial actions” to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Subsec. (c)(1)(G). Pub. L. 117–211, § 2(a)(2), struck out subpar. (G) which read as follows: “Referring the matter to the agency suspension and debarment official.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Requirements of subsec. (c) and second sentence of subsec. (a)(1) of this section applicable to grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements entered into on or after the date that is 270 days after Jan. 2, 2013, and to task and delivery orders awarded on or after Jan. 2, 2013, pursuant to contracts entered before, on, or after such date, see section 7104d(c)(1)(B) of this title.

§7104b Monitoring and Investigation of Trafficking in Persons