Deck 40: Ken Silverstein, Unjust Rewards

Question 1

President issued a new order, the "contractor responsibility rule", which specified that federal officials should consider "repeated, pervasive, or significant violations of the law" when awarding federal contracts.

A) Ronald Reagan
B) George H. Bush
C) William J. Clinton
D) George W. Bush

Answer 1

C

Question 2

10Contractors that commit the most obvious violations are suspended or debarred from future government business.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

From 1995-2000, when TRW was most frequently cited for illegal dumping and other violations, it received money in federal contracts than it agreed to pay for its environmental crimes.

A) more
B) less
C) about the same amount of
D) TRW became ineligible for federal contracts
E) none of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

launched a fierce lobbying campaign against the "contractor responsibility rule".

A) Business and industry groups
B) Mother Jones
C) Labor, civil rights, and consumer groups
D) The Congressional Research Service

Question 5

President George W. Bush revoked the contractor responsibility rule after less than one year in office.

Question 6

At the same time that Phillips Petroleum, TRW, and Koch Industries were found to have repeatedly violated workplace and environmental laws, they ranked among the country's largest government contractors.

Question 7

The government discontinues to award business to defense contractors that have committed fraud on prior contracts.

Question 8

Why are federal contracting officers "extremely reluctant" to take action against corporate wrongdoing, even when they are aware of violations?

Question 9

A Mother Jones review of environmental and workplace violations found that many big contractors could have been forced to forfeit federal business had not interceded on their behalf.

A) President Clinton
B) Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman
C) The Environmental Protection Agency
D) President Bush

Question 10

Opponents of the "contractor responsibility rule" argue that"

A) no new regulations are necessary since the government already has the power to force contractors to clean up their act.
B) some contractors that provide specialized services or products cannot be replaced.
C) the fines imposed on contractors who commit fraud are unfair since they greatly exceed the value of the federal contracts received.
D) a and b above

Question 11

Why are large government contractors that commit obvious violations never suspended or disbarred, while smaller operations that violate the law are denied government business?

Question 12

After TRW was caught dumping sodium azide, federal officials reviewed its repeated violations and decided that it was no longer eligible to receive government contracts.