Strengthen and simplify procurement ethics laws. Current ethics laws should be amended to: -- make them consistent governmentwide; -- increase penalties from 5 to 15 years for the disclosure or receipt of certain sensitive source selection or proprietary information, thus placing prohibition of such conduct on a par with the crime of bribery of public officials, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years; -- eliminate the procurement integrity certifications that increase government administrative and contract costs while adding little or no deterrence value; -- add a new provision to the governmentwide postemployment (revolving door) law that would prohibit former government employees from using certain procurementsensitive information to represent, aid, or advise others for one year after government service, and eliminate several overlapping or duplicative statutory provisions; and -- eliminate the certification requirement for purchases under the simplified acquisition threshold. These changes would strengthen and streamline current ethics laws by more effectively punishing deliberate offenders, providing clearer guidance on procurement ethics, reducing unnecessary contract and agency administrative costs, and removing administrative barriers to effective communication between government and private sector vendors.
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