New regulations from the Clinton administration aim to bar federal agencies from awarding contracts to a company with a record of breaking labor, environment, or other laws. Under the new rules, federal officials could disqualify companies from receiving any of the $200 billion in federal contracts awarded each year, if officials conclude that a company has failed to comply with such laws.
Business groups are calling this a parting gift to organized labor. Some Congressional Republicans criticized the new regulations, accusing the administration of trying to sneak through rules after Congress had adjourned. Voicing outrage that President Clinton was issuing these hotly debated regulations in his administration’s final days, business groups want to get President-elect George W. Bush or Congress to overturn them.
Based on a report from The New York Times
