Senators’ Letter To DOJ Distorts The Premise Of Debarment

In a commentary for Law360, Pillsbury's Todd Canni says a recent letter from Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) to the Attorney General misreads the purpose of government's suspension and debarment program. In the letter, Warren and Lujan called on DOJ to take a stronger hand in suspension and debarment cases. "The letter suggests these representatives view debarment as another punitive tool like the criminal justice system that should be utilized whenever alleged misconduct occurs regardless of the circumstances, root causes, corrective actions taken and the contractor's overall present responsibility," Canni says.