FCC OCI & Procurement Integrity 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Procurement Integrity Act requires that covered federal employees disclose when they have received compensation over what threshold from a contractor within the prior two years?
- $5,000
- $10,000 (Correct answer)
- $25,000
- $100,000
Correct answer: $10,000
Federal employees must disclose compensation exceeding $10,000 received from a contractor within the past two years before participating in a procurement involving that contractor.
Question 2: Which of the following is NOT one of the three recognized categories of OCI under FAR Subpart 9.5?
- Unequal access to information
- Biased ground rules
- Impaired objectivity
- Competitive advantage through superior past performance (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Competitive advantage through superior past performance
FAR Subpart 9.5 recognizes three OCI categories: unequal access to information, biased ground rules, and impaired objectivity; superior past performance is not an OCI category.
Question 3: A contractor providing advisory services to a government program office wants to submit a proposal on a related production contract. Which OCI mitigation technique involves the contractor withdrawing from the advisory role before competing?
- Firewall
- Exclusion (Correct answer)
- Disclosure
- Recusal
Correct answer: Exclusion
Exclusion (also called 'avoidance') removes the conflict by having the contractor withdraw from the conflicting work rather than trying to screen off information.
Question 4: Under the Anti-Kickback Act (41 U.S.C. § 8701), what is the civil penalty per violation for a contractor who provides a kickback to a prime contractor employee?
- Twice the amount of the kickback (Correct answer)
- The amount of the kickback only
- Up to $10,000 per violation
- Up to $50,000 per violation
Correct answer: Twice the amount of the kickback
The Anti-Kickback Act imposes civil penalties of twice the amount of each kickback, in addition to criminal penalties for knowing violations.
Question 5: Which statement about OCI waivers is correct under FAR 9.503?
- Any contracting officer may approve an OCI waiver
- Waivers must be approved by the agency head or a designated senior official (Correct answer)
- Waivers are only permitted for contracts under the simplified acquisition threshold
- GAO must concur before an OCI waiver takes effect
Correct answer: Waivers must be approved by the agency head or a designated senior official
FAR 9.503 reserves OCI waiver authority to the agency head or a designee at a sufficiently senior level; routine COs cannot grant waivers.
Question 6: A contractor's employee who was the source selection authority for a $50M contract leaves government service. Under the Procurement Integrity Act, within what period must she recuse herself from any matter at a private company relating to that contract?
- She has no restriction after leaving
- 6 months
- 1 year (Correct answer)
- 2 years
Correct answer: 1 year
Former government employees who personally and substantially participated in a procurement may not accept compensation from the awardee for one year after leaving federal employment.
Question 7: Which FAR provision is typically inserted to require contractors to disclose and avoid OCIs throughout contract performance?
- FAR 52.203-13
- FAR 52.209-7
- FAR 52.203-16 (Correct answer)
- FAR 52.209-9
Correct answer: FAR 52.203-16
FAR 52.203-16 (Preventing Personal Conflicts of Interest) is the clause used to address OCI-related disclosures and restrictions during contract performance.
FCC OCI & Procurement Integrity 3
The Procurement Integrity Act requires that covered federal employees disclose when they have received compensation over what threshold from a contractor within the prior two years?