Government contractor
A government contractor is a company (privately owned, publicly traded or a state-owned enterprise) – either for profit or non-profit – that produces goods or services under contract for the government.[1] Some communities are largely sustained by government contracting activity; for instance, much of the economy of Northern Virginia consists of government contractors employed directly or indirectly by the federal government of the United States.[2]
Terminology
[edit]Frequently a term public contractor is used to describe the government contractor.
In ancient Rome, term publican was used for private individuals that performed work on public buildings, supplied Roman armies, or collected taxes.[3]
United Kingdom
[edit]Section 12(2) and (3) of the Official Secrets Act 1989 define the expression "Government Contractor" for the purposes of that Act.[4]
United States
[edit]Prime contractor
[edit]Prime contractor is a term defined in the US law.[5][6] Statutory definitions of prime contract, prime contractor, subcontract, and subcontractor are in 41 U.S.C. § 8701.[7] The prime contractor term was already defined before the 8 March 1946 passage of An Act To eliminate the practice by subcontractors, under cost-plus-a-fixed-fee or cost reimbursable contacts of the United States, of paying fees or kick-backs, or of granting gifts or gratuities to employees of a cost-plus-a-fixed-fee or cost reimbursable prime contractors or of higher tier subcontractors for the purpose of securing the award of subcontracts or orders. (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 79–319, 60 Stat. 37)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Gallagher, Daisy (2006). The Government Contractor's Resource Guide. Daisy Gallagher. ISBN 9780978964702. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ^ Fox, Justin (February 8, 2007). "The Federal Job Machine". Time. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
- ^ publican at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ The Official Secrets Act 1989 as amended, from the National Archives
- ^ Nicastro 2023, p. 1.
- ^ Carril & Duggan 2020.
- ^ Nicastro 2023, p. 1, Note 5.
Sources
[edit]- Nicastro, Luke A. (12 October 2023). "The U.S. Defense Industrial Base: Background and Issues for Congress (R47751)". Congressional Research Service.
- Carril, Rodrigo; Duggan, Mark (2020). "The impact of industry consolidation on government procurement: Evidence from Department of Defense contracting". Journal of Public Economics. 184: 104141. doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104141.