OFFICE OF
THE CHAIRMAN
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
WASHINGTON
December 4, 2009
The Honorable Darrell Issa
Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House ofRepresentatives
B-350A Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Issa:
Thank you for your letter regarding reporting under Section 1512 ofthe American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) of2009. The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) appreciates your inquiry. Below are the responses to the questions on page 2
ofyour letter.
Question 1: The language used in the Terms and Conditions for each Recovery Actfunded
contracts, grants, and loan agreement related to failure to report or inaccurate reporting under
Section 1512 ofthe Recovery Act.
Answer: The FCC has entered into contracts using Recovery Act funds but does not have any
grants or loan agreements. When entering into Recovery Act funded contracts, the FCC used
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause, 52.204-11, to incorporate the reporting
requirements of Section 1512 ofthe Recovery Act into its contracts. While 52.204-11 does not
contain specific terms related to failure to report or accurately report, the FCC also incorporates
FAR clause 52.212-4 into its commercial item contracts. Subparagraph (m) ofthat clause states
that:
"(m) Terminationfor cause. The Government may terminate this contract, or any part
hereof, for cause in the event ofany default by the Contractor, or ifthe Contractor fails to
comply with any contract terms and conditions, or fails to provide the Government, upon
request, with adequate assurances offuture performance. In the event oftermination for
cause, the Government shall not be liable to the Contractor for any amount for supplies or
services not accepted, and the Contractor shall be liable to the Government for any and
all rights and remedies provided by law. If it is determined that the Government
improperly terminated this contract for default, such termination shall be deemed a
termination for convenience."
Question 2: A list ofRecovery Act awardees that did notfile or have been found to have filed
inaccurately under award agreements related to Section 1512 ofthe Recovery Act.
Page 2-The Honorable Darrell Issa
Answer: Ofthe FCC's eighty-six contracts that should have reported during the first cycle of
Section 1512 reporting, seventy-nine contracts were entered by the FCC's awardees into the
www.federalreporting.gov system. Four awardees representing seven contracts did not report.
These contracts total $2.454 million and represent less than 4% ofthe total value ofthe FCC
contracts eligible for reporting in the first cycle. On November 30, 2009, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum (M-1 0-05), entitled Improving
Compliance in Recovery Act Recipient Reporting, which requested agencies to provide a list of
awardees who did not report to OMB. OMB provided a standardized template for collecting this
information and requested that this information be provided no later than December 4, 2009.
The FCC has provided this information to OMB, which has informed the FCC that this
information will be furnished to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and made
public soon thereafter.
Question 3: A list ofawardees that the FCC has already contacted or plans to contact regarding
a lack offiling or inaccurate filing under award agreements related to Section 1512 ofthe
Recovery Act.
Answer: The FCC was in contact with all ofits awardees throughout the first Recovery Act
reporting cycle. The FCC will continue to be in contact with any non-compliant awardees as
www.federalreporting.gov becomes available for the second round ofSection 1512 reporting on
January 1,2010. The non-compliant awardees were all related to the FCC's efforts surrounding
the Digital Television transition, which occurred on June 12,2009. During the summer of2009,
the FCC required its awardees with periods ofperformance that were expiring to provide the
FCC with their Section 1512 information prior to paying their final invoices. Through this
effort, the FCC gathered the Section 1512 information from these awardees outside ofthe
www.federalreporting.gov system. The FCC has worked with the awardees through individual
discussions to ensure that they enter directly into www.federalreporting.gov the information that
they previously provided to the FCC. The vast majority ofthe DTV awardees were able to
accomplish this task and accurately enter their information.
I appreciate your interest in this important matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me if
I can be ofany further assistance.