What Does a Contractor Have to Do To Get Kicked Out of the Running?

Over at the Washington Independent, Spencer Ackerman makes the terrifying point that it's hard to point to something that will get you permanently barred from getting federal contracts. Whether or not you believe the federal government should use its massive purchasing power to push for certain economic ends and social goals, I think we can probably agree that efficacy and efficiency are worthy goals to pursue, and if major contractors fail to meet performance goals on, say, two contracts, they ought to be in the doghouse in some way. I just finished reading Peter Feaver's excellent Armed Servants (about which more to come), and one thing he makes very, very clear is that relationships between principals (like the government) and their agents (like contractors) don't work unless there is a credible threat of punishment. Right now, there's not. And that should change.