F. Unnecessary Because of Contractors' Existing Duty

Comments: Four respondents raised issues on this subject. One respondent pointed out that contractors already have existing contractual and regulatory duties to notify the Government of certain significant events that occur in connection with contract performance. Another respondent stated that the requirement is likely to lead to confusion as to appropriate reporting channels and mechanisms. The respondents asserted that defense industry and research institutions, as well as other segments of DoD's contracting community, take most seriously the responsibility to self-report or voluntarily disclose violations to the Government. Contractors also take very seriously the need to have open and accessible reporting mechanisms and respond expeditiously and thoroughly to matters raised through those reporting mechanisms. Creating an alternate reporting mechanism without the same level of accountability as the contractor's in-house or external reporting mechanism, according to respondents, adds no value to the process and undermines existing systems, processes, and programs already in place. A respondent took issue with the DoD IG implication, made in the background section of the proposed rule (76 FR 13328, March 11, 2011), that reports made to a contractor hotline diminished the protections available under Federal whistleblower-protection laws. This respondent expressed the strong belief that adequate provisions ensure that employees who in good faith report information to a company hotline, but who are not themselves culpable, have full whistleblower protection for their disclosures.

Response: For those contractors that have existing internal compliance programs with a fraud hotline number, the posting of the DoD IG fraud hotline poster supplements the existing reporting mechanisms. A contractor's existing duty to self-report or voluntarily disclose violations to the Government is not preempted by posting the DoD IG fraud hotline poster.