Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): Congressional Interest and Executive Enforcement

Michael V. Seitzinger | Congressional Research Service | 2010-10-21

This report examines a variety of criticisms of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), which was intended to prevent corporate bribery of foreign officials. "Criticisms range from its being too strict and therefore harmful to the competitive position of American businesses to its being unethical by allowing certain kinds of payments to foreign officials in the course of doing business," the report states. "Especially prominent recently have been suggestions that businesses convicted of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act should be debarred from receiving federal government contracts."