Laws affecting federal contractors come--and go.("contractor responsibility" and "Beck notice" rules revoked)

Two relatively new--and controversial--rulings pertaining to federal contractors have been revoked.

"Blacklisting" banned. In its final days, the Clinton administration issued a rule requiring that federal contracts be awarded only to companies with a satisfactory labor relations record. Government contracting officers were prohibited from doing business with companies that had been found in violation of labor, tax, and environmental laws within the three previous years.

The rule also stipulated that government contracts would not cover the contractors' costs in lawsuits or administrative proceedings brought by a government agency claiming the contractor had …