U.S. lifts bidding restriction on MCI

January 8, 2004 —

The U.S. government's General Services Administration (GSA) on Wednesday lifted restrictions against WorldCom Inc., better known by its MCI brand name, that prohibited the Ashburn, Virginia, telecommunications company from bidding on Federal contracts.

The GSA placed MCI in its Excluded Parties Listing System in July of last year following the accounting scandal that forced the company to seek bankruptcy protection. At the time, the GSA cited problems with the company's internal accounting controls and business ethics.

Since that time, the GSA has conducted an "exhaustive review" into the company's business practices and has now concluded that MCI has remedied its problems in the two areas, according to a statement released by the GSA.

The GSA, which sets government procurement policy, had also been conducting debarment proceedings against MCI, which would have resulted in more long-term restrictions against the company.

Those proceedings have now been terminated, the statement said, but MCI will be required to regularly report any changes in senior management, ethical violations or "divergences from the company's action plans," over the next three years, the statement said.

Over the past few months, MCI has undergone companywide ethics training and hired a chief ethics officer, MCI Chief Executive Officer Michael Capellas said in a statement.

MCI was grateful to be able to again bid for government business, he said.

IDG News Service