The System of Award Management (SAM) is a unified database overseen by the General Services Administration (GSA). The database contains excluded parties, including individuals and entities, who are barred from receiving contracts, sub-contracts or other grants or benefits from the US government. The SAM Exclusion List unifies debarment notices across all US federal government departments and agencies.
The government may debar a contractor or aid recipient for a variety of reasons, including fraud, non performance on an existing contract, national security protocols violations, among other reasons. Additionally, the excluding agency (e.g. Department of State or Department of Health and Human Services) may debar a party indefinitely or for a set period of time.