31.   The law would require such contractors to have home-improvement licenses.

32.   The General Accounting Office says contractors should have a conscious and that the department should set travel cost targets.

33.   The Lexington, Mass. defense contractor had a reputation for consistently hitting its earnings projections, but also for reporting relatively low cash-flow figures.

34.   The research department will also make phone calls, checking an education or employment record, making sure contractors have proper licenses and businesses really exist.

35.   The Tokyo-based contractor had more debt than assets at the group level, as of the end of the last business year.

36.   To begin with, she works only on walls that a painting contractor has skim-coated with plaster and primed, so there are costs beyond her fee.

37.   To survive, defense contractors have had to concentrate their work at one or two existing sites, ruthlessly shutting down facilities they use less.

38.   Under federal labor law, independent contractors do not have the right to unionize.

39.   Under the permit, the contractor had no right to disturb the walls the building shared with adjoining structures, city officials said.

40.   Under new federal laws, sellers of homes with lead paint will be required to notify buyers, while lead-abatement contractors will have to be certified.