Sponsors (2)
Official title: Amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum educational requirements for proposed contractor personnel in certain contract solicitations, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 13, 2025 by James Lankford · Last progress January 13, 2025
The bill reduces automatic degree-based barriers to increase competition and expand hiring pools — likely lowering costs and opening opportunities — but imposes new documentation burdens and could weaken staffing in specialized or sensitive roles if justifications are inadequate.
Government contractors and small businesses without college-degree prerequisites will be eligible for more federal contracts, expanding competition and the pool of firms that can bid.
More applicants — including non-degree workers — can qualify for contractor and agency jobs, increasing the labor pool and creating opportunities for workers without degrees.
Contracting officers must document and review education requirements, increasing accountability and reducing the chance of unnecessarily restrictive hiring rules.
If justifications are weak or inconsistent, agencies might fill specialized roles with less-credentialed personnel, creating risks to program quality and national-security-sensitive functions.
Agencies will incur additional administrative burden and costs to document, justify, and review education requirements for solicitations.
Smaller agencies or contracting offices may struggle to meet the new review and reporting requirements, diverting limited staff time and resources from other procurement activities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Removes blanket minimum education requirements from federal solicitations unless a contracting officer justifies the need in writing and agencies follow OMB guidance.
Prohibits federal solicitations from imposing minimum education requirements for proposed contractor personnel unless a contracting officer documents, in writing, why the agency cannot meet its needs without that requirement and how the requirement does so. Requires OMB to issue guidance within 180 days to standardize review, justification, and consideration of alternatives; applies to solicitations issued 15 months after enactment; repeals an older statutory/FAR provision when the guidance takes effect; and directs GAO to report on agency compliance within three years.