Sponsors (8)
The bill increases public transparency and curbs potential conflicts in federal awards by publishing SGE data and tightening rules, but it trades off greater privacy, administrative costs, possible harm to contractors, and a risk of deterring outside experts from serving.
Taxpayers, watchdogs, journalists, and the public will gain searchable, published data on who serves as special Government employees (SGEs) and their disclosures, making it easier to detect and scrutinize conflicts of interest across the executive branch.
Taxpayers and the federal procurement system will face fewer direct conflicts in large awards because agencies are barred from awarding large contracts or grants to entities tied to SGEs, reducing favoritism and improving fair use of public funds.
Federal employees and agencies will get clearer ethics rules through Office of Government Ethics guidance and regulatory updates, improving consistent implementation of conflict-of-interest rules for SGEs.
Qualified outside experts and potential SGEs may be deterred from serving because public disclosures and tighter restrictions increase privacy, legal, and professional risks, reducing agencies' access to outside expertise.
Named SGEs will face increased privacy and reputational risks because their financial disclosures, names, and designation rationales will be publicly available, raising the chance of doxxing, harassment, or professional harm.
Small businesses, nonprofit partners, and government contractors may lose awards or revenue when entities linked to SGEs are barred from receiving large federal awards, even if no wrongdoing occurred.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits special Government employees from obtaining agency-awarded contracts/grants over $1,000,000, requires SGE disclosure publication, and creates a public SGE database.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Dave Min · Last progress December 11, 2025
Makes it a crime for a special Government employee (SGE) to knowingly seek, accept, or agree to accept a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or similar award worth more than $1,000,000 per year from the agency that employs them, including awards that benefit certain relatives, household members, or organizations tied to the employee. The bill also requires agencies to revise procurement and grant rules, directs the Office of Government Ethics to issue guidance, expands reporting and public disclosure of SGE financial filings, and creates an online public database listing covered SGEs, days served, and why they were classified as SGEs.