Sponsors (9)
The bill enforces race‑neutral rules across federal employment, contracting, and federally funded programs—improving formal equality and legal clarity for some—while significantly restricting race‑conscious tools used to remedy past discrimination, which may reduce targeted supports for disadvantaged groups and prompt increased litigation and compliance costs.
Federal employees, applicants, and recipients of federal funds: federal hiring, contracting, licensing, and program decisions must be race‑neutral, preventing intentional use of race, color, or national origin to favor or disfavor people.
People affected by alleged violations: individuals harmed by prohibited practices can sue government or private violators and recover relief (including back pay) and reasonable attorney's fees, lowering financial barriers to bringing claims.
Small businesses, contractors, and contract holders: existing contracts, subcontracts, options, and ongoing contractual protections remain in force, preserving contractual predictability and avoiding sudden procurement disruptions.
Racial and ethnic minorities, students, and institutions aiming to remedy past discrimination: the Act limits the federal government’s ability to use race‑conscious measures (e.g., targeted hiring, admissions, contracting goals), reducing tools to promote diversity and remedy historical inequities.
State/local governments, nonprofits, agencies, contractors, and taxpayers: the Act creates significant legal uncertainty about what constitutes 'intentional' discrimination or a 'preference,' likely increasing litigation risk, defense costs, and compliance burdens.
Federal, state, and local agencies, and entities receiving federal funds: required changes to hiring, admissions, procurement, or program policies and a six‑month rewrite deadline impose administrative and regulatory costs and may prompt rushed rulemaking or operational disruption.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits intentional race-, color-, or national-origin discrimination and race-based preferences by the federal government and by recipients of federal funds in contracting, employment, and admissions, and allows private suits.
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Thomas P. TIFFANY · Last progress January 23, 2025
Prohibits the federal government and any state or private entity that receives federal funds from intentionally discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin or from using race-based preferences in federal contracting, federal employment, federally funded programs, procurement, hiring, and student admissions. It requires federal agencies to revise policies to comply, allows people harmed by violations to sue (including suits against government entities), preserves existing immigration laws and contracts in effect at enactment, and defines “preference” to include quotas, set‑asides, goals, and timetables.