Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens taxpayer protection and contracting integrity by excluding those convicted of covered fraud and creating a centralized exclusion record, but it also risks excluding people who avoided conviction, shrinks the available contractor pool in some areas, and imposes additional administrative costs and potential politicization of waiver decisions.
Taxpayers are better protected because individuals and entities convicted of covered fraud offenses are barred from federal awards for 3 years, reducing the risk of waste and fraud in federal contracting and grants.
Federal agencies and contracting officers gain a prompt, centralized record (Attorney General notification + GSA entry into SAM) that makes it easier to identify and avoid awarding contracts to disqualified parties.
Agencies retain flexibility because agency heads can waive the exclusion where applying it would be unduly harmful or contrary to the public interest, allowing restoration of eligibility in appropriate cases.
Individuals who received diversion outcomes (deferred prosecution or withheld judgment) can be excluded from federal awards for 3 years, meaning people who avoided formal convictions may still be barred from federal work.
The 3-year ban may shrink the pool of qualified personnel and contractors—particularly in specialized fields—hurting agencies' ability to procure expertise and damaging affected individuals' employment prospects even after diversion terms.
The bill increases administrative workload and compliance costs because DOJ, GSA, and agencies must notify, record (SAM), draft and issue guidance, and process exclusions and waivers.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Bars individuals convicted of specified federal felonies tied to federal awards from receiving federal awards for three years and requires their placement on the SAM Exclusions list, with AG notification and an agency-head waiver process.
Requires the Attorney General to notify GSA when an individual is convicted of certain federal felonies tied to an agency contract, grant, cooperative agreement, loan, or other federal financial assistance, and directs GSA to place that individual on the SAM Exclusions list and bar them from federal awards for three years (subject to a written agency-head waiver transmitted to Congress). The Attorney General and GSA must issue guidance on implementation within one year.
Introduced December 19, 2025 by Keith Self · Last progress June 9, 2026