ETHICAL Procurement Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6689 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6689

    To prohibit the Secretary of Defense from awarding contracts to 
entities of which certain current Government employees are officers or 
                    owners, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 12, 2025

 Mr. Horsford (for himself and Mr. Cisneros) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit the Secretary of Defense from awarding contracts to 
entities of which certain current Government employees are officers or 
                    owners, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring Transparency, Honesty, and 
Integrity for Contracting, Acquisition, and Lifecycle Procurement Act'' 
or the ``ETHICAL Procurement Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR DEFENSE CONTRACTS FOR CERTAIN 
              ENTITIES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary of Defense may not enter into, renew, or extend any contract 
or other agreement for the acquisition of any good or service produced 
or provided by an entity if--
            (1) an officer, director, partner, or majority owner of 
        such entity--
                    (A) holds a position to which such individual was 
                appointed by the President by and with the advice and 
                consent of the Senate;
                    (B) holds a position in the executive branch of the 
                Government of a confidential or policy-determining 
                character under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of 
                title 5, Code of Federal Regulations;
                    (C) is a special Government employee; or
                    (D) holds a position in the Senior Executive 
                Service (as defined in section 2101a of title 5, United 
                States Code); or
            (2) an individual who is an immediate family member of the 
        President, an individual holding a position described in 
        subparagraph (A) or (B) or paragraph (1), or a special 
        Government employee--
                    (A) is a officer, director, or partner of such 
                entity; or
                    (B) holds a significant ownership interest in such 
                entity or would derive a substantial financial benefit 
                from the Secretary entering into, renewing, or 
                extending such contract or other agreement, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
    (b) Regulations.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall issue regulations 
to implement this section, including definitions, thresholds, and 
procedures for identifying individuals and entities with respect to 
which the prohibition under subsection (a) applies.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Immediate family member.--The term ``immediate family 
        member'' means a parent, child, sibling, spouse, or domestic 
        partner.
            (2) Special government employee.--The term ``special 
        Government employee'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 202 of title 18, United States Code.
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