S 79

Introduced

ACCESS Act

To amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum educational requirements for proposed contractor personnel in certain contract solicitations, and for other purposes.

Introduced Jan 13, 2025

Latest action (Jan 13, 2025) Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Referred to

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

Policy area

Government Operations and Politics

Legislative subjects (3)

Congressional oversight Government information and archives Public contracts and procurement

Summary

This bill amends federal contracting law to restrict the use of minimum education requirements for contractor personnel. Federal agencies can no longer include education requirements in contract solicitations unless the contracting officer provides written justification explaining why the agency's needs cannot be met without such requirements. The bill defines education requirements broadly to include degrees, coursework, or combinations of education and experience. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget must issue guidance to federal agencies on implementing this change, and the bill encourages agencies to consider alternatives to education requirements.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK)

1 cosponsor

Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (D-MI)

Actions (2)

Jan 13, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. · senate
Jan 13, 2025 Introduced in Senate

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

Committee action

What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.

Meetings where this bill was on the agenda

Business meeting to consider an original resolution regarding Contempt of Congress, S.2732, to strengthen employee cost savings suggestions programs within the Federal Government, S.2733, to require the Comptroller General of the United States to analyze certain legislation in order to prevent duplication of and overlap with existing Federal programs, offices, and initiatives, S.252, to increase access to agency guidance documents, S.164, to amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to provide for en bloc consideration in resolutions of disapproval for "midnight rules", H.R.5235, to amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum educational requirements for proposed contractor personnel in certain contract solicitations, S.3175, to establish a pilot program for ZIP Code boundary changes, S.4505, to require the United States Postal Service to designate ZIP Codes for certain communities, S.1735, to require certain agencies to include a page on the website of the agency relating to permit applications, S.5163, to amend title 39, United States Code, to prevent the awarding of bonuses to the Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General for a fiscal year in which the United States Postal Service does not meet or exceed each on-time mail delivery target, S.2542, to direct the Director of the Federal Protective Service to establish guidance relating to emergency protocols for buildings, S.3211, to require the Office of Management and Budget to consider revising the Standard Occupational Classification system to establish a separate code for direct support professionals, S.4079, to establish in U.S. Customs and Border Protection a pilot program to adopt dogs from local animal shelters to be trained as support dogs, S.3296, to amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to cover, for purposes of workers' compensation under such chapter, services by physician assistants and nurse practitioners provided to injured Federal workers, S.388, to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act with respect to the implementation of building codes, S.3226, to provide for the creation of the missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel Records Collection at the National Archives, to require the expeditious public transmission to the Archivist and public disclosure of missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel records, S.24, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 154 First Avenue East in Jerome, Idaho, as the "Representative Maxine Bell Post Office", S.58, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 107 North Hoyne Avenue in Fritch, Texas, as the "Chief Zeb Smith Post Office", S.829, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 840 Front Street in Casselton, North Dakota, as the "Commander Delbert Austin Olson Post Office", S.917, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 620 East Pecan Boulevard in McAllen, Texas, as the "Agent Raul H. Gonzalez Jr. Memorial Post Office", S.2394, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 505 East 9th Avenue in Amarillo, Texas, as the "Mayor Jerry H. Hodge Post Office Building", S.2432, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6444 San Fernando Road in Glendale, California, as the "Paul Ignatius Post Office", S.3270 and H.R.6310, bills to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3570 Olney Laytonsville Road in Olney, Maryland, as the "Edward L. Ramsey Olney Post Office Building", S.3294 and H.R.6332, bills to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10660 Page Avenue in Fairfax, Virginia, as the "Congressman Gerald E. Connolly Post Office Building", S.3331, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 50 East 100 North in Moab, Utah, as the "2nd Lieutenant Mitch Williams Post Office", S.3373, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 14855 South Van Dyke Road in Plainfield, Illinois, as the "Staff Sergeant Jose Duenez Jr. Post Office Building", S.3444, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service at 1300 East Northwest Highway in Palatine, Illinois, as the "Bernie Bluestein Post Office Building", S.3630, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 46164 Westlake Drive in Sterling, Virginia, as the "Firefighter Trevor Brown Post Office Building", S.3835, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10 East Main Street in Mahaffey, Pennsylvania, as the "Robert Allen Bishop, Sr., Post Office Building", S.4052, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 203 North Clay Street in Marshfield, Missouri, shall be known and designated as the "Edwin P. Hubble Post Office", S.4523, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 111 SouHomeland Security and Governmental Affairs CommitteeAug 6, 2026Business meeting

Full text

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

January 13, 2025

Mr. Lankford (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum educational requirements for proposed contractor personnel in certain contract solicitations, 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 “Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills Act” or the “ACCESS Act”.

SEC. 2. USE OF REQUIREMENTS REGARDING EDUCATION OF CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL.

(a) Flexibility in Contractor Education Requirements.—Chapter 33 of title 41, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “Sec. 3313. Flexibility in contractor education requirements

“(a) Prohibition.—A solicitation may not set forth any minimum education requirement for proposed contractor personnel in order for a bidder to be eligible for award of a contract unless the contracting officer includes in the solicitation a written justification that explains why the needs of the executive agency cannot be met without any such requirement and clarifies how the requirement ensures the needs are met.

“(b) Executive Agency Defined.—In this section, the term ‘executive agency’ has the meaning given that term in section 133 of this title.”.

(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.—The table of sections for chapter 33 of title 41, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

“3313. Flexibility in contractor education requirements.”.

(c) OMB Guidance.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue guidance to the heads of executive agencies for implementing the amendment made by subsection (a) that includes the following:

(1) Instructions for contracting officers for the justifications under section 3313(a) of title 41, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), including a requirement that each use of an education requirement be determined, justified, and reviewed.

(2) Instructions for contracting officers that encourages the use of alternatives to education requirements.

(d) Applicability.—The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to solicitations issued on or after the date that is 15 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(e) Repeal.—Section 813 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-398; 114 Stat. 1654A-214), as implemented in subpart 39.104 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, as in effect on January 3, 2025, is repealed as of the date that the guidance required by subsection (c) becomes effective.

(f) GAO Report.—Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress an evaluation of executive agency compliance with section 3313 of title 41, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).

(g) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) Education.—The term “education” means an associate, baccalaureate, graduate, or professional degree, specified coursework, or other form of educational attainment awarded by a junior or community college, college, or university that is accredited as a collegiate institution by a recognized accrediting agency or approved by the appropriate State education authority under State law to grant associate or higher degrees.

(2) Education requirement.—The term “education requirement” includes a requirement that can be met either through—

(A) education alone;

(B) education or experience; or

(3) Executive agency.—The term “executive agency” has the meaning given that term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code. <all>

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Summary

Sponsor (1)

Actions (2)

Related bills (1)

More bills on these subjects (8)

Similar bills (6)

Committee action

Meetings where this bill was on the agenda

Full text

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