Consulting firms bidding on federal contracts would have to certify that neither they nor their subsidiaries or affiliates hold consulting contracts with covered foreign entities, including the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, sanctioned Russian entities, state sponsors of terrorism, and companies on Commerce Department restriction lists. Federal agencies could not award consulting contracts to firms that fail the certification. Agency heads could grant one-year national-security waivers, extendable once for up to 180 days, with notifications to OMB and Congress and public disclosure of the foreign clients involved. False certifications would trigger contract termination, possible debarment, and treble damages under the False Claims Act.
Transparency & Accountability
- Federal contractor disclosures — Certification required on foreign-entity consulting ties
- Waiver reporting — OMB notice, congressional briefings, and public client lists required
- False Claims Act penalties — Treble damages applied to false certifications
Corporate Benefits
- Dual-client consulting firms — Barred from federal contracts while serving covered foreign entities
Congressional Summary
Time to Choose Act of 2025This bill prohibits the federal government from awarding consulting services contracts to any entity that provides consulting services to covered foreign entities.Foreign entities covered by the bill includethe government of China, the Chinese Communist Party, the People's Liberation Army, or any Chinese security service or intelligence agency;the government of Russia or any entity sanctioned under Executive Order 13662;the government of any country determined by the Department of State to have repeatedly provided support for international terrorism; andany entity on certain lists maintained by the Department of Commerce, such as the Denied Persons List or the Military End User List.An agency may waive the prohibition on a case-by-case basis if it is in the national security interests of the United States and no other entity without a conflict of interest can perform the work.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-04-24
- Date Added
- 2026-05-19
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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