SKILLS-BASED FEDERAL CONTRACTING ACT OF 2025

On 2026-02-23, Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) delivered a floor speech titled "SKILLS-BASED FEDERAL CONTRACTING ACT OF 2025" in the House. The speech addressed defense and also covered trade policy, technology. It referenced legislation: HR5235.

SKILLS-BASED FEDERAL CONTRACTING ACT OF 2025

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2247-H2248] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SKILLS-BASED FEDERAL CONTRACTING ACT OF 2025 Mr. TIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5235) to amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum educational requirements for proposed contractor personnel in certain contract solicitations, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 5235 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 ``Skills-Based Federal Contracting Act of 2025''. 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 (or the appropriate education authority of the District of Columbia) 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 (C) a combination of education and experience. (3) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has the meaning given that term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Timmons) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Subramanyam) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina. General Leave Mr. TIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from South Carolina? There was no objection. Mr. TIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5235, the Skills-Based Federal Contracting Act, which reins in unnecessary degree requirements in Federal contracting. The Federal Government relies heavily on contract employees. Many jobs in fields like IT and building construction are available through nondegree pathways such as apprenticeships and boot camps. That is why private-sector employers have pared back degree requirements for hiring in recent years. Unfortunately, Federal solicitations sometimes include requirements mandating that individuals who perform the work hold certain education credentials. We should not prohibit those with the right technical skills from performing Federal contract work just because they lack a traditional degree. The companies who employ them, those that offer apprenticeships and engage in skills-based hiring, should be encouraged to compete for government contracts, not be excluded from competition. This bill helps ensure that Federal contractors are able to hire who they want to hire without additional red tape by prohibiting contract officers from stipulating education and experience requirements in contracts, unless the contracting officer can justify in writing that they are necessary to meet the needs of the agency. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I thank Ms. Mace, the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, for her work on this important reform. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5235. This bill makes it easier for Americans who have valuable skills and experience to be hired as contractors, even if they don't have college degrees. It gets rid of minimum education and experience requirements that don't make sense in some of these Federal contracting solicitations. That is not to say a college education isn't valuable; but, too often, Federal agencies put unnecessary degree requirements on contractor positions. These unnecessary requirements hurt a lot of people. More than 77 percent of Americans over 25 don't have a bachelor's degree. Many of those individuals have skills, training, and knowledge to support our agencies and serve the American people. We shouldn't block them from those opportunities. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 5235, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. TIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from South Carolina (Ms. Mace). Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from South Carolina for [[Page H2248]] yielding time. Mr. Timmons is doing an excellent job managing floor time today. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of our bill, the Skills- Based Federal Contracting Act. The price of admission should not be a 4-year college degree. At a hearing I held last Congress in the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, a witness from IBM testified that Federal contractors are rarely able to place an individual without a 4-year degree on a technology services contract, regardless of their qualifications. This problem extends beyond technology and service contracts. Across the Federal Government, many contract solicitations include unnecessary degree requirements, mandating individuals who perform various tasks hold specific education credentials such as 4-year college degrees. The Federal Government spends hundreds of billions of dollars outsourcing work to millions of contractors to perform the functions of government. This immense purchasing power shapes the entire labor market. When we embed unnecessary degree requirements into Federal contracting solicitations, we are not just making a hiring decision; we are sending a signal to the entire economy that a college diploma is a prerequisite for economic opportunity. With less than 40 percent of Americans holding a 4-year college degree, this creates a paper ceiling where talented Americans are excluded from opportunity, regardless of how qualified they may be, simply because they lack a college degree. The Skills-Based Federal Contracting Act bill would tear through this paper ceiling by prohibiting the Federal Government from including a minimum educational requirement for proposed contractor personnel in a Federal contract solicitation, unless the contracting officer provides a written justification for why the needs of the agency cannot be met without such requirements. Think about the immense economic value and economic opportunity created in this country by individuals who didn't finish college. These include Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, and Steve Jobs. Under onerous degree requirements, it would have been nearly impossible for any of these individuals to have been placed on a government contract. Across the private sector, we have seen companies move to phase out or even eliminate degree requirements, recognizing a college degree does not serve as an effective proxy for competence or skills. It is far past 

Referenced legislation: HR5235, HR5235