,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dedf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #ah1 #bjbb,mr4 ,hawley introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to prohibit conflict of interests among consulting firms that simultaneously contract with the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china and the ,united ,states ,government1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,time to ,choose ,act of #bjbb4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the ,department of ,defense and other agencies in the ,united ,states ,government regularly award contracts to firms such as ,deloitte1 ,mc,kinsey ,company1 and others who are simultaneously providing consulting services to the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china and proxies or affiliates thereof4 7#b7 ,the provision of such consulting services by firms like ,deloitte1 ,mc,kinsey ,company1 and others to entities in the ,people's ,republic of ,china directly supports efforts by that nation's government to generate economic and military power that it can then use to undermine the economic and national security of the ,american people1 including through economic coercion and by threatening or using military force against us4 7#c7 ,it is a conflict of interest for firms like ,deloitte1 ,mc,kinsey ,company1 and others to simultaneously aid in the efforts of the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china to undermine the economic and national security of the ,united ,states while they are simultaneously contracting with the ,department of ,defense and other ,united ,states ,government agencies responsible for defending the ,united ,states from foreign threats1 above all from ,china4 7#d7 ,firms like ,deloitte1 ,mc,kinsey ,company1 and others should no longer be allowed to engage in such a conflict of interest and should instead be required to choose between aiding the efforts of the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china to harm the ,united ,states or helping the ,united ,states ,government to defend its citizens against such foreign coercion4 #c4 ,prohibition on ,federal contracting with entities that are simultaneously aiding in the efforts of the ,people's ,republic of ,china to harm the ,united ,states ,in order to end conflict of interests in ,federal contracting among consulting firms that simultaneously contract with the ,united ,states ,government and covered foreign entities1 the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulatory ,council shall1 not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 amend the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation-- 7#a7 to require any entity that provides the services described in the ,north ,american ,industry ,classification ,system's ,industry ,group code #edaf1 prior to entering into a ,federal contract1 to certify that neither it nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates hold a contract with one or more covered foreign entities2 and 7#b7 to prohibit ,federal contracts from being awarded to an entity that provides the services described under the ,north ,american ,industry ,classification ,system's ,industry ,group code #edaf if the entity or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates are determined1 based on the self-certification required under paragraph 7#a7 or other information1 to be a contractor of1 or otherwise providing services to1 a covered foreign entity4 #d4 ,penalties for false information on contracting with the ,people's ,republic of ,china 7a7 ,termination1 suspension1 and debarment ,if the head of an executive agency determines that a consulting firm described in section #c has knowingly submitted a false certification or information on or after the date on which the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulatory ,council amends the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation pursuant to such section1 the head of the executive agency shall terminate the contract with the consulting firm and consider suspending or debarring the firm from eligibility for future ,federal contracts in accordance with subpart #i4d of the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation4 7b7 ,false ,claims ,act ,a consulting firm described in section #c that1 for the purposes of the ,false ,claims ,act1 intentionally hides or misrepresents one or more contracts with covered foreign entities shall be subject to the penalties and corrective actions described in the ,false ,claims ,act1 including liability for three times the amount of damages which the ,united ,states ,government sustains1 including funds or other resources expended on or in support of the solicitation1 selection1 and performance of such contracts4 #e4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,covered foreign entity ,the term covered foreign entity means-- 7,a7 a person1 business trust1 business association1 company1 institution1 government agency1 university1 partnership1 limited liability company1 corporation1 or any other individual or organization that can legally enter into contracts1 own properties1 or pay taxes on behalf of1 the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china2 7,b7 the ,chinese ,communist ,party2 7,c7 the ,people's ,republic of ,china's ,united ,front2 7,d7 an entity owned or controlled by1 or that performs activities on behalf of1 a person or entity described in subparagraph 7,a71 7,b71 or 7,c72 and 7,e7 an individual that is a member of the board of directors1 an executive officer1 or a senior official of an entity described in subparagraph 7,a71 7,b71 7,c71 or 7,d74 7#b7 ,executive agency ,the term executive agency has the meaning given the term in section #acc of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#c7 ,false ,claims ,act ,the term ,false ,claims ,act means sections #cgbi through #cgcc of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#d7 ,north ,american ,industry ,classification ,system's ,industry ,group code #edaf ,the term ,north ,american ,industry ,classification ,system's ,industry ,group code #edaf refers to the ,north ,american ,industry ,classification ,system category that covers ,management1 ,scientific1 and ,technical ,consulting ,services as ,industry ,group code #edaf1 including industry codes #edaea1 #edafaa1 #edafab1 #edafac1 #edafad1 #edafah1 #edafb1 #edafbj1 #edafi1 #edafij4