,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dfhe ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #d1 #bjbf,ms4 ,ernst introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to prohibit the ,department of ,defense from contracting with consultancies providing services to certain foreign entities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,ending ,double ,dealing ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,prohibition on contracting with certain consultancies 7a7 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the reliance by the ,department of ,defense on consultants for mission support services can create potential organizational conflicts of interest related to national security matters due to competing interests as a result of business relationships with foreign adversarial nations and entities4 7#b7 ,it is imperative for consultants providing mission support services to the ,department of ,defense related to national security matters and foreign policy interests to not be providing mission support services to foreign adversaries regarding efforts counter to the national security and foreign policy interests of the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,protecting against organizational conflicts of interest related to foreign adversarial nations and entities providing ,federal mission support services is essential to the national security and foreign policy interests of the ,united ,states4 7b7 ,prohibition related to certain contracts or grants 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may not after the date of the enactment of this ,act enter into1 renew1 extend a contract with1 award a grant to1 enter into an other transactional agreement with1 or otherwise effectuate any legal instrument resulting in any financial benefit accruing to1 a covered consultancy4 7#b7 ,disclosure ,any individual or entity that submits an offer or bid to provide consulting services to the ,department of ,defense shall disclose in such offer or bid any information relevant to the individual or entity with respect to the prohibition under paragraph 7#a71 including-- 7,a7 whether the individual or entity has entered into a contract with1 or received grants or other financial awards from1 a covered entity in the five years prior to submitting the offer or bid2 and 7,b7 at the time the contract to provide consulting services to the ,department will be entered into1 whether-- 7i7 any contract entered into by the individual or entity with a covered entity will still be in effect2 or 7ii7 the individual or entity will be receiving funds from1 or have any unobligated or unexpended funds received under1 any grant or other financial award from a covered entity4 7#c7 ,penalties 7,a7 ,in general ,if the ,secretary determines that a contractor of the ,department failed to make the disclosure required by paragraph 7#b71 the ,secretary shall-- 7i7 terminate the applicable contract for cause2 and 7ii7 initiate a suspension and debarment proceeding with respect to the contractor4 7,b7 ,maximum length of debarment ,the maximum length of a debarment of a contractor pursuant to this paragraph shall be a period of #e years4 7c7 ,certification 7#a7 ,in general ,after a determination by the ,secretary that a company is a covered consultancy1 such company may submit to the ,secretary a written and signed certification that-- 7,a7 the consultancy no longer is-- 7i7 performing under a contract with a covered entity2 7ii7 carrying out activities under a grant received from a covered entity2 or 7iii7 receiving funds1 or has any unobligated or unexpended funds received1 from a covered entity2 and 7,b7 will not enter into1 accept1 or pursue a contract with a covered entity or a grant or other financial award from a covered entity-- 7i7 during the term of a contract with the ,department of ,defense2 or 7ii7 while receiving funds from the ,department of ,defense1 or obligating or expending any such funds4 7#b7 ,status change ,upon the approval by the ,secretary of a certification submitted under paragraph 7#a71 a company is deemed to not be a covered consultancy for the purposes of this section until the expiration of the certification under paragraph 7#c74 7#c7 ,expiration ,a certification submitted by a company under paragraph 7#a7 shall expire on the earlier of the date on which the company1 after submitting such certification1 enters into1 extends1 renews1 or performs under a contract with a covered entity for consulting services4 7d7 ,policies and guidance ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall issue the following policies and practices3 7#a7 ,policies to implement the prohibition under subsection 7b77#a74 7#b7 ,best practices for consultancies to avoid becoming covered consultancies under this section and for covered consultancies to end their status as such4 7#c7 ,a policy articulating the exact provisions and terms to be included in solicitations1 contracts1 and grants of the ,department of ,defense pursuant to paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c7 of subsection 7b74 7e7 ,revision of ,department of ,defense acquisition regulation ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall amend the ,defense ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation ,supplement to implement this section4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,consulting services ,the term consulting services has the meaning given the term advisory and assistance services in section #b4aja of the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation1 except that-- 7,a7 the term does not include the services described in paragraph 7#c7 of such section2 and 7,b7 each instance of the term ,federal is replaced with client4 7#b7 ,contract employee ,the term contract employee means-- 7,a7 an employee of a contractor2 or 7,b7 in the case of a contractor who is an individual who directly enters into a contract with the ,federal ,government1 that individual4 7#c7 ,contractor ,the term contractor has the meaning given the term in section #gaja of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#d7 ,covered consultancy ,the term covered consultancy means a company that1 itself or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof1 in the later of the five-year period preceding the date of the relevant requirement or the effective date of the relevant requirement-- 7,a7 failed to disclose information to the ,secretary related to any activities involving a covered entity as required by any law1 regulation1 or contract term1 or terms of other agreements2 7,b7 was found to have submitted false or misleading information to any ,federal agency in any ,federal proceeding2 or 7,c7 was found to have failed to disclose an actual or potential conflict of interest as required by any law1 regulation1 or contract term to any ,federal agency or in any ,federal proceeding4 7#e7 ,covered entity ,the term covered entity means any of the following3 7,a7 ,the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china4 7,b7 ,the ,chinese ,communist ,party4 7,c7 ,the ,people's ,liberation ,army1 the ,ministry of ,state ,security1 or any security service or intelligence agency of the ,people's ,republic of ,china4 7,d7 ,any entity on the ,non-,,sdn ,chinese ,military-,industrial ,complex ,companies ,list 7,,ns-,,cmic-,list7 maintained by the ,office of ,foreign ,assets ,control of the ,department of the ,treasury under ,executive ,order #adjcb 7#hf ,fed4 ,reg4 #cjade2 relating to addressing the threat from securities investments that finance certain companies of the ,people's ,republic of ,china71 or any successor order4 7,e7 ,any ,chinese military company identified by the ,secretary of ,defense pursuant to section #abcg7;b7 of the ,strom ,thurmond ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #aiii 7,public ,law #aje-bfa2 #ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agja note74 7,f7 ,any entity owned 7#be percent or more7 or controlled1 directly or indirectly1 by the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china or the ,chinese ,communist ,party1 including through board representation1 voting rights1 contractual arrangements1 or other means of effective control1 that is engaged in one or more national security industries4 7,g7 ,the ,government of the ,russian ,federation1 any entity owned 7#be percent or more7 or controlled1 directly or indirectly by the ,russian ,federation1 or any entity sanctioned by the ,secretary of the ,treasury4 7,h7 ,the government or any ,state-owned entity of any country if the ,secretary of ,state determines that such government has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism pursuant to-- 7i7 section #aged7;c77#a77;,a7 of the ,export ,control ,reform ,act of #bjah 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #dhac7;c77#a77;,a772 7ii7 section #fbj;,a of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcga72 7iii7 section #dj of the ,arms ,export ,control ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bghj72 or 7iv7 any other provision of law4 7,i7 ,any entity included on any of the following lists maintained by the ,department of ,commerce3 7i7 ,the ,entity ,list set forth in ,supplement ,no4 #d to part #gdd of the ,export ,administration ,regulations4 7ii7 ,the ,denied ,persons ,list as described in section #gfd4c7;a77#b7 of the ,export ,administration ,regulations4 7iii7 ,the ,unverified ,list set forth in ,supplement ,no4 #f to part #gdd of the ,export ,administration ,regulations4 7,j7 ,the ,military ,end ,user ,list set forth in ,supplement ,no4 #g to part #gdd of the ,export ,administration ,regulations4 7,k7 ,a foreign adversary1 as that term is defined in this subsection4 7,l7 ,an individual or entity included on any sanctions list administered by the ,office of ,foreign ,assets ,control of the ,department of the ,treasury or of the ,department of ,justice1 including any successor list4 7#f7 ,export administration regulations ,the term ,export ,administration ,regulations means the regulations set forth in subchapter ,c of chapter ,,vii of title #ae1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations4 7#g7 ,foreign adversary ,the term foreign adversary means the following3 7,a7 ,the ,democratic ,people's ,republic of ,north ,korea4 7,b7 ,the ,people's ,republic of ,china4 7,c7 ,the ,russian ,federation4 7,d7 ,the ,islamic ,republic of ,iran4 7,e7 ,the ,republic of ,cuba4 7,f7 ,venezuelan politician ,nicols ,maduro 7the ,maduro ,regime74 7#h7 ,national security industry ,the term national security industry means-- 7,a7 a military-related industry2 7,b7 semiconductor production2 7,c7 researching or commercializing quantum computing2 7,d7 developing artificial intelligence products or services2 7,e7 the biotechnology industry2 7,f7 the cybersecurity industry2 7,g7 the mining1 processing1 or refining of critical minerals 7as such term is defined in section #gjjb7;a7 of the ,energy ,act of #bjbj 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #afjf7;a777 for use by a covered entity2 or 7,h7 other emerging technologies 7as that term is defined in section #fgja of the ,intelligence ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjbc 7division ,f of ,public ,law #aag-bfc2 #ej ,u4,s4,c4 #cjbd note774 7#i7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,defense4