,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #gca  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,february #be1      
#bjbe,mr4 ,hawley 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,peters1 and ,mr4 ,scott of ,florida7   
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,homeland ,security and   
,governmental ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to  
prohibit conflicts of interest among    
consulting firms that simultaneously    
contract with ,china or other covered   
foreign entities and the ,united ,states
 ,government1 and for other purposes4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,time to ,choose ,act of #bjbe4 
#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 that are simultaneously providing
 consulting services to foreign         
governments and proxies or affiliates   
thereof4  7#b7 ,the provision of such   

consulting services to covered foreign  
entities may support efforts by certain 
foreign governments to generate economic
 and military power that they can then  
use to undermine the economic and       
national security of the ,american      
people4  7#c7 ,it is a conflict of      
interest for consulting firms to        
simultaneously aid in the efforts of    
certain foreign governments to undermine
 the economic and national security of  
the ,united ,states while they are      
simultaneously contracting with ,federal
 agencies responsible for protecting and
 defending the ,united ,states from     
foreign threats4  7#d7 ,firms should be 
prevented from engaging in such a       
conflict of interest and should instead 
be required to choose between aiding the
 efforts of certain foreign governments 
or helping the ,united ,states          
,government to support and defend its   
citizens4  #c4 ,prohibition on ,federal 
contracting with entities that are      
simultaneously aiding in the efforts of 

covered foreign entities  7a7 ,in       
general ,in order to end conflicts of   
interest 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 #a year after the date of the      
enactment of this ,act1 amend the       
,federal ,acquisition ,regulation-- 7#a7
 to require any entity that makes an    
offer or quotation to provide consulting
 services to an executive agency1       
including 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       
consulting contract with one or more    
covered foreign entities2 and  7#b7 to  
prohibit ,federal contracts for         
consulting services from being awarded  

to an entity that provides consulting   
services1 including 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#a71 to be a contractor of1  
or are otherwise providing consulting   
services to1 a covered foreign entity4  
7b7 ,waiver  7#a7 ,in general ,subject  
to the limitations in paragraph 7#b71   
the head of an executive agency may     
waive the conflict of interest          
restrictions under this section on a    
case-by-case basis if-- 7,a7 the agency 
head1 in consultation with the          
,secretary of ,defense and the ,director
 of ,national ,intelligence1 determines 
the waiver to be in the national        
security interests of the ,united       
,states2  7,b7 the agency head          
determines that no other entity without 
a conflict of interest under this       

section can perform the work for the    
,federal contract2  7,c7 the head of the
 executive agency submits to the        
,director of the ,office of ,management 
and ,budget a notification of such      
waiver at least #e days prior to issuing
 the waiver2  7,d7 the head of the      
executive agency submits to the         
appropriate congressional committees a  
notification of such waiver within #cj  
days in unclassified form 7accompanied  
by a classified annex if necessary7 and 
offers a briefing to those committees on
 the information included in the        
notification2 and  7,e7 the contracting 
agency publishes in an easily accessible
 location on the agency's public website
 a list of the names of the covered     
foreign entities to which the entity    
receiving a waiver provides consulting  
services1 unless the head of the        
applicable executive agency1 with the   
approval of the ,director of the ,office
 of ,management and ,budget1 and in     
consultation with the ,secretary of     

,defense and ,director of ,national     
,intelligence1 determines that such     
public disclosure would directly harm   
the national security interests of the  
,united ,states4  7#b7 ,limitations     
7,a7 ,duration ,a waiver granted under  
paragraph 7#a7 shall last for a period  
of not more than #cfe days4 ,the head of
 the applicable executive agency1 with  
the approval of the ,director of the    
,office of ,management and ,budget1 and 
in consultation with the ,secretary of  
,defense and ,director of ,national     
,intelligence1 may extend a waiver      
granted under such paragraph one time1  
for a period up to #ahj days after the  
date on which the waiver would otherwise
 expire1 if such an extension is in the 
national security interests of the      
,united ,states and the ,director of the
 ,office of ,management and ,budget     
submits to the appropriate congressional
 committees a notification of such      
waiver and offers a briefing to those   
committees on the information included  

in the notification4  7,b7 ,number ,not 
more than one total waiver across all   
executive agencies may be granted under 
paragraph 7#a7 to a single entity at a  
given time4  7,c7 ,notification         
requirements ,the notification required 
under subparagraphs 7,c7 and 7,d7 of    
paragraph 7#a7 shall include the        
following information3 7i7 ,information 
on the contractor1 including-- 7,i7 the 
name1 address1 and corporate structure  
of the contractor2  7,,ii7 the name1    
address1 and corporate structure of any 
subsidiaries or subcontractors involved2
  7,,iii7 all foreign ownership of the  
contractor2  7,,iv7 all foreign real    
estate owned by the contractor2 and     
7,v7 an employee designated as          
responsible for managing any conflict of
 interests that may arise as part of the
 contract4  7ii7 ,information on the    
covered foreign entities involved to the
 extent known by the contractor1        
including-- 7,i7 the name and address of
 the covered foreign entity2  7,,ii7 the

 name and address of any subsidiaries or
 subcontractors involved2  7,,iii7 a    
complete history of any contracts       
between the covered foreign entity and  
the contractor2  7,,iv7 all ownership of
 the covered foreign entity2 and  7,v7  
any legal authorities providing a       
foreign government with access or       
control over the covered foreign entity4
  7iii7 ,information on the nature of   
the work performed for the covered      
foreign entities1 including-- 7,i7 the  
projected and actual dollar value of the
 contract2  7,,ii7 the projected and    
actual duration of the contract2        
7,,iii7 the projected and actual number 
of employees to work on the contract2   
7,,iv7 the projected and actual number  
of employees who are ,united ,states    
citizens who work on the contract2  7,v7
 the projected and actual number of     
employees who currently or formerly held
 security clearances with the ,united   
,states ,government who work on the     
contract2  7,,vi7 the subject matter of 

the contract2  7,,vii7 any materials    
provided to the covered foreign entity  
in order to secure the contract2        
7,,viii7 any tracking number used by the
 covered foreign entity to identify the 
contract2  7,,ix7 any tracking number or
 information used by the contractor to  
identify the contract2 and  7,x7 any    
military or intelligence applications   
that could benefit from the contract4   
7iv7 ,justification of the executive    
agency's need for providing the waiver4 
7v7 ,an acceptable management oversight 
plan to ensure that the work performed  
for the covered foreign entities does   
not compromise the work being performed 
for the ,federal ,government or harm the
 national security of the ,united       
,states1 to be approved at not lower    
than the ,deputy ,secretary level at the
 contracting agency4  7#c7 ,contractor  
reporting ,the executive agency granting
 a waiver under this subsection shall   
require the contractor1 in the event the
 contractor identifies any of the       

following during the performance of the 
contract1 to report the following       
information to the executive agency3    
7,a7 ,any human rights violations that  
are known to the contractor through     
information provided to the contractor  
in the course of the contract4  7,b7    
,any religious liberty violations that  
are known to the contractor through     
information provided to the contractor  
in the course of the contract4  7,c7    
,any risks to ,united ,states economic  
or national security identified by the  
contractor in the course of the         
contract4  #d4 ,penalties for false     
information  7a7 ,termination1          
suspension1 and debarment ,if the head  
of an executive agency determines that a
 consulting firm described in section   
#c7;a77#a7 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 #c7;a77#a7 that1   
for the purposes of the ,false ,claims  
,act1 knowingly hides or misrepresents  
one or more contracts with covered      
foreign entities1 or otherwise violates 
the ,false ,claims ,act1 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 sustains4   
#e4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7    
,appropriate congressional committees   
,the term appropriate congressional     
committees means the ,committee on      
,homeland ,security and ,governmental   
,affairs of the ,senate and the         

,committee on ,oversight and ,government
 ,reform of the ,house of               
,representatives4  7#b7 ,consulting     
services ,the term consulting services  
means advisory or assistance services   
similar to those defined in ,federal    
,acquisition ,regulation #b4aja1 but for
 the purposes of this ,act includes     
services provided to covered foreign    
entities1 except that the term does not 
include the provision of products or    
services related to-- 7,a7 compliance   
with legal1 audit1 accounting1 tax1     
reporting1 or other requirements of the 
laws and standards of countries2 or     
7,b7 participation in a judicial1 legal1
 or equitable dispute resolution        
proceeding4  7#c7 ,covered foreign      
entity ,the term covered foreign entity 
means any of the following3 7,a7 ,the   
,government of the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china1 the ,chinese ,communist      
,party1 the ,people's ,liberation ,army1
 the ,ministry of ,state ,security1 or  
other security service or intelligence  

agency of the ,people's ,republic of    
,china4  7,b7 ,the ,government of the   
,russian ,federation or any entity      
sanctioned by the ,secretary of the     
,treasury under ,executive ,order #acffb
 titled ,blocking ,property of          
,additional ,persons ,contributing to   
the ,situation in ,ukraine 7#gi ,fed4   
,reg4 #afafi74  7,c7 ,the government of 
any country if the ,secretary of ,state 
determines that such government has     
repeatedly provided support for acts of 
international terrorism pursuant to any 
of the following3 7i7 ,section          
#aged7;c77#a77;,a7 of the ,export       
,control ,reform ,act of #bjah 7#ej     
,u4,s4,c4 #dcah7;c77#a77;,a774  7ii7    
,section #fbj;,a of the ,foreign        
,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4
 #bcga74  7iii7 ,section #dj of the     
,arms ,export ,control ,act 7#bb        
,u4,s4,c4 #bghj74  7iv7 ,any other      
provision of law4  7,d7 ,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   
7iv7 ,the ,military ,end ,user ,list set
 forth in ,supplement ,no4 #g to part   
#gdd of the ,export ,administration     
,regulations4  7,e7 ,any entity         
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
 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#d7 ,executive agency ,the term
 executive agency has the meaning given 
the term in section #acc of title #da1  
,united ,states ,code4  7#e7 ,false     
,claims ,act ,the term ,false ,claims   
,act means sections #cgbi through #cgcc 
of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4    
7#f7 ,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 and #edafij4  #f4 ,no  
additional funding ,no additional funds 
are authorized to be appropriated for   
the purpose of carrying out this ,act4