Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7887) to amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum experience or 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. 7887

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 ``Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills Act'' or the ``ACCESS Act''. 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 educational 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.''.

(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) In the case of a solicitation in which education requirements are included, instructions on how alternative certifications, industry-recognized credentials, and work- based learning programs, including apprenticeships, may satisfy such 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 July 1, 2024, is repealed as of the date that the guidance required by subsection (c) becomes effective.

(f) GAO Report.--Not later than 36 months 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 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.

(2) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has the meaning given that term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code.

Mr. Speaker, the Federal contractor workforce is several times larger than the 2 million strong civilian workforce the Federal Government employs today. That is because so much government work is outsourced. That includes, for instance, much of the operation and maintenance of the Federal IT systems and the safeguarding of their cybersecurity.

It was disturbing for me to learn, in the course of my work this Congress as chair of the Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, that many Federal contract solicitations bar qualified individuals from performing the work.

What are these barriers? Many Federal solicitations include unnecessary degree requirements mandating that individuals who perform various tasks hold specific education credentials such as a 4-year college degree, but training for many jobs in fields like IT and building construction is increasingly available through nondegree pathways like apprenticeships, boot camps, or certifications.

That is why a slew of major private-sector employees have pared back degree requirements in hiring in recent years. In fact, some of our biggest tech companies offer certification programs within their own companies to help their individuals be even more qualified for jobs that are available to them.

When it comes to cybersecurity, the public and private sectors together face a shortage of roughly 700,000 workers. Clearly, the Federal Government cannot afford to erect unnecessary hurdles that prohibit those with the necessary technical skills and desire from doing such work simply 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 and not be excluded from competition.

This bill helps ensure that Federal contractors are permitted to hire qualified professionals with the necessary knowledge, the necessary skills, and the necessary drive, even if they lack a traditional 4-year degree.

The bill does this by prohibiting contract officers from stipulating education requirements for contract employees without providing a written justification for doing so. That justification must show that education is necessary in order to perform the work and meet the needs of the agency.

To be clear, this bill in no way tells Federal contractors how to actually hire their staff. Rather, it removes an unnecessary restriction on their ability to hire qualified individuals.

The Federal Government shouldn't be barring from consideration for work qualified individuals who acquire their skills through alternative training. They deserve a chance at a job. They deserve a chance to compete.

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Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.

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Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill to ensure that contract employees with the right skills can work for the Federal Government regardless if they have a traditional 4-year degree.

I thank Ranking Member Raskin and all of my colleagues on the Oversight Committee who voted this out of the committee for their bipartisan support. This doesn't hurt jobs. This helps people get jobs, even if they don't have a 4-year degree, whether they are joined to a labor union or not.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the support of Mr. Raskin, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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