Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Ending Discrimination in Government Contracting Act”.
Ending Discrimination in Government Contracting Act
A BILL
To end preferences for disadvantaged individuals and businesses in Government contracts, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Ending Federal contracting preferences for small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and small businesses owned and controlled by women
in section 2 (15 U.S.C. 631)—
by repealing subsection (f); and
in subsection (h)(1)(H), by striking “while not adversely affecting the rights of socially and economically disadvantaged individuals”;
in section 7 (15 U.S.C. 636)—
in subsection (a)—
in paragraph (15)(E)—
in clause (i), by striking “including the number of loans” and all that follows through the end of the clause and inserting the following: “including the number of loans made to cooperatives;”; and
in clause (ii), by striking “including the number of financings” and all that follows through the end of the clause and inserting the following: “including the number of financings made to cooperatives; and”; and
in paragraph (36)(P)(iv), by striking “small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (as defined in section 8(d)(3)(C)),”; and
in subsection (j)—
in paragraph (11)(I)(iii), by striking “and a distribution of concerns across all industry” and all that follows through “has been limited” in the second sentence; and
in paragraph (16)(B)(iii), by striking “owned and controlled by other than socially and economically disadvantaged individuals”;
in section 8 (15 U.S.C. 637)—
in subsection (a)—
in paragraph (1)—
in subparagraph (A), by inserting “and” after the semicolon at the end;
by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C); and
by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (B);
by repealing paragraphs (4) through (8);
in paragraph (9)(B)—
by striking clause (i); and
by redesignating clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively;
in paragraph (10), in the second sentence, by striking “and from small disadvantaged business concerns in industry categories that have not substantially participated in the award of contracts let under the authority of this subsection”; and
in paragraph (12)—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “and Disadvantaged”;
in subparagraph (C), in the first sentence, by striking “, including those owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals,”; and
in subparagraph (D)(i), by striking “and Disadvantaged”;
in subsection (d)—
in paragraph (1), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” each place that term appears and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
in paragraph (3)—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” each place that term appears and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
“(C) As used in this contract, the term small business concern shall mean a small business as defined pursuant to section 3 of the Small Business Act and relevant regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.”
in subparagraph (F), by striking “small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, a small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, or a small business concern owned and controlled by women” and inserting “or a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans”;
in paragraph (4)—
in subparagraph (D), by striking “small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans”; and
in subparagraph (E), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by the socially and economically disadvantaged individuals as defined in paragraph (3) of this subsection and for small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
in paragraph (6), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” each place that term appears and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
in paragraph (11)(B), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”; and
in paragraph (13)(E)(i), by striking “and Disadvantaged”;
by striking subsection (m); and
by redesignating subsection (n) as subsection (m);
in section 9 (15 U.S.C. 638)—
in subsection (b)(7), by repealing subparagraph (C); and
in subsection (j)(2), by repealing subparagraph (F);
in section 15 (15 U.S.C. 644)—
in subsection (e)(1)(B), by striking “and Disadvantaged”;
in subsection (g)—
in paragraph (1)(A)—
in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”; and
by striking clauses (iv) and (v);
in paragraph (2)—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “by qualified HUBZone small business concerns, by small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and by small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and by qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
in subparagraph (B), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
in subparagraph (D), by striking “, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”; and
in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking “and Disadvantaged”; and
in paragraph (3), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
in subsection (h)—
in paragraph (1)(A), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
in paragraph (2)—
in subparagraph (E)—
in clause (i)(VI), by striking “small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, small business concerns owned and controlled by women,”;
in clause (ii)(VII), by striking “small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, small business concerns owned and controlled by women,”;
in clause (iii)(VIII), by striking “small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, small business concerns owned and controlled by women,”;
by striking clause (iv);
by redesignating clauses (v), (vi), and (vii) as clauses (iv), (v), and (vi), respectively;
in clause (iv), as so redesignated—
by striking subclause (IV); and
by redesignating subclauses (V) and (VI) as subclauses (IV) and (V), respectively;
in clause (v), as so redesignated—
by striking subclause (IV); and
by redesignating subclauses (V) and (VI) as subclauses (IV) and (V), respectively;
in clause (vi), as so redesignated—
by striking subclause (IV); and
by redesignating subclauses (V) and (VI) as subclauses (IV) and (V), respectively; and
by striking clause (viii); and
in subparagraph (F), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”; and
in paragraph (4)(A)(ii)—
in subclause (I), by adding “and” at the end;
by striking subclause (II);
by redesignating subclause (III) as subclause (II);
in subclause (II), as so redesignated, by striking “; and” and inserting a period; and
by striking subclause (IV);
in subsection (k)—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “and Disadvantaged”;
in paragraph (1), by striking “and Disadvantaged”; and
in paragraph (2), by striking “and Disadvantaged”;
in subsection (l)(2)(G), by striking “and Disadvantaged”;
in subsection (s)(2)(A), by striking “and Disadvantaged”; and
in subsection (y)—
in paragraph (1), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
in paragraph (2), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” each place that term appears and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”;
in paragraph (3)(B), by striking “qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and inserting “and qualified HUBZone small business concerns”; and
in paragraph (4)—
by striking subparagraphs (A) and (D); and
by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
in section 16 (15 U.S.C. 645)—
in subsection (d)(1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “a “small business concern owned and controlled by veterans”, a “small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals”, or a “small business concern owned and controlled by women”” and inserting “or a “small business concern owned and controlled by veterans””;
in subsection (e), by striking “a “small business concern owned and controlled by veterans”, a “small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals”, or a “small business concern owned and controlled by women”” and inserting “or a “small business concern owned and controlled by veterans””; and
in subsection (g)(2), by striking “and Disadvantaged”;
in section 21(a)(5)(D) (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(5)(D)), by striking “small business, woman-owned business, or socially and economically disadvantaged business” and inserting “small business”;
in section 22(l) (15 U.S.C. 649(l))—
in paragraph (1)—
in subparagraph (C), by inserting “and” at the end;
by striking subparagraph (D); and
by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (D); and
in paragraph (3)(B)(ii)—
by striking subclause (I); and
by redesignating subclauses (II) and (III) as subclauses (I) and (II), respectively; and
in section 45(c)(1)(B) (15 U.S.C. 657r(c)(1)(B))—
in clause (iii), by inserting “or” after the semicolon at the end;
by striking clause (iv); and
by redesignating clause (v) as clause (iv).
Amendments to other Acts—
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021— The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117–2) is amended—
in section 5003(c)(3)(A) (15 U.S.C. 9009c(c)(3)(A)), in the first sentence, by striking “small business concerns owned and controlled by women” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following: “or small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans (as defined in section 3(q) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q))).”; and
in section 5004(a) (15 U.S.C. 9013(a)), by amending paragraph (5) to read as follows:
“(5) Eligible business—The term eligible business means any small business concern, with priority for small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans, as defined in section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)).”
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005— Section 155 of subtitle E of title I of division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (15 U.S.C. 657g) is repealed.
Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994— Section 7104 of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 644a) is amended—
in subsection (b)(3), by striking “and Disadvantaged”; and
in subsection (c)(3), by striking “and Disadvantaged”.
Minority Business Development Act of 2021— The Minority Business Development Act of 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9521 et seq.) is repealed.
Small Business Economic Policy Act of 1980— Section 303(e) of the Small Business Economic Policy Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 631b(e)) is amended—
by striking paragraphs (1) and (2); and
by redesignating the first paragraph (3) (relating to qualified HUBZone small business concerns), and the second paragraph (3) (relating to small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively.
Small Business Investment Act of 1958— Section 411(c)(3)(B) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 694b(c)(3)(B)) is amended by striking “a small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals as defined by section 8(d) of the Small Business Act, or to”.
Technical and conforming amendments—
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009— Section 6001(h) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (47 U.S.C. 1305(h)) is amended—
in paragraph (1), by inserting “and” after the semicolon;
in paragraph (2)(D), by striking “; and” and inserting a period; and
by striking paragraph (3).
in section 1107(a) (15 U.S.C. 9006(a)), by repealing paragraph (5); and
by repealing section 1108 (15 U.S.C. 9007).
Energy Policy Act of 1992— Section 3021 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13556) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
by striking paragraph (1); and
by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively; and
in subsection (b)—
by striking paragraph (2); and
by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2).
Energy Policy Act of 2005— Section 1003(a)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16393(a)(1)) is amended by striking “, including socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns (as defined in section 8(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(4))),”.
Export-Import Bank Act of 1945— The Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635 et seq.) is amended—
in section 2(b)(1)(E)(iii)(II) (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(1)(E)(iii)(II)), by striking “socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns (as defined in section 8(a)(4) of the Small Business Act), small business concerns (as defined in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act) owned by women, and”;
in section 3 (12 U.S.C. 635a(i)), by repealing subsection (i); and
in section 8 (12 U.S.C. 635g)—
in subsection (e), by striking “socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns (as defined in section 8(a)(4) of the Small Business Act), small business concerns (as defined in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act) owned by women, and”; and
in subsection (f)—
by striking paragraph (4); and
by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (8) as paragraphs (4) through (7), respectively.
Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994— Section 7104(c) of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 644a(c)) is amended—
by striking paragraph (2); and
by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2).
in section 7(j) (15 U.S.C. 636(j))—
in paragraph (10)(D)(i), by striking “and shall be designed to result in the Program Participant eliminating the conditions or circumstances upon which the Administration determined eligibility pursuant to section 8(a)(6)”; and
in paragraph (11)—
by striking subparagraph (B);
by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through (I) as subparagraphs (B) through (H), respectively;
in subparagraph (C), as so redesignated, by striking “(as defined pursuant to section 8(a)(4))”; and
in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated—
by striking clause (i); and
by redesignating clauses (ii) through (viii) as clauses (i) through (vii), respectively; and
in section 46(e) (15 U.S.C. 657s(e))—
in paragraph (1)—
by striking subparagraph (B); and
by redesignating subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) as subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D); and
in paragraph (2)—
by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D); and
by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and (F) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively.
Small Business Jobs Act of 2010— Title III of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) is amended—
in section 3002 (12 U.S.C. 5701)—
by striking paragraph (18); and
by redesignating paragraph (19) as paragraph (18);
in section 3003 (12 U.S.C. 5702), by repealing subsections (d) and (e); and
in section 3009(e) (12 U.S.C. 5708(e))—
in paragraph (1)—
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “business enterprises owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, to very small businesses and business enterprises owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals” and inserting “very small businesses”; and
in subparagraph (B), by adding “and” after the semicolon at the end;
by striking paragraph (2);
by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2); and
in paragraph (2), as so redesignated—
by striking “(with priority given to business enterprises owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals),”; and
by striking “to provide technical assistance to business enterprises owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals” and inserting “to provide technical assistance to business enterprises”.
Title 51, United States Code— Section 30304 of title 51, United States Code, is repealed.
Sec. 3 Ending certain participation goals for Department of Transportation financial assistance programs
Written assurances for airport improvement project grants— Section 47107(e) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “10 percent” and inserting “5 percent”; and
by striking “small business concerns (as defined by regulations of the Secretary) owned and controlled by a socially and economically disadvantaged individual (as defined in section 47113(a) of this title) or”;
in paragraph (4)(B), in the second sentence, by striking “small business concern owned and controlled by a socially and economically disadvantaged individual or as a”; and
in paragraph (6), by striking “small business concern owned and controlled by a socially and economically disadvantaged individual or a”.
in the section heading, by striking “Minority and disadvantaged business” and inserting “Small business concern and qualified HUBZone small business concern”;
in subsection (a)—
by striking paragraph (2); and
by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2);
by striking subsections (b) and (e);
by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (f) as subsections (b), (c), and (d), respectively;
in subsection (c) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)), by striking “small business concerns referred to in subsection (b) of this section” and inserting “qualified HUBZone small business concerns”; and
in subsection (d)(1) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)), by striking “small business concerns referred to in subsection (b)” and inserting “qualified HUBZone small business concerns”.
Environmental Protection Agency— The matter under the heading “Administrative Provisions” under the heading “Environmental Protection Agency” under the heading “Independent Agencies” in title III of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993, is amended by striking the first paragraph (42 U.S.C. 4370d).
Sec. 4 Ending racial, ethnic, and gender-based contracting goals in other government programs
Elimination of reporting on small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals— Section 1713 of title 41, United States Code, is amended—
by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
“(a) Qualified HUBZone small business concern defined—In this section, the term qualified HUBZone small business concern has the meaning given that term in section 31(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657a(b)).”
in the first sentence of subsection (b), by striking “, the number of small businesses owned and controlled by women, and the number of small business concerns owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, by gender,”.
Disadvantaged business enterprises—
In general— Section 3021 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13556) is repealed.
Clerical amendment— The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–486; 106 Stat. 2782) is amended by striking the item relating to section 3021.
Sec. 5 Ending all racial, ethnic, and sex-based discrimination in government contracting and awards
Civilian contracts—
In general— Chapter 47 of title 41, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“4715. Prohibition on racial, ethnic, and sex-based preferences in government contracts and awards
“The head of an executive agency may not—
“(1) take into consideration the race, ethnicity, or sex of individuals owning, controlling, or managing businesses or other entities when granting contracts or awards; or
“(2) place requirements on contractors or grantees that require or encourage them to take into consideration the race, ethnicity, or sex of individuals to whom they award contracts, subcontracts, or awards.”
Clerical amendment— The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 4714 the following new item:
Defense contracts—
In general— Chapter 363 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“4663. Prohibition on racial, ethnic, and sex-based preferences in defense contracts and awards
“The head of an agency may not—
“(1) take into consideration the race, ethnicity, or sex of individuals owning, controlling, or managing businesses or other entities when granting contracts or awards; or
“(2) place requirements on contractors or grantees that require or encourage them to take into consideration the race, ethnicity, or sex of individuals to whom they award contracts, subcontracts, or awards.”
Clerical amendment— The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 363 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 4662 the following new item:
Rulemaking— Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each executive agency that has rules or regulations requiring or encouraging consideration of the racial or ethnic status or sex of individuals to whom they grant contracts or awards shall submit a proposed rulemaking removing all such references. The agency shall complete the rulemaking within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Guidance— Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each executive agency that has guidance documents, directives, or notices requiring or encouraging consideration of the racial or ethnic status or sex of individuals to whom they grant contracts or awards shall submit new guidance, directives, or notices removing all such references.
Executive agency defined— In this section, the term executive agency has the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code.