[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 153 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5598. Mr. HAWLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title XII, add the following:
Subtitle G--Prevention of Conflicts of Interest Among Consulting Firms
SECTION 1281. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Time to Choose Act of
2022''.
SEC. 1282. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Department of Defense and other agencies in the
United States Government regularly award contracts to firms
such as Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, and others who are
simultaneously providing consulting services to the
Government of the People's Republic of China and proxies or
affiliates thereof.
(2) The provision of such consulting services by firms like
Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, 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 people, including through economic
coercion and by threatening or using military force against
us.
(3) It is a conflict of interest for firms like Deloitte,
McKinsey & Company, 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 threats, above all from China.
(4) Firms like Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, 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
coercion.
SEC. 1283. 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 entities, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council
shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, amend the Federal Acquisition
Regulation--
(1) to require any entity that provides the services
described in the North American Industry Classification
System's Industry Group code 5416, prior to entering into a
Federal contract, to certify that neither it nor any of its
subsidiaries or affiliates hold a contract with one or more
covered foreign entities; and
(2) 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
5416 if the entity or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates
are determined, based on the self-certification required
under paragraph (1) or other information, to be a contractor
of, or otherwise providing services to, a covered foreign
entity.
SEC. 1284. PENALTIES FOR FALSE INFORMATION ON CONTRACTING
WITH THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
(a) Termination, Suspension, and Debarment.--If the head of
an executive agency determines that a consulting firm
described in section 1283 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 section, 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 9.4 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
(b) False Claims Act.--A consulting firm described in
section 1283 that, for the purposes of the False Claims Act,
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 Act, including liability for three times the amount of
damages which the United States Government sustains,
including funds or other resources expended on or in support
of the solicitation, selection, and performance of such
contracts.
SEC. 1285. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Covered foreign entity.--The term ``covered foreign
entity'' means--
(A) a person, business trust, business association,
company, institution, government agency, university,
partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or any
other individual or organization that can legally enter into
contracts, own properties, or pay taxes on behalf of, the
Government of the People's Republic of China;
(B) the Chinese Communist Party;
(C) the People's Republic of China's United Front;
(D) an entity owned or controlled by, or that performs
activities on behalf of, a person or entity described in
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); and
(E) an individual that is a member of the board of
directors, an executive officer, or a senior official of an
entity described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D).
(2) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has
the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United
States Code.
(3) False claims act.--The term ``False Claims Act'' means
sections 3729 through 3733 of title 31, United States Code
(4) North american industry classification system's
industry group code 5416.--The term ``North American Industry
Classification System's Industry Group code 5416'' refers to
the North American Industry Classification System category
that covers Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting
Services as Industry Group code 5416, including industry
codes 54151, 541611, 541612, 541613, 541614, 541618, 54162,
541620, 54169, 541690.
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