United States 119th Congress Status: Passed House Bipartisan · 2 D · 1 R cosponsors

HR 5235 — Skills-Based Federal Contracting Act of 2025

Last action — Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the House. Introduced September 09, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 48% · moderate confidence

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    1 primary, 2 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (2 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill aims to promote skills-based criteria in federal contracting.

This bill focuses on allowing federal contracts to be awarded based on skills and experience rather than traditional qualifications. The goal is to improve the effectiveness of federal contracting by emphasizing practical abilities.

Summary

Skills-Based Federal Contracting ActThis bill prohibits federal contract bid solicitations for contractor personnel from including minimum educational requirements unless the contracting officer justifies the requirements. The prohibition applies to educational requirements that may be met through education alone, education or experience, or a combination of education and experience.The bill also requires the Office of Management and Budget to issue implementing guidance to federal agencies, including instructions for contracting officers that encourage using alternatives to education requirements.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

7 added · 5 removed

Plain-language change summary

The text has been updated to remove the reference to the bill being passed by the House of Representatives on February 23, 2026, and to include language indicating it has been reported in the Senate without amendment. This change reflects the bill’s current status in the legislative process and clarifies that it has moved forward in the Senate without any alterations.

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5235 Referred in Senate (RFS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H.
5235 Reported in Senate (RS)] <DOC> Calendar No.
571 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H.
read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum educational requirements for proposed contractor personnel in certain contract solicitations, and for other purposes.
read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs September 14, 2026 Reported by Mr.
Paul, without amendment _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum educational requirements for proposed contractor personnel in certain contract solicitations, and for other purposes.
Passed the House of Representatives February 23, 2026.
Calendar No.
Attest:
571 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H.
KEVIN F.
R.
MCCUMBER, Clerk.
5235 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To amend title 41, United States Code, to prohibit minimum educational requirements for proposed contractor personnel in certain contract solicitations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________ September 14, 2026 Reported without amendment
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How this bill changes current law

2 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill introduces a new section that prohibits minimum education requirements for contractor personnel in certain solicitations unless justified, while defining 'executive agency' in line with current law.

  • 41 U.S.C. § 133

    In this section, the term `executive agency' has the meaning given that term in section 133 of this title.

    This defines 'executive agency' for the new section 3313 in accordance with existing law.

  • 41 U.S.C.

    Sec. 3313. Flexibility in contractor education requirements.

    This adds a new section allowing flexibility in contractor education requirements for solicitations.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

  4. Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

  5. Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 44 - 0.

  6. Mr. Timmons moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

  7. Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2247-2248)

  8. DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5235.

  9. Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2247)

  10. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2247)

  11. Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

  12. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

  13. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 544 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (2)

Not signed on (544)

544 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 544 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

labor education technology
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 5235 do?
Skills-Based Federal Contracting ActThis bill prohibits federal contract bid solicitations for contractor personnel from including minimum educational requirements unless the contracting officer justifies the requirements. The prohibition applies to educational requirements that may be met through education alone, education or experience, or a combination of education and experience.The bill also requires the Office of Management and Budget to issue implementing guidance to federal agencies, including instructions for contracting officers that encourage using alternatives to education requirements.
Who sponsors HR 5235?
HR 5235 is sponsored by Krishnamoorthi, Raja (Democratic), Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp (Democratic), and Mace, Nancy (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 5235?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced September 09, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HR 5235?
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