Federal

AFAC Act

Source: Congress.gov · 802 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires federal contractors to tell the government about any business deals they have with Chinese government entities, the Chinese Communist Party, or the Chinese military. The bill also creates a public database where Americans can see information about these contracts.

Who It Affects

Federal contractors (companies that sell goods or services to the government), first tier subcontractors (companies hired directly by federal contractors), and companies related to or owned by contractors.

Key Provisions

• Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council must create new rules requiring contractors to disclose (share publicly) all current contracts and business relationships with Chinese entities before receiving government contracts, and must show contracts from the previous three years that are no longer active (Sec. 2) • Contractors must update their disclosures within 30 days of signing or renewing any contract or business deal with a Chinese entity (Sec. 2) • The Administrator of General Services must create and maintain a public database containing all the disclosed information about contractor contracts with Chinese entities (Sec. 3)

What Changes

Federal contractors will be required to report their business ties to Chinese government entities, the Chinese military, or the Chinese Communist Party. A searchable public database will exist so Americans can look up this information.

Important Definitions

"Covered entity" means the Chinese government, Chinese Communist Party, Chinese military, and companies owned or controlled by any of these, plus companies involved in Chinese government economic programs like "Made in China 2025" and the "Belt and Road Initiative." "Covered information" means the name of the Chinese entity, how it relates to the Chinese government or military, the general contract terms, when the contract started, and how long it lasts.

Effective Date

Contractors must follow the new disclosure rules within 180 days after the law is passed. The public database must be established within 180 days after the law is passed.

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 145 To require disclosure by Federal contractors of contracts with Chinese entities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 30, 2023 Mr. RUBIO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To require disclosure by Federal contractors of contracts with Chinese entities, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accountability in Fed- 4 eral Acquisitions and Contracting Act of 2023’’ or the 5 ‘‘AFAC Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Feb 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S145.IS S145 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 145 IS SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO DISCLOSE CONTRACTS AND TIES 1 WITH PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ENTI- 2 TIES. 3 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 4 ment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory 5 Council shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation 6 to require that a contractor shall, as a condition for being 7 awarded a contract for the procurement of goods or serv- 8 ices, disclose covered information related to any contracts 9 or other relevant commercial ties the contractor, first tier 10 subcontractor, or any related entity has that are in effect 11 at the time of contract award, or has had within the pre- 12 vious three years that are no longer in effect, with a cov- 13 ered entity. The contractor shall update such disclosure 14 not later than 30 days after the contractor, first tier sub- 15 contractor, or any related entity enters into or renews a 16 contract or other relevant commercial ties with a covered 17 entity. 18 SEC. 3. DATABASE OF FEDERAL CONTRACTOR CONTRACTS 19 WITH CHINESE ENTITIES. 20 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 21 ment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services 22 shall establish and maintain a public database containing 23 the information about contracts with covered entities dis- 24 closed pursuant to section 2. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Feb 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S145.IS S145 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 145 IS SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en- 3 tity’’ means— 4 (A) the Government of the People’s Repub- 5 lic of China; 6 (B) the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); 7 (C) the Chinese military; 8 (D) an entity owned, directed, controlled, 9 financed, or influenced directly or indirectly by 10 the Government of the People’s Republic of 11 China, the CCP, or the Chinese military, in- 12 cluding any entity for which the Government of 13 the People’s Republic of China, the CCP, or the 14 Chinese military has the ability, through owner- 15 ship of a majority or a dominant minority of 16 the total outstanding voting interest in an enti- 17 ty, board representation, proxy voting, a special 18 share, contractual arrangements, formal or in- 19 formal arrangements to act in concert, or other 20 means, to determine, direct, or decide for an 21 entity an important matter; 22 (E) a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of an 23 entity described in subparagraph (D); and 24 (F) an entity substantively involved in Peo- 25 ple’s Republic of China economic and industrial 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Feb 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S145.IS S145 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 145 IS policies or military-civil fusion, including by ac- 1 cepting funding, performing services, or receiv- 2 ing subsidies, or with responsibilities for over- 3 seeing economic development projects, including 4 Made in China 2025 and the Belt and Road 5 Initiative. 6 (2) COVERED INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘cov- 7 ered information’’ means— 8 (A) the name of the covered entity; 9 (B) the relationship of the covered entity 10 to the Government of the People’s Republic of 11 China, the Chinese Communist Party, or the 12 Chinese military; 13 (C) the general terms of the contract; 14 (D) the date the contract was entered into; 15 and 16 (E) the duration of the contract. 17 (3) RELATED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘related enti- 18 ty’’ means, with respect to a contractor or first tier 19 subcontractor, a parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or 20 other entity controlled by the contractor or first tier 21 subcontractor. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Feb 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S145.IS S145 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.