Transparency in Contracting Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- S. 2809
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-09-16: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
- Last Updated
- 2026-06-22T21:06:35Z
AI-Generated Summary
Transparency in Contracting Act of 2025
Purpose
This legislation aims to increase oversight and transparency in federal contracting by requiring contractors to report significant price increases on noncompetitive (sole-source) contracts awarded by the Department of Defense.
Key Provisions
- Price Increase Reporting: Contractors must notify the relevant contracting officer within 30 days if the price of a product or service under a covered contract rises to or above:
- 25 percent higher than the price listed in the original contract bid or paid by the government in the previous calendar year.
- 50 percent higher than the price paid for the same product or service five years earlier.
- Covered Contracts: Applies only to contracts awarded without competition, as defined under existing rules in Title 10 of the U.S. Code and the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
- Noncompliance Tracking: The Defense Contract Audit Agency or service acquisition executives must enter information about failures to report into the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), including contractor names, audit findings, and specific details on unreported increases such as stock numbers, quantities, costs, and order dates.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Adds two new sections (3709 and 3710) to Chapter 271 of Title 10, United States Code, creating mandatory reporting duties and integration with an existing performance tracking system.
- Introduces specific thresholds for price hikes and timeframes for reporting, which are not currently required for noncompetitive contracts.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: Increases administrative workload for the Department of Defense, contracting officers, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency through new monitoring, reporting, and data entry requirements.
- Citizens and Taxpayers: May lead to greater visibility into costs on sole-source contracts, potentially supporting better value for public funds.
- International Relations: No direct effects identified in the legislation.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Defense contractors holding noncompetitive contracts.
- Department of Defense acquisition and audit personnel.
- Federal oversight bodies using the FAPIIS system.
- Congress, through enhanced access to contract pricing data.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Strengthens accountability mechanisms for sole-source contracting without altering core constitutional authorities for government procurement.
- May influence future contract negotiations by highlighting price changes, though the bill does not impose penalties beyond public reporting of noncompliance.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (3)
Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA], Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA], Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI]
Recent Actions
- 2025-09-16: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
- 2025-09-16: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Transparency in Contracting Act of 2025 — issued 2025-09-16 — PDF (3 pages)