119-hr1554

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1554 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1554

To require that the Federal Government procure from the private sector 
 the goods and services necessary for the operations and management of 
 certain Government agencies, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 25, 2025

 Mr. Bean of Florida (for himself, Mr. Cline, and Mr. Stutzman) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To require that the Federal Government procure from the private sector 
 the goods and services necessary for the operations and management of 
 certain Government agencies, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom from Government Competition 
Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress makes the following findings:

    (1) Private sector business concerns, which are free to 
 respond to the private or public demands of the marketplace, 
 constitute the strength of the United States economic system.

    (2) Competitive private enterprises are the most 
 productive, efficient, and effective sources of goods and 
 services.

    (3) Unfair Government competition with the private sector 
 of the economy is detrimental to the United States economic 
 system.

    (4) Unfair Government competition with the private sector 
 of the economy is at an unacceptably high level, both in scope 
 and in dollar volume.

    (5) Current law and policy have failed to address 
 adequately the problem of unfair Government competition with 
 the private sector of the economy.

    (6) It is in the public interest that the Federal 
 Government establish a consistent policy to rely on the private 
 sector of the economy to provide goods and services necessary 
 for or beneficial to the operation and management of Federal 
 agencies and to avoid unfair Government competition with the 
 private sector of the economy.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act, the term ``agency'' means--

    (1) an executive department as defined by 

section 101 of 
 title 5, United States Code;

    (2) a military department as defined by 

section 102 of such 
 title; and

    (3) an independent establishment as defined by 

section 104
            (l) of such title.

SEC. 4. PROCUREMENT FROM PRIVATE SOURCES.

    (a) 

=== Policy ===
-In the process of governing, the Federal Government 
should not compete with its citizens. The competitive enterprise 
system, characterized by individual freedom and initiative, is the 
primary source of national economic strength. In recognition of this 
principle, it has been and continues to be the general policy of the 
Federal Government--

    (1) to rely on commercial sources to supply the products 
 and services the Government needs;

    (2) to refrain from providing a product or service if the 
 product or service can be procured more economically from a 
 commercial source; and

    (3) to utilize Federal employees to perform inherently 
 governmental functions (as that term is defined in 

section 5 of 
 the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 
 105-270; 112 Stat. 2384)).

    (b) General Rule.--Except as provided in subsection
            (c) and 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, each agency shall obtain 
all goods and services necessary for or beneficial to the 
accomplishment of its authorized functions by procurement from private 
sources.
            (c) Exemptions.--Subsection

    (b) shall not apply to an agency with 
respect to goods or services if--

    (1) the goods or services are required by law to be 
 produced or performed, respectively, by the agency; or

    (2) the head of the agency determines and certifies to 
 Congress in accordance with regulations promulgated by the 
 Director of the Office of Management and Budget that--
        (A) Federal Government production, manufacture, or 
 provision of a good or service is necessary for the 
 national defense or homeland security;
        (B) a good or service is so critical to the mission 
 of the agency or so inherently governmental in nature 
 that it is in the public interest to require production 
 or performance, respectively, by Government employees; 
 or
            (C) there is no private source capable of providing 
 the good or service.
            (d) Method of Procurement.--The provision of goods and services not 
exempt by subsection
            (c) (1) or
            (c) (2) shall be performed by an entity 
in the private sector through--

    (1) the divestiture of Federal involvement in the provision 
 of a good or service;

    (2) the award of a contract to an entity in the private 
 sector, using competitive procedures, as defined in 

section 152 
 of title 41, United States Code, and 

section 2302 of title 10, 
 United States Code; or

    (3) conducting a public-private competitive sourcing 
 analysis in accordance with the procedures established by the 
 Office of Management and Budget and determining that using the 
 assets, facilities, and performance of the private sector is in 
 the best interest of the United States and that production or 
 performance, respectively, by the private sector provides the 
 best value to the taxpayer.

    (e) Contracted Activities.--The head of an agency may utilize 
Federal employees to provide goods or services previously provided by 
an entity in the private sector upon completion of a public-private 
competitive sourcing analysis described in subsection
            (d) (3) , and after 
making a determination that the provision of such goods or services by 
Federal employees provides the best value to the taxpayer.

    (f) Regulations.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall promulgate such regulations as the Director considers 
necessary to carry out this section. In promulgating such regulations, 
the Director shall assure that any State or territory, or political 
subdivision of a State or territory, complies with the policy and 
implements the requirements of this section when expending Federal 
funds.

SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT.

 The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, after 
consultation with the Comptroller General of the United States, shall 
carry out a study to evaluate the activities carried out in each 
agency, including those identified as commercial and inherently 
governmental in nature in the inventory prepared pursuant to the 
Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-270; 31 
U.S.C. 501 note) and shall transmit a report to the Congress prior to 
June 30 of each year. The report shall include--

    (1) an evaluation of the justification for exempting 
 activities pursuant to 

section 4
            (c) ; and

    (2) a schedule for the transfer of commercial activities to 
 the private sector, pursuant to 

section 4
            (d) , to be completed 
 within 5 years after the date on which such report is 
 transmitted to the Congress.
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