Lee Introduces the Ending Racism in Government Contracting Act

WASHINGTON - Today, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Ending Racism in Government Contracting Act, a bill designed to eliminate race-based quotas, mandates, and preferences in federal contracting. Reps. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) are leading companion legislation in the House. The bill is cosponsored in the House by Reps. Dan Crenshaw (TX), Debbie Lesko (AZ), Ralph Norman (SC), Burgess Owens (UT), Tom Tiffany (WI), and Randy Weber (TX).

Since the 1970s, federal contracting policies have increasingly prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates, which allocate government contracts based on the identity of business owners rather than their ability to deliver high-quality results. These practices undermine American values, waste taxpayer dollars, and diminish the efficiency of government services.

The Ending Racism in Government Contracting Act will:

• Eliminate all current quotas, mandates, and programs providing government contracts based on identity characteristics;
• Require federal agencies to rescind regulations that give preferential treatment to contractors on the basis of identity;
• Prohibit the reissuance of similar rules and regulations in the future.
• Notably, the bill maintains prioritization for veteran-owned businesses.

"Race-based contracting undermines equal opportunity and results in inefficient, costly projects,"said Sen. Mike Lee. "This bill will restore common sense and ensure that federal contracts are awarded on merit, not immutable characteristics. It's time to end these unconstitutional practices and deliver the quality services taxpayers deserve."

"I was happy to introduce the House version of this bill because racial preferences in government contracting are fundamentally unfair, costly, and unpopular. Contracts should be awarded based on merit, not race, as the Constitution mandates equal protection for all." said Congressman Grothman. It's time to ensure fairness, reduce wasteful spending, and uphold the principles of equality and colorblindness. Our bill will stop the replacement of constitutional equality with a race-based redistribution system overseen by bureaucratic 'diversity and inclusion' officials."

"Politicians in Washington who value DEI over excellence have designed a system that prioritizes racial favoritism over merit, reducing the quality of government services," said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. "Federal contracts must be based on excellence and the ability to deliver, not skin color. Every dollar wasted on discrimination is a dollar stolen from the American people. I am proud to support Rep. Grothman's bill, which will restore common sense by prioritizing competence and saving Americans' hard-earned tax dollars."

The legislation has garnered support from leading organizations such as Heritage Action, the Manhattan Institute, Claremont Institute, Pacific Legal Foundation, and the American Alliance for Equal Rights.

Endorsements

Pacific Legal Foundation:

"The Ending Racism in Government Contracting Act is long overdue. Not only does the Constitution forbid the government from administering race-based handouts, but it's quintessentially un-American. In America, the government must treat individuals as individuals. Representative Grothman's bill will root out and ultimately eliminate pernicious race-based actions in federal contracting." - Joshua Thompson, Director of Equality and Opportunity Litigation

American Alliance for Equal Rights:

"The American Alliance for Equal Rights enthusiastically endorses this bill which will help restore the principles enshrined in our nation's civil rights laws." - Edward Jay Blum, President

Manhattan Institute:

"Race-based contracting costs taxpayers billions of dollars, endangers the security of our troops, and inhibits the construction and repair of our nation's infrastructure. Senator Lee's bill takes the important step of ending this unconstitutional practice and returning federal contracting to more merit-based principles, in which Americans of all races are treated equally." - Judge Glock, Director of Research and Senior Fellow

"Since the Supreme Court found racial preferences in college admissions to be unconstitutional, there has been a swirling debate in legal and policy circles about what this means outside the educational space. The equal-protection logic of Harvard v. SFFA inextricably applies to the employment space, which is why we've seen a spate of lawsuits and corporations reevaluating their DEI policies. One of the least headline-grabbing areas where identity-based preferences make their pernicious presence felt is in government contracting, which requires federal legislation to fix. The Ending Racism in Government Contracting Act is exactly what's needed to reform this often byzantine space and ensure that taxpayers aren't funding contracts based on racial spoils." - Ilya Shapiro, Director of Constitutional Studies and Senior Fellow

"It's time to end racial preferences in government contracting. This bill from Senator Lee will help dismantle the ideology of left-wing racialism and replace it with the principle of colorblind equality." - Chris Rufo, Senior Fellow

Bill text| One-pager

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