Acquisition

Senate advances bill to eliminate education requirements in federal contracting jobs

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace’s Skills-Based Federal Contracting Act cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in a 10-0 vote.

By Matt Bracken

August 6, 2026

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Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Gary Peters, D-Mich., and the rest of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hold a business meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on August 6, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

A House-passed bill to scrap educational requirements in federal contracting jobs cleared a key Senate panel Thursday, putting it on track for a vote before the full chamber.

The Skills-Based Federal Contracting Act (H.R. 5235) advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by a 10-0 vote. No senators commented on the legislation during the business meeting.

The bill, led by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., would block federal solicitations from including any minimum education standards, unless the contracting officer provides a written justification on why the agency needs an exemption.

“Washington created the paper ceiling. This bill tears it down,” Mace said in a statement. “A four-year degree should not be a government-mandated checkbox when hardworking Americans have already proven they can do the job. Demonstrated ability should open doors in this country.”

The legislation passed the House in February and has been a pet project of Mace’s for years. She previously recounted testimony from an IBM executive who said “federal contractors are rarely able to place an individual without a four-year degree on a technology services contract, regardless of their qualifications.”

While much of the federal contracting space is focused on IT, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and modernization, the South Carolina Republican told her colleagues before that February vote that the issue extends “beyond technology and service contracts,” impacting work across government.

“Federal contracting should reward the best person for the job,” Mace said in her Thursday statement. “Taxpayers are footing the bill, they deserve results. Skills matter. Experience matters. Merit matters. A piece of paper shouldn’t stand in the way.”

Within 180 days of the bill’s enactment, the Office of Management and Budget would be required to issue implementation guidance to agencies. Instructions for contracting officers should encourage “the use of alternatives to education requirements,” per the bill text.

The bill was co-sponsored in the House by Democratic Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington. Mace touted its bipartisan bona fides in pushing for full Senate passage.

“A unanimous vote out of committee speaks for itself,” she said in a statement. “This is not a Republican issue. This is not a Democrat issue. This is an American issue. Now it’s time for the full Senate to pass it and get it to the President’s desk.”