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119-hr-10459119th CongressWALLET

Patriotic Corporations of America Act of 2026

Sponsored By: Representative Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]

Introduced

Summary

Uses federal contracting to enforce higher labor, environmental, and corporate standards. The bill would require offerors on federal and Defense contracts to meet a new wage floor, paid-leave minimums, union-neutrality rules, environmental and tax tests, and limits on private-equity control and acquisitions.

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  • Workers: Employees on covered contracts would get at least $15.00 per hour adjusted annually or the Fair Labor Standards Act rate plus 10 percent, and at least 7 days each of paid sick, family, and vacation leave. Offerors would have to sign neutrality agreements and could not hire replacements for lawful strikes.
  • Families: For contracts over $100 million, offerors would have to submit a plan to meet workforce childcare needs.
  • Companies and contractors: Firms would have to maintain U.S. headquarters, disclose country-by-country tax and financial data, meet environmental and governance tests, and follow pay-ratio and acquisition limits like a 100-to-1 cap. Violations could trigger a bar from federal contracting for five years.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

7 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 3 costs, 2 mixed.

New procurement preferences and DoD rules

If enacted, agencies would give bidding preference to firms that meet listed workplace, governance, climate, and AI qualifications. Examples include a pay ratio no greater than 100:1, employee board seats, 5% payroll pension contributions, annual employee stock grants until 20% ownership, a five-year ban on stock buybacks, no outsourcing overseas, apprenticeship programs, childcare and climate plans, and AI controls. The same procurement requirements would apply to Department of Defense contracts entered on or after January 1, 2025.

Higher pay and worker protections

If enacted, bidders would have to pay each worker at least the higher of two amounts: $15 per hour (indexed each year to the BLS median hourly wage) or the FLSA hourly rate plus 10 percent. The bill would also require at least seven days per year each of paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave, and paid vacation for covered employees. Independent contractors would be treated as "employees" under these procurement rules. Offerors would need to sign neutrality agreements and agree not to hire replacement workers during lawful strikes for the life of the contract.

Limits on private equity and takeouts

If enacted, contractors controlled by private equity would have to disclose parent companies and controlling investors. During a Federal contract the private equity owner could not do dividend recapitalizations, pay dividends above 10% of debt, pay dividends while pensions are underfunded, sell and lease back real estate, or transfer assets without agency consent. Agencies must bar any company that a private equity firm controlled for five years if that firm controlled a company that violated certain labor or environmental rules. The bill would also limit acquisitions after a contract: general offerors may not buy competitors for one year after close and private equity-controlled offerors for two years, with a five-year contracting bar for violations.

Workplace safety, hiring, and childcare

If enacted, offerors would have to give contracting agencies a plan confirming OSHA-related compliance and an actionable plan for natural-disaster and health-crisis responses. Plans must cover essential workers, extra or quarantine pay, temporary layoffs, additional family/medical leave in emergencies, whistleblower protections, PPE, evacuation plans, and on-site or accessible medical services. Companies bidding for contracts would also need to submit recruitment and promotion plans for people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and veterans. For contracts over $100 million, offerors would have to submit a plan to meet their workers' childcare needs before award.

Employer tax penalty blocks awards

If enacted, an agency could not award a contract to a bidder that had an assessable payment under Internal Revenue Code section 4980H in any of the 12 months before the award. The rule uses a 12-month lookback before the contract award date.

Environmental penalties can block awards

If enacted, agencies would not award a contract to a bidder that, in the prior five years, paid an EPA penalty greater than $100,000 or settled a claim for more than $100,000 for an EPA-administered violation. Agencies would make the determination in consultation with the EPA Administrator.

Political spending must be disclosed

If enacted, companies bidding on federal contracts over $100,000 would have to post any political contributions on their main website and submit them to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council. The rule would cover contributions to Super PACs and organizations described in section 501(c)(4).

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]

IL • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35]

    TX • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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