# 119-s-79: ACCESS Act

119-s-79, ACCESS Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-79
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-79
- Congress: 119
- Title: ACCESS Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-13
- Sponsor: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Limit blanket education requirements in federal contracting.** This bill would prohibit minimum degree or education-or-experience rules in contractor personnel solicitations unless a contracting officer includes a written justification and explains why the agency’s needs cannot be met otherwise. - Workers and job seekers: Would reduce automatic degree barriers for federal-contract jobs so candidates can compete more on skills and experience. - Contractors and employers: Would let contractors hire based on demonstrated capability rather than formal degrees, potentially widening the talent pool for bids. - Contracting officers and agencies: Would require each use of an education requirement to be determined, justified, and reviewed in the solicitation. - Office of Management and Budget: Would require OMB to issue implementing guidance within 180 days of enactment that encourages alternatives to education requirements. - Government Accountability Office: Would require a GAO evaluation of agency compliance no later than 3 years after enactment.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (D-MI), 2025-01-13T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- No college degree to bid: benefit, medium. This bill would generally stop executive agencies from requiring a college degree for contractor personnel to be eligible for award. "Education" would mean an associate degree or higher, specific coursework, or similar awards from accredited or State-approved schools. Agencies could still use a deg…
- Repeal of procurement eligibility rule: mixed, medium. This bill would repeal Section 813 of the FY2001 NDAA as implemented in FAR subpart 39.104, as in effect on January 3, 2025. The repeal would take effect on the date that the OMB guidance required by the bill becomes effective. If enacted, this could change who is eligible to win some federal contr…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-1956: Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act
- 119-s-554: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-s-5025: Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026
- 119-s-1784: MAPS Act
- 119-s-1639: American Innovation and Jobs Act

## Sources
- [119-s-79 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/79)

## Related
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-1956: Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1956)
- [119-s-554: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-554)
- [119-s-5025: Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5025)
- [119-s-1784: MAPS Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1784)
- [119-s-1639: American Innovation and Jobs Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1639)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-79 (as of 2025-12-21).