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Title 41 — Public ContractsRelease 119-73not60

§2304 Conflict of Interest Standards for Consultants

Title 41 › Subtitle Subtitle I— Federal Procurement Policy › Chapter 23— MISCELLANEOUS › § 2304

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Administrator must create government-wide rules that set conflict-of-interest standards for people who give consulting services to the federal government. The rules must include steps like registration, certification, and ways to enforce the rules. They cover advisory and assistance work, help with preparing bids and proposals for federal contracts, and other contract-related services when needed to spot and evaluate conflicts that could harm U.S. interests. Intelligence activities (the kinds of intelligence work defined in Executive Order No. 12333 or a similar future order) can be exempt. The Director of National Intelligence must report to the Intelligence and Appropriations Committees of Congress every January 1, listing those exemptions. Before the rules are made, the President must decide if they would seriously hurt the mission of the Defense Department or another agency. If the President reports that they would, the rule requirement is cancelled.

Full Legal Text

Title 41, §2304

Public Contracts — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Administrator shall prescribe under this division Government-wide regulations that set forth—
(1)conflict of interest standards for persons who provide consulting services described in subsection (b); and
(2)procedures, including registration, certification, and enforcement requirements as may be appropriate, to promote compliance with the standards.
(b)Regulations required by subsection (a) apply to—
(1)advisory and assistance services provided to the Federal Government to the extent necessary to identify and evaluate the potential for conflicts of interest that could be prejudicial to the interests of the United States;
(2)services related to support of the preparation or submission of bids and proposals for Federal contracts to the extent that inclusion of the services in the regulations is necessary to identify and evaluate the potential for conflicts of interest that could be prejudicial to the interests of the United States; and
(3)other services related to Federal contracts as specified in the regulations prescribed under subsection (a) to the extent necessary to identify and evaluate the potential for conflicts of interest that could be prejudicial to the interests of the United States.
(c)(1)Intelligence activities as defined in section 3.4(e) of Executive Order No. 12333 or a comparable definitional section in any successor order may be exempt from the regulations required by subsection (a).
(2)The Director of National Intelligence shall report to the Intelligence and Appropriations Committees of Congress each January 1, delineating the activities and organizations that have been exempted under paragraph (1).
(d)Before the regulations required by subsection (a) are prescribed, the President shall determine if prescribing the regulations will have a significantly adverse effect on the accomplishment of the mission of the Defense Department or another Federal agency. If the President determines that the regulations will have such an adverse effect, the President shall so report to the appropriate committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, stating in full the reasons for the determination. If such a report is submitted, the requirement for the regulations shall be null and void.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 2304(a)41:405b(a).Pub. L. 100–463, title VIII, § 8141, Oct. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2270–47. 2304(b)41:405b(b). 2304(c)41:405b(d). 2304(d)41:405b(e). In this section, the text of 41:405b(c) is omitted as obsolete. In subsection (a), before paragraph (1), the words “The Administrator shall prescribe under this division Government-wide

Regulations

” are substituted for “Not later than 90 days after October 1, 1988, the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy shall issue a policy, and not later than 180 days thereafter Government-wide

Regulations

shall be issued under the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 401 et seq.)” to eliminate obsolete words. In subsection (b), before paragraph (1), the words “the following types of consulting services” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (c)(2), the words “Director of National Intelligence” are substituted for “Director of Central Intelligence” because of section 1081(a) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–458, 50 U.S.C. 401 note). The words “each January 1” are substituted for “no later than January 1, 1990, and annually thereafter to eliminate obsolete and unnecessary words. The words “exempted under paragraph (1)” are substituted for “exempted from the

Regulations

required by subsection (a) of this section in accordance with the provisions of this subsection” to eliminate unnecessary words.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Executive Order 12333, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is set out as a note under section 3001 of Title 50, War and National Defense.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Clarification of Waiver Authority for Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title VIII, § 881, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2017, provided that: “section 9.503 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be revised to require that— “(1) a request for a waiver under such section include a written justification for such waiver; and “(2) the head of a Federal agency may not delegate such waiver authority below the level of the deputy head of such agency.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

41 U.S.C. § 2304

Title 41 — Public Contracts

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60