H.R. 5235 — Skills-Based Federal Contracting Act of 2025

This section prohibits solicitations by executive agencies from including any minimum education requirement (i.e., associate degree or higher, specified coursework, or equivalent from accredited institutions) for proposed contractor personnel unless the contracting officer provides a written justification explaining why agency needs cannot be met without it and how it ensures those needs are met. It requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue implementing guidance within 180 days of enactment, including instructions on justifications and encouragement of alternatives to such requirements (e.g., experience); applies the prohibition to solicitations issued 15 months after enactment; repeals the education requirement in sec. 813 of the FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 106-398), as implemented in FAR subpart 39.104, upon effectiveness of OMB guidance; directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on agency compliance within three years of enactment; and provides definitions. (As background, executive agencies include departments, military departments, independent establishments, and wholly owned government corporations under 41 U.S.C. §133.)