Four U.S. senators have proposed a bipartisan bill that seeks to address price gouging by defense contractors and improve transparency in maintenance contracts.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., introduced the Transparency in Contract Pricing Act of 2025 with Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
In a statement published Wednesday, Warren said some contractors threaten U.S. military readiness by introducing unreasonably high prices into military contracts for spare parts and other basic materials.
“Our common-sense bill puts these contractors on notice and requires them to justify major price increases — and they can bet we’ll double-check their math to ensure we are getting a fair shake,” she added.
Provisions of the Proposed Transparency in Contract Pricing Act of 2025
The proposed legislation would require contractors to report price increases to the Pentagon’s contracting officers within 30 days of becoming aware of a covered price increase and direct the Defense Contract Audit Agency to report vendors that fail to comply with the price notification requirements, audits performed regarding noncompliance and details regarding the product that was not reported on the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System.
The bill would define a covered price increase as 25 percent above the price specified in the contract bid that the government agreed to or the price the government paid for the product in the previous calendar year.
The proposed measure would define a covered contract as one that was awarded on a sole-source basis, meaning there was no competitive bidding process.
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