PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Gimenez, Carlos A. [R-FL-28] · R–FL
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Jan 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-10 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Keep China Out of Solar Energy Act of 2025 would restrict federally funded purchases of certain solar panels made or assembled by entities based in China or determined to be under Chinese government or Communist Party influence or control. It would cover purchases through federal contracts and grants, including subcontracts and subgrants, and government purchase cards. Agencies could obtain an exception when a covered supplier is the only viable source, subject to joint approval by two Cabinet secretaries.
This Act may be cited as the Keep China Out of Solar Energy Act of 2025.
(1) prohibit Federal funds from being awarded by contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant for the procurement of solar panels that are manufactured or assembled by a covered entity; and (2) prohibit the use of Government-issued purchase cards to purchase solar panels that are manufactured or assembled by a covered entity.
The term covered entity means any entity domiciled in the People’s Republic of China or subject to influence or control by the Government of the People Republic of China or the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The head of an executive agency may obtain a waiver from the prohibition implemented pursuant to section 2 if the agency head certifies to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security that the covered entity is the only viable source for the solar panels and the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security jointly approve the waiver request.
Within 180 days after enactment, the Office of Management and Budget director would have to develop standards and guidelines for executive agencies, in consultation with the General Services Administration administrator. These would prohibit federal contract and grant funding, including subcontracts and subgrants, for purchasing panels manufactured or assembled by covered entities, and prohibit buying those panels with government purchase cards.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, shall develop standards and guidelines for executive agencies to— (1) prohibit Federal funds from being awarded by contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant for the procurement of solar panels that are manufactured or assembled by a covered entity; and (2) prohibit the use of Government-issued purchase cards to purchase solar panels that are manufactured or assembled by a covered entity.
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council would also have 180 days after enactment to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation—the federal contracting rules—to implement the restriction for federal contracts and subcontracts.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement the prohibition established pursuant to subsection (a)(1) with respect to Federal contracts and subcontracts.
Covered entities would include entities based in China and entities subject to Chinese government or Chinese Communist Party influence or control, as determined by the Homeland Security secretary. The definition is not limited to entities based in China.
The term covered entity means any entity domiciled in the People’s Republic of China or subject to influence or control by the Government of the People Republic of China or the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The bill defines solar panels as crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules—solar electricity cells and panels using that material. It defines executive agencies by reference to an existing federal statute rather than listing them.
(2) Executive agency The term executive agency has the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code. (3) Solar panel The term solar panel means crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules.
An executive agency head could obtain a waiver only by certifying that the covered entity is the sole viable source for the panels and receiving joint approval from the State and Homeland Security secretaries. The waiver would be discretionary, not automatic.
The head of an executive agency may obtain a waiver from the prohibition implemented pursuant to section 2 if the agency head certifies to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security that the covered entity is the only viable source for the solar panels and the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security jointly approve the waiver request.
Agency heads requesting waivers would have to notify the Office of Management and Budget director. The director would have to report quarterly on requests and their approval or rejection to the specified Senate foreign relations and homeland security committees and House foreign affairs, homeland security, and oversight committees.
The head of an agency requesting a waiver under this section shall notify the Director of the Office of Management and Budget of the request. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a quarterly report listing requests listing under subsection (a), including whether each such request was approved or rejected.
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Homeland Security, and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives.
Within 275 days after enactment, the Comptroller General would have to report to Congress on the amount of solar panels federal departments and agencies purchased from covered entities.
Not later than 275 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the amount of solar panels procured by Federal departments and agencies from covered entities.
Within one year after enactment, the Office of Management and Budget director would have to seek a contract with a federally funded research and development center for a study. The study would examine current and future U.S. solar panel production, its ability to keep up with technological advances, and the global production supply chain and workforce. The requirement is to seek a contract; it does not require completing the study within that year.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall seek to enter into a contract with a federally funded research and development center under which the center will conduct a study of— (1) the current and future domestic market of solar panel production; (2) the ability of the solar panel domestic market to keep pace with technological advancements across the industry; and (3) the current global supply chain and workforce involved with solar panel production.
Section 5(b) would require the director to send the study to five specified Senate and House committees within 30 days of receiving it. Its reference to a study received under subsection (b) appears mistaken: the study is described in subsection (a).
(a) Independent study
(b) Submission to Congress Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Director of the Office of Management and Budget receives the study under subsection (b), the Director shall submit the study to— (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and (2) the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated January 8, 2026, records that the bill was introduced in the House and referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 10, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-01-08T17:48:50Z. 2025-02-10: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 2025-02-10: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-10. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish attachment history or the contents of other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; the bundle does not include earmark disclosures, member requests, or committee and conference materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied text contains a narrow, conditional exception to its main purchasing restriction. Identifying that exception does not imply improper purpose.
A covered supplier certified as the only viable source could benefit from a waiver allowing an agency to purchase otherwise restricted panels. The agency head must certify that condition, and the State and Homeland Security secretaries must jointly approve the request. This exception directly qualifies the bill's main procurement restriction; it does not name a specific beneficiary.
The head of an executive agency may obtain a waiver from the prohibition implemented pursuant to section 2 if the agency head certifies to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security that the covered entity is the only viable source for the solar panels and the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security jointly approve the waiver request.
prohibit Federal funds from being awarded by contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant for the procurement of solar panels that are manufactured or assembled by a covered entity
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jan 8, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI