PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 16, 2019
Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-corruption Act of 2019
This bill addresses the conduct of Department of Defense (DOD) officials regarding relationships with military contractors.
With respect to certain DOD officials involved in contracting, the bill increases the following: (1) the period during which an official leaving DOD and seeking compensation from a contractor must obtain an ethics opinion concerning post-employment restrictions, (2) the length of time such requests must be retained in a central repository, and (3) the frequency of Inspector General reviews of providing and retaining opinions.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Each procurement contract of a value exceeding $10 million must require the contractor to annually report information (including concerning lobbying activities) about former officials and military officers who received compensation within four years after leaving service. Such a contract shall include a clause prohibiting the contractor from receiving the compensation.
Contracts with contractors that received an average of more than $1 billion in revenue in the previous three years from DOD or the Department of Energy (related to the U.S. nuclear program) shall prohibit the employment or payment of certain DOD officials within four years of leaving DOD service.
In addition, the bill includes restrictions and conditions concerning:
lobbying by former officials and officers;
stock ownership and trading;
employment that is subject to the emoluments clause of the Constitution;
work by certain senior officials for a foreign entity (including work that conflicts with U.S. national security interests);
financial disclosure by large prospective contractors; and
public disclosure of information regarding the identification of general or flag officers and their finances and conduct.
People & committees
Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] · D–MA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 6, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1503 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1503 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1503 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1503 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.