The record

LegislationLegislation· Jul 2026
HR 1118 Passed House — in Senate

Sponsored by Byron Donalds (R)

Value Over Cost Act of 2026

Lets GSA evaluate federal contracts on best value instead of lowest cost alone.

Tradeoff

Gives the General Services Administration (GSA) flexibility to weigh quality and other factors when awarding contracts to federal suppliers, rather than always picking the cheapest bid.

What's in it

See official bill text

No significant cost to the federal government over 2026-2031; any related spending would require .

This is a procurement rule change with no estimated federal cost — the policy's real impact is on how federal agencies evaluate bids and which vendors win contracts under the new best-value standard rather than lowest-price-only rules.

H.R. 1118, Value Over Cost Act of 2026 · Mar 2026

The House passed this 421-1 on July 21, 2026 — sitting in the Senate.

  1. House

    Introduced

    (Feb 7, 2025)

  2. House

    Committee on Oversight and Government Reform(Feb 7, 2025)

    The bill went to more than one committee at the same time.

  3. House

    The committee voted to send it to the floor

    Reported 44 - 0(Feb 5, 2026)

  4. House

    On Motion to and Pass, as Amended

    Passed(Roll #252 · Jul 21, 2026)

    421 yeanay 1

  5. Senate

    Received from the House

    on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs(Jul 22, 2026)

Passage votes so far· Jul 21, 2026· 119th Congress · 2025–2027