Deluzio Continues Fight Against DOD Price Gouging, Introduces Bill Requiring More Price Transparency from Defense Contractors

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Deluzio (PA-17), a member of the House Armed Service Committee, introduced a bill to require greater transparency when the Pentagon purchases products with massive price increases from defense contractors. The introduction of the Defense Industry Pricing Transparency Act is the latest in Congressman Deluzio’s ongoing work to fight price gouging in the Department of Defense (DOD). The FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included language from Congressman Deluzio’s bill and now awaits consideration by the full House of Representatives after passage through committee.

"Too often, defense contractors try and jack up the price of products even after the Pentagon finalizes a contract,” said Congressman Deluzio. “We know prices can go up and down, but we owe it to the American people—whose tax dollars fund the Department of Defense—to more carefully track and monitor the biggest price jumps. My bill will give the Pentagon more information to track bad actors and better protect our public money.” 

The bill will require contractors to report within 30 days to contracting officers when prices of products under the contract reach or exceed certain price increase thresholds. Those who fail to comply will be annotated in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System.    

The thresholds are when the price of a product or service under a covered contract reaches or exceeds an amount equal to: 

• 25 percent more than the price specified in the covered contract bid;
• 25 percent more than the price the Government paid for such product or service during the previous calendar year; or
• 50 percent more than the price the Government paid for such product or service at any time during the previous 5-year period. 

Congressman Chris Deluzio is one of the leading voices in the House of Representatives fighting for stronger competition and against price gouging in the DOD. He secured several pieces of language in the 2026 committee-passed NDAA to take on these issues head-on, and it’s been a top priority in his NDAA work every year that he has been in Congress. This year Congressman Deluzio also introduced the Best Price for Our Military Act and the Defense Contractor Competition Act. He previously introduced the Stop Price Gouging the Military Act with Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA-08), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) to close loopholes in current acquisition laws, tie financial incentives for contractors to performance, and provide the DOD with the information necessary to prevent future rip offs. 

Full text of the bill is available here. 

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