Hawley Creates Plan to Target Consultants Who Work for China and the US Government

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo) introduced legislation that would prohibit certain federal agencies from contracting with consulting firms that also provide services to the Chinese government. Hawley released a statement Monday…

Savannah Hulsey PointerJul 19, 20223 min read

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Hawley’s introduction of the bill cited a report by NBC News which alleges the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. works for Chinese state companies and the Pentagon.

NBC reported some lawmakers and critics note the “potential risk to national security that federal agencies can no longer ignore.”

“McKinsey’s consulting contracts with the federal government give it an insider’s view of U.S. military planning, intelligence and high-tech weapons programs,” NBC stated in their report.

The consulting group also reportedly advises Chinese state-run groups that offer support for Beijing’s naval buildup in the Pacific.

McKinskey told NBC News that it follows U.S. and international laws for its contracts, saying their precautions prevent conflicts of interest.

“We follow strict protocols, including staffing restrictions and internal firewalls, to avoid conflicts of interest and to protect client confidential information in all of our work. When serving the public sector, we go further: in addition to managing potential staffing conflicts, we are subject to our Government clients’ organizational conflict of interest requirements and comply with these obligations accordingly,” company spokesperson Neil Grace told NBC.

Hawley had a different take:“The fact that these consultants are awarded huge contracts by our Defense Department and other federal agencies, while they are simultaneously working to advance China’s efforts to coerce the United States is appalling and completely unacceptable,” the senator said according to his website.

The Missouri Republican went on to assert,“It is well past time that we hold these companies accountable and prohibit this kind of conflict of interest in government contracting.”