GSA Proposes Updates to SAM.gov Financial Assistance Certifications, Including New “Illegal DEI” Attestation and False Claims Act Acknowledgement

The General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking public comment on its proposed changes to the Financial Assistance General Representations and Certifications in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), which are the standard annual representations and certifications that all recipients of Federal financial assistance must make as part of maintaining an active SAM.gov registration with current information. GSA’s proposed changes are intended to implement President Trump’s Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, and align the representations and certifications with the Department of Justice’s July 2025 guidance on unlawful discrimination by Federal funding recipients.

The draft of the new representations and certifications asks Federal awardees to certify that they will comply with federal antidiscrimination laws and notes that such laws “apply to programs or initiatives that involve discriminatory practices, including those labeled as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) programs.” It then provides “[e]xamples of practices that may violate applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws,” including “[g]ranting preferential treatment based on race, such as race-based scholarships or programs, preferential hiring or promotion practices, or access to facilities or resources based on race or ethnicity, including through the use of ‘cultural competence’ requirements, ‘overcoming obstacles’ narratives, or ‘diversity statements,’” and “[t]raining programs that stereotype, exclude, or single out individuals based on protected characteristics or create a hostile environment.” While Federal award recipients already attest in SAM.gov that they will comply with applicable civil rights statutes, the explicit DEI/DEIA-focused framing and illustrative examples are new.

GSA also proposed to add new representations and certifications related to other Trump Administrative priorities, such as immigration enforcement. For example, the proposed language includes an immigration-related certification stating the recipient will not knowingly engage in conduct such as bringing, transporting, harboring, hiring, or recruiting an “illegal alien,” and also includes an anti-terrorism/public safety certification (e.g., a representation that the recipient is not funding or facilitating terrorism or other illegal activities that threaten public safety or national security). Finally, the draft language includes an express acknowledgement that misrepresentations in these certifications may create exposure under the False Claims Act, underscoring the compliance stakes for Federal funding recipients.

GSA’s notice seeking public comment, as well as the proposed text of the new representations and certifications, are available here: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/GSA-GSA-2026-0001. Public comments are due by March 30, 2026. Government contractors, and not just Federal award recipients, should closely monitor these changes to the Financial Assistance General Representations and Certifications—a similar change is anticipated for the parallel SAM.gov representations and certifications that are required of Federal government contractors.