S. 5239 — American Glove Act of 2026

This section establishes definitions for the Act, including the AbilityOne Program under chapter 85 of title 41, United States Code; covered agencies such as the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Defense; covered nitrile gloves for medical and protective uses; qualified domestic manufacturers that are majority U.S.-owned, free of foreign entity of concern influence, and capable of commercial-scale U.S. production; and supplier agreements requiring at least two-year terms with binding purchase commitments.

This section requires covered agencies procuring nitrile gloves through covered procurement vehicles to comply with the domestic sourcing and long-term contracting requirements of the Make PPE in America Act. It mandates supplier agreements of at least two years with qualified domestic manufacturers, exclusive domestic manufacturing of the gloves, and continued sourcing from the identified manufacturer throughout the agreement term unless the manufacturer consents in writing, materially fails to perform, or another federal procurement exception applies.

This section requires a manufacturer to be majority-owned and controlled by United States persons to qualify as a qualified domestic manufacturer under the Act. It also bars qualification if the manufacturer is owned, controlled, or subject to significant influence by a foreign entity of concern through a parent company, joint venture, contractual arrangement, financing, technology licensing, or any other arrangement presenting supply chain or national security risks.

This section requires covered agencies to certify in writing and retain in the contract file that each covered procurement vehicle complies with the Act, including that covered nitrile gloves are manufactured in the United States by qualified domestic manufacturers and that supplier agreements have a term of at least two years with minimum purchase quantities or other demand commitments. It directs corrective action under federal procurement law for noncompliance and clarifies that the section imposes no separate certification obligations on the AbilityOne Program or related entities.

This section preserves the AbilityOne Program for procurement of covered nitrile gloves and prohibits covered agencies from removing such gloves from the Procurement List or terminating AbilityOne arrangements solely because a qualified domestic manufacturer also supplies them. It further bars agencies from using chapter 85 of title 41, United States Code, or related regulations and arrangements to avoid the domestic sourcing, ownership and control, certification, enforcement, or long-term supplier agreement requirements of this Act.

This section directs the head of each covered agency to implement the Act through existing procurement authorities and to ensure that any covered procurement vehicle in effect on or after enactment complies with the Act. It clarifies that agencies need not terminate, cancel, or re-compete an existing vehicle if it can be brought into compliance through modification or other existing authorities.