Pentagon tightens foreign retail access on military bases
S. 1456 — Military Installation Retail Security Act of 2025 · Filed by Ted Budd (R-NC) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 10, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits the Department of Defense from entering into or renewing long-term retail contracts with companies controlled by foreign adversaries on U.S. military bases. It requires the Secretary of Defense to review existing contracts within 180 days, terminate those with foreign-controlled retailers unless waived or cleared by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and mandates annual disclosures from approved retailers about ownership changes. The bill aims to prevent foreign governments from gaining access to military personnel and their purchasing power through retail operations on bases.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a security-based restriction on foreign-controlled retail operations on U.S. military bases. It is a protective measure framed around national security rather than a deregulation, subsidy, or commemorative act.
What the text implies
- The 20% equity threshold for 'controlled by a covered nation' may be circumvented through layered ownership structures or shell companies, requiring ongoing CFIUS vigilance.
- Waiver authority granted to the Secretary of Defense creates discretion that could be used to permit strategically important retailers despite foreign control, potentially undermining the bill's intent.
- Annual disclosure requirements on approved retailers may impose compliance costs on legitimate foreign-owned businesses operating on bases, potentially reducing retail competition and options for military personnel.
- The bill does not define 'covered nation' in this section—it cross-references section 4872 of title 10, which is not provided; the scope of the restriction depends on that external definition.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Military personnel and their families gain protection from potential foreign surveillance, data collection, or influence through retail operations on bases. The general public benefits from reduced national security risk at military installations. The bill imposes no direct costs on ordinary citizens and strengthens oversight of foreign commercial access to sensitive U.S. military facilities.
Who stands to gain
- U.S.-controlled retail operators and concessionaires (gain exclusive or protected access to military
- Nonappropriated fund instrumentalities (retain control over retail operations and vendor selection)
Named in the bill
Department of Defense, Secretary of Defense, Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Senate Committee on Armed Services, House Committee on Armed Services, U.S. military installations, nonappropriated fund instrumentalities
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.
- Apr 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Apr 10, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Armed Services · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
4 lobbying clients named this bill on 6 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,902,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 16 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.
Ted Budd, the sponsor, reported $300,250 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Enbridge (u.s.) Inc — $732,000 on 2 filings
- Associated Builders and Contractors Inc — $700,000 on 1 filing
- Gnc Holdings, LLC — $270,000 on 2 filings
- Peabody Investments Corp — $200,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 23, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (7,250 characters) on Jun 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 23, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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