Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL-7): His Defense Firms Collected ~$1M in Federal Contracts While He Sat on the Armed Services Committee

Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL-7) arrived in Washington in January 2023 as the owner of two federal defense contractors — Pacem Defense and ALS Less-Lethal Systems. According to a report completed by the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) in August 2024, those companies collected close to $1 million in federal contracts in the period after Mills was sworn in, while he simultaneously held a seat on the House Armed Services Committee, the panel with direct jurisdiction over defense policy and Pentagon spending.

The Companies and the Contracts

Mills co-founded Pacem Solutions International in 2014 and Pacem Defense in 2015. The companies manufacture and distribute munitions, weapons, and less-lethal rounds — tear gas, grenades, and impact rounds — distributed primarily to prisons and federal agencies. His 2023 financial disclosure listed Pacem Defense valued at between $1 million and $5 million, and two separate stakes in Pacem Solutions International, each also valued between $1 million and $5 million.

The OCC found that from January 2023 onward, Pacem Defense and its affiliate ALS secured close to $1 million in federal contracts. More specifically, 94 individual contracts were awarded to entities owned by Mills between January 9, 2024, and the date of the report. The Bureau of Prisons alone spent approximately $200,000 on Pacem Defense products in the last fiscal year reviewed by investigators. Since Pacem’s founding, the company has secured roughly $3 million in total federal contracts, according to data from USASpending.gov cited by NOTUS.

An adjacent company, ALS Inc., was not listed on any of Mills’ financial disclosure forms despite being affiliated with his other businesses, the OCC found — a potential violation of mandatory congressional disclosure requirements.

The Committee Seat and the Votes

Mills serves on the House Armed Services Committee, which authorizes defense policy and the programs that fund government procurement. In May 2024, he voted to advance the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 out of committee. The following month, on June 14, 2024, he voted to advance the same NDAA on the House floor. The NDAA is the primary vehicle through which Congress authorizes billions of dollars in defense contracts annually — the same spending category that funds the contracts his companies hold.

In December 2024, Mills introduced the SAFE Services Act, legislation directing the Department of Defense to prioritize American firms when awarding professional services contracts. According to the bill’s press release, foreign-owned firms received over $1 billion in defense contracts during fiscal year 2024. Mills’ own companies compete in that same domestic defense contracting market.

The Federal Prohibition and the Investigation

Federal law — 18 U.S.C. § 431 — and House Rule XXV both prohibit members of Congress from holding contracts with the federal government. The prohibition exists precisely to prevent the type of conflict the OCC identified: a legislator with a financial stake in federal procurement voting on the legislation and budgets that fund it.

The OCC concluded it had “substantial reason to believe” Mills was violating these prohibitions. The office said it could not determine whether Mills had divested from his companies or restructured ownership to comply with the law, because Mills refused to cooperate with the investigation. He declined to provide tax returns, declined to explain the corporate ownership structure of his businesses, and his attorney extended legal representation to potential witnesses — a step the OCC stated “undermined these investigative efforts.”

The House Ethics Committee opened a formal investigation on March 27, 2025. In November 2025, the committee formed an investigative subcommittee to continue examining the contracting allegations, alongside separate allegations regarding financial disclosures and personal conduct. As of April 2026, at least one House colleague has formally called for Mills’ expulsion.

Mills’ spokesperson stated he is “committed to complying with all laws and ethics rules.” His attorney argued the Federal Election Commission had previously dismissed related complaints — the FEC, however, noted it was not responsible for verifying the accuracy of congressional ethics disclosures.

What This Means for Constituents

Florida’s 7th Congressional District, which covers communities across parts of Orange, Volusia, Flagler, and Putnam counties, elects a representative to make independent judgments about federal spending. When that representative simultaneously owns defense contracting companies that hold federal contracts, voters have no transparent way to assess whether his votes on defense authorization bills reflect the public interest or his companies’ financial position — or some combination of both.

The federal prohibition on member contracting exists because this conflict is, by design, impossible to resolve through disclosure alone. The OCC reached the threshold of “substantial reason to believe” for a formal referral — a bar that the office applies carefully and does not reach in routine or ambiguous cases.

The House Ethics Committee investigation remains open. The subcommittee has not issued its final findings.

What You Can Do

Constituents in Florida’s 7th Congressional District can contact Rep. Mills’ district offices directly. The House Ethics Committee accepts public input relevant to ongoing investigations at ethics.house.gov. For more ways to engage with your representatives and hold elected officials accountable, visit our Take Action page.