Press Releases

Last night, the U.S. Senate passed Rep. Jack Bergman's legislation, H.R. 561, the Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2019, to ensure the successful participation of Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) in the Veterans First Program.

The bipartisan H.R. 561 passed the House unanimously on February 25, 2020, and it is expected to go to the President's desk where it will be signed into law. 

Rep. Bergman introduced H.R. 561 to safeguard small businesses in the Veterans First Program, which gives preference to SDVOSB's and VOSB's in awarding VA contracts. The legislation cracks down on abusers within the system that waste tax-payer dollars, cut into the earnings intended for Veterans, and sideline law-abiding Veteran business owners who want to perform the work.

"In rebuilding the world's greatest economy, we will need to foster growth and certainty for our dedicated Veteran small business owners and their employees. I'm eager to see the Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act signed into law so we can preserve VA contracts meant for Veterans and stop wasting tax-payer money on those who abuse the system," said Rep. Bergman. "H.R. 561 is proof we can come together in a bipartisan way to do right by our Veterans who served our Nation and now work hard to serve their communities."

Background Information:

The Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act prevents “improper pass-throughs,” a practice in which companies leverage SDVOSB or VOSB status to obtain contracts, yet subcontract out all or substantially all of the work to a large company and nonetheless collect the profit. This practice is already illegal but in reality, the VA lacks the tools to detect them and enforce the rules. The VA Inspector General has noted numerous instances of such procurement fraud.

This bill requires every bidder in the Vets First Program to certify that they will perform the agreed percentage of work required by law.  Additionally, the VA must refer suspected violators to the Office of the Inspector General for investigation, as well as consider a more effective way to find, stop, and where appropriate, punish these improper pass-throughs.