No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes sole source and restricted competition contracting authorities for small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans (i.e., veteran-owned small businesses or VOSB). (1) Sole source contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold are authorized if the concern is responsible, the anticipated award price (including options) does not exceed $7 million for manufacturing or $3 million for other contracts (per existing limits in 15 U.S.C. 657f(c)(2)), and award can be made at a fair and reasonable price offering best value; (2) contracts must be awarded on the basis of competition restricted to VOSB if the contracting officer expects at least two such concerns to submit offers and award can be made at a fair and reasonable price offering best value; and (3) eligibility requires the concern and its veteran owner to be listed in the SBA database of veteran-owned businesses (15 U.S.C. 657f(f)(1)). (As background, existing law provides similar authorities for the narrower category of service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.)
This section establishes a governmentwide goal of not less than 5% of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards for small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans for each fiscal year. It further includes such concerns alongside small business concerns owned and controlled by women in existing governmentwide small business participation goals and agency target requirements and expands annual reporting under SBA to include their participation data—both in the aggregate and broken out by procurement method (i.e., sole source contracts; competitions restricted to small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, disadvantaged businesses, or women-owned small businesses; and unrestricted competition)—as well as instances where such concerns lose small business status post-award due to acquisition.
This section amends multiple provisions of the Small Business Act to include small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans under section 36B alongside existing categories (e.g., 8(a) program participants, HUBZone small business concerns, and service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns under section 36) in federal procurement promotion, reporting, and subcontracting requirements, as follows: (1) expands duties of Business Opportunity Specialists and commercial market representatives; (2) requires consideration of offers in the 8(a) program; (3) adds them to the best-in-class procurement addendum; (4) incorporates them into Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization; (5) includes them and related metrics in the small business scorecard program; (6) requires mentor-protégé program reporting on activities with such concerns; and (7) applies limitations on subcontracting to contracts awarded to such concerns.