On August 1, House Small Business Committee Member Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) introduced the Improving Opportunities for Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Act of 2013. The main thrust of the bill is a show-stopper: it requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to relinquish control over the verification of SDVOSBs to the Small Business Administration (SBA).
As veterans know, the SBA and the VA operate separate procurement programs for SDVOSBs. These two programs are different in many respects, including the following:
- Verification/Certification Procedures – Under the SBA’s program, veteran business owners self-certify their eligibility to participate in SDVOSB set-asides issued by all procuring agencies other than the VA. Under the VA’s Veterans First Contracting Program, the Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) verifies applicants as eligible SDVOSBs or veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) in its VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (VIP). This requires veteran business owners to provide information and documentation to CVE which demonstrates the business meets the veteran ownership and control requirements. After these businesses are “verified,” they may compete for SDVOSB and VOSB set-asides under the Veterans First Contracting Program.
- Statutory Definitions – While the VA’s Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Guidelines (set forth at 38 CFR Part 74) strive to align with the regulations governing the SBA’s SDVOSB program, differences still exist. For example, the transfer restriction provisions in the VA’s guidelines are less restrictive than those set forth in the regulations governing the SBA’s SDVOSB program. This means that while a business may be eligible for the VA’s Veterans First Program, it may not be eligible for the SBA’s SDVOSB Program. In fact, it took a long, drawn-out (and expensive) Court of Federal Claims case to decide this issue. (Read more about this case here).
- Appellate Procedures – Eligibility issues and protests relating to the SBA’s SDVOSB Program are heard by the SBA, while eligibility issues and protests relating to the Veterans First Program are heard by the VA.
Since the inception of the VA’s VetBiz VIP Verification Program, it has encountered harsh criticism due to its extremely high applicant rejection rate (currently 30%, which represents a vast improvement), long wait times, and technical glitches. Despite this, both the VA and the SBA have stated the intention that the VA’s verification program ultimately be applied government-wide. Further, the VA recently sought comments for proposed rulemaking to amend 38 CFR Part 74 and to improve the VetBiz VIP process generally. With these developments, along with the time and money invested in the development and improvement of the VA’s VetBiz VIP Verification Program, it would seem the chance of this bill becoming law is nonexistent.
So why introduce it? To make a point. To suggest that the SBA should take over verification from the VA is a statement that drastic change is necessary. Representative Coffman’s bill is already getting a lot of buzz, and the fact that people are reading it means they are reading the content that discusses what Coffman believes should be changed about the verification procedures generally.
Representative Coffman’s bill can be accessed here.
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