[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2781 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2781


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2017

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to certify the sufficient 
   participation of small business concerns owned and controlled by 
  veterans and small business concerns owned by veterans with service-
    connected disabilities in contracts under the Federal Strategic 
              Sourcing Initiative, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring Veteran Enterprise 
Participation in Strategic Sourcing Act''.

SEC. 2. SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CERTIFICATION OF SUFFICIENT 
              PARTICIPATION OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND 
              CONTROLLED BY VETERANS AND SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED 
              BY VETERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES IN 
              CONTRACTS UNDER THE FEDERAL STRATEGIC SOURCING 
              INITIATIVE.

    (a) Certification Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate certification in writing that with 
respect to each contract (except for domestic delivery services) 
awarded under the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (managed by the 
Office of Federal Procurement Policy) a sufficient number of small 
business concerns owned and controlled by veterans and a sufficient 
number of small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with 
service-connected disabilities are represented within each category.
    (b) Insufficient Representation.--If the Secretary determines that 
the representation by small business concerns owned and controlled by 
veterans or small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans 
with service-connected disabilities within a category of the contracts 
awarded under such Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative is not a 
sufficient number, the Secretary shall--
            (1) consult with the Administrator of the General Services 
        Administration to increase the number of such concerns awarded 
        contracts under such category; or
            (2) require the Department of Veterans Affairs to stop 
        awarding orders under that category of the Initiative, 
        effective on the date of such determination.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The terms ``small business concern owned and controlled 
        by veterans'' and ``small business concern owned and controlled 
        by veterans with service-connected disabilities'' have the 
        meaning given such terms in section 8127(k) of title 38, United 
        States Code.
            (2) The term ``category'' means--
                    (A) a type of supply or service for which a suite 
                of contracts has been established under the Federal 
                Strategic Sourcing Initiative; or
                    (B) any further subdivision or grouping within such 
                a suite of contracts.
            (3) The term ``sufficient number'', with respect to a type 
        of business concern, means not fewer than two and enough to 
        maximize the percentage of orders entered into by the Secretary 
        with such business concerns, as determined by the Secretary.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 24, 2017.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.