[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 561 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 561


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2020

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the oversight of 
    contracts awarded by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to small 
   business concerns owned and controlled by veterans, 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 ``Protecting Business Opportunities 
for Veterans Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTS UNDER CONTRACTS WITH SMALL BUSINESS 
              CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--Section 8127 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as subsection (l); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the following new 
        subsection (k):
    ``(k) Limitations on Subcontracting.--(1)(A) The requirements 
applicable to a covered small business concern under section 46 of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657s) shall apply with respect to a small 
business concern owned and controlled by veterans that is awarded a 
contract under this section.
    ``(B) For purposes of applying the requirements of section 46 of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657s) pursuant to subparagraph (A), 
the term `similarly situated entity' used in such section 46 includes a 
subcontractor for a small business concern owned and controlled by 
veterans described in such subparagraph (A).
    ``(2) The Secretary may award a contract under this section only 
after the Secretary obtains from the offeror a certification that the 
offeror will comply with the requirements described in paragraph (1)(A) 
if awarded the contract. Such certification shall--
            ``(A) specify the exact performance requirements applicable 
        under such paragraph; and
            ``(B) explicitly acknowledge that the certification is 
        subject to section 1001 of title 18.
    ``(3)(A) The Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business 
Utilization for the Department, established pursuant to section 15(k) 
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)), and the Chief Acquisition 
Officer of the Department, established pursuant to section 1702 of 
title 41, shall jointly implement a process using the systems described 
in section 16(g)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 645(g)(2)), 
and any other relevant systems available, to monitor compliance with 
this subsection.
    ``(B) The Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 
and the Chief Acquisition Officer shall jointly refer any violations or 
suspected violations of this subsection to the Inspector General of the 
Department.
    ``(C) If the Secretary determines, in consultation with the 
Inspector General of the Department, that a small business concern that 
is awarded a contract under this section did not act in good faith with 
respect to the requirements described in paragraph (1)(A), the small 
business concern shall be subject to any or all of the following 
consequences--
            ``(i) referral to the Debarment and Suspension Committee of 
        the Department;
            ``(ii) a fine under section 16(g)(1) of the Small Business 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 645(g)(1)); and
            ``(iii) prosecution for violating section 1001 of title 18.
    ``(D) Not later than November 30 for each of fiscal years 2021 
through 2025, the Inspector General shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 
for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year during which the report 
is submitted that includes, for the fiscal year covered by the report--
            ``(i) the number of referred violations and suspected 
        violations received under subparagraph (B); and
            ``(ii) the disposition of such referred violations, 
        including the number of small business concerns suspended or 
        debarred from Federal contracting or referred to the Attorney 
        General for prosecution.''.
    (b) Application.--Subsection (k) of section 8127 of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with 
respect to a contract entered into after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives February 25, 2020.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.