[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 93 (Monday, June 23, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H5675-H5679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1445
     VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BENEFITS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2003

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 1460) to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
permit the use of education benefits under such title for certain 
entrepreneurship courses, to permit veterans enrolled in a vocational 
rehabilitation program under chapter 31 of such title to have self-
employment as a vocational goal, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1460

       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 ``Veterans Entrepreneurship 
     and Benefits Improvement Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR STATE APPROVING AGENCIES TO APPROVE 
                   CERTAIN ENTREPRENEURSHIP COURSES.

       (a) Approval of Entrepreneurship Courses.--Section 3675 of 
     title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
     the following new subsection:
       ``(c)(1) A State approving agency may approve the 
     entrepreneurship courses offered by a qualified provider of 
     entrepreneurship courses.
       ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term 
     `entrepreneurship course' means a non-degree, non-credit 
     course of business education that enables or assists a person 
     to start or enhance a small business enterprise.
       ``(3) Subsection (a) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
     subsection (b) do not apply to--
       ``(A) an entrepreneurship course offered by a qualified 
     provider of entrepreneurship courses; and
       ``(B) a qualified provider of entrepreneurship courses by 
     reason of such provider offering one or more entrepreneurship 
     courses.''.
       (b) Business Owners Not Treated as Already Qualified.--
     Section 3471 of such title is amended by inserting before the 
     last sentence the following: ``The Secretary shall not treat 
     a person as already qualified for the objective of a program 
     of education offered by a qualified provider of 
     entrepreneurship courses solely because such person is the 
     owner or operator of a business.''.
       (c) Inclusion of Entrepreneurship Courses in Definition of 
     Program of Education.--Subsection (b) of section 3452 of such 
     title is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Such 
     term also includes any course, or combination of courses, 
     offered by a qualified provider of entrepreneurship 
     courses.''
       (d) Inclusion of Qualified Provider of Entrepreneurship 
     Courses in Definition of Educational Institution.--Subsection 
     (c) of section 3452 of such title is amended by adding at the 
     end the following: ``Such term also includes any qualified 
     provider of entrepreneurship courses.''.
       (e) Definition of Qualified Provider of Entrepreneurship 
     Courses.--Section 3452 of such title is further amended by 
     adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(h) The term `qualified provider of entrepreneurship 
     courses' means--
       ``(1) a small business development center described in 
     section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648), and
       ``(2) the National Veterans Business Development 
     Corporation (established under section 33 of such Act (15 
     U.S.C. 657c)) insofar as the Corporation offers or sponsors 
     an entrepreneurship course (as defined in section 3675(c)(2) 
     of this title).''.
       (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to courses approved by State approving agencies 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR CERTIFIED SMALL BUSINESS 
                   CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY QUALIFIED 
                   SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS, ETC.

       (a) Establishment of Program.--The Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended by redesignating section 36 as 
     section 38 and by inserting after section 35 the following 
     new sections:

     ``SEC. 36. PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR CERTIFIED SMALL BUSINESS 
                   CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY QUALIFIED 
                   SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS.

       ``(a) Sole Source Contracts.--In accordance with this 
     section, a contracting officer may award a sole source 
     contract to any certified small business concern owned and 
     controlled by qualified service-disabled veterans if--
       ``(1) such concern is determined to be a responsible 
     contractor with respect to performance of such contract 
     opportunity and the contracting officer does not have a 
     reasonable expectation that 2 or more certified small 
     business concerns owned and controlled by qualified service-
     disabled veterans will submit offers for the contracting 
     opportunity;
       ``(2) the anticipated award price of the contract 
     (including options) will not exceed--
       ``(A) $5,000,000, in the case of a contract opportunity 
     assigned a standard industrial classification code for 
     manufacturing; or
       ``(B) $3,000,000, in the case of any other contract 
     opportunity; and
       ``(3) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the 
     contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price.
       ``(b) Restricted Competition.--In accordance with this 
     section, a contracting officer may award contracts on the 
     basis of competition restricted to certified small business 
     concerns owned and controlled by qualified service-disabled 
     veterans if the contracting officer has a reasonable 
     expectation that not less than 2 certified small business 
     concerns owned and controlled by qualified service-disabled 
     veterans will submit offers and that the award can be made at 
     a fair market price.
       ``(c) Enforcement; Penalties.--Rules similar to the rules 
     of section 31(c) shall apply for purposes of this section.
       ``(d) Collection of Data Regarding Small Business Concerns 
     Owned and Controlled by Service-Disabled Veterans.--
       ``(1) Survey.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this section and each 3 years thereafter, the 
     Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs, shall complete a survey of service-disabled veterans 
     receiving benefits under title 38, United States Code, to 
     determine the number, identity, and primary industry 
     classification of small business concerns owned and 
     controlled by service-disabled veterans.
       ``(2) Report to congress.--The Administrator, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall 
     report to Congress on the results of each survey conducted 
     under paragraph (1). Such report shall include the total 
     number of small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     service-disabled veterans.
       ``(e) Contracting Officer.--For purposes of this section 
     and section 37, the term `contracting officer' has the 
     meaning given such term in section 27(f)(5) of the Office of 
     Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423(f)(5)).

     ``SEC. 37. PRIORITY OF SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT 
                   PREFERENCES.

       ``(a) In General.--A contracting officer may not make a 
     procurement from a source on the basis of a preference 
     provided under any provision of this Act referred to in 
     subsection (b) unless the contracting officer has determined 
     that such procurement cannot be made on the basis of a 
     preference provided under another provision of this Act with 
     a higher priority under such subsection.
       ``(b) Order of Priority.--For purposes of this section, the 
     following provisions of this Act are listed in order of 
     priority from highest to lowest:
       ``(1) Section 8(a).
       ``(2) Section 36(b).
       ``(3) Section 36(a).
       ``(4) Section 31(b)(2)(B).
       ``(5) Section 31(b)(2)(A).
       ``(6) Section 8(m).
       ``(c) Priority of Certain Other Procurement Preferences.--A 
     procurement may not be made from a source on the basis of a 
     preference provided under any provision of this Act referred 
     to in subsection (b) if the procurement would otherwise by 
     made from a different source under section 4124 or 4125 of 
     title 18, United States Code, or the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act 
     (41 U.S.C. 46 et seq.).''.
       (b) Certified Small Business Concern Owned and Controlled 
     by Service-Disabled Veterans.--Subsection (q) of section 3 of 
     the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(5) Certified small business concern owned and controlled 
     by qualified service-disabled veterans.--
       ``(A) Qualified service-disabled veteran.--The term 
     `qualified service-disabled veteran' means any veteran who--
       ``(i) has one or more disabilities that are service-
     connected (as defined in section 101(16) of title 38, United 
     States Code) and rated at 10 percent or more by the Secretary 
     of Veterans Affairs; or
       ``(ii) is entitled to benefits under section 1151 of title 
     38, United States Code.
       ``(B) Small business concern owned and controlled by 
     qualified service-disabled veterans.--The term `small 
     business concern owned and controlled by qualified service-
     disabled veterans' means a small business concern--
       ``(i) not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or 
     more qualified service-disabled veterans or, in the case of 
     any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the 
     stock of which is owned by one or more qualified service-
     disabled veterans; and

[[Page H5676]]

       ``(ii) the management and daily business operations of 
     which are controlled by one or more qualified service-
     disabled veterans or, in the case of a veteran with permanent 
     and severe disability, the spouse or permanent caregiver of 
     such veteran.
       ``(C) Certified small business concern owned and controlled 
     by qualified service-disabled veterans.--The term `certified 
     small business concern owned and controlled by qualified 
     service-disabled veterans' means any small business concern 
     owned and controlled by qualified service-disabled veterans 
     that is certified by the Administrator as being such a 
     concern.''.
       (c) Conforming Amendments.--Paragraph (2) of section 31(b) 
     of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657a(b)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law'' and inserting ``In accordance with this section'';
       (2) in subparagraph (B)--
       (A) by striking ``a contract opportunity shall be awarded 
     pursuant to this section'' and inserting ``a contracting 
     officer may award contracts''; and
       (B) by striking ``; and'' at the end and inserting a 
     period; and
       (3) by striking subparagraph (C).
       (d) Department of Veterans Affairs Pilot Program.--
       (1) In general.--In the case of a contracting officer of 
     the Department of Veterans Affairs, the provisions of the 
     Small Business Act referred to in paragraphs (1), (2), and 
     (3) of section 37(b) of such Act shall be treated as being 
     equal in priority for purposes of applying section 37 of such 
     Act.
       (2) Termination.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply with 
     respect to procurements made after September 30, 2007.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE ADAPTED HOUSING ASSISTANCE 
                   TO CERTAIN DISABLED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 
                   WHO REMAIN ON ACTIVE DUTY.

       Section 2101 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(c)(1) The Secretary may provide assistance under 
     subsection (a) to a member of the Armed Forces serving on 
     active duty who is suffering from a disability described in 
     paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of that subsection if such 
     disability is the result of an injury incurred or disease 
     contracted in or aggravated in line of duty in the active 
     military, naval, or air service. Such assistance shall be 
     provided to the same extent as assistance is provided under 
     that subsection to veterans eligible for assistance under 
     that subsection and subject to the requirements of the second 
     sentence of that subsection.
       ``(2) The Secretary may provide assistance under subsection 
     (b) to a member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty 
     who is suffering from a disability described in subparagraph 
     (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of that subsection if such 
     disability is the result of an injury incurred or disease 
     contracted in or aggravated in line of duty in the active 
     military, naval, or air service. Such assistance shall be 
     provided to the same extent as assistance is provided under 
     such subsection to veterans eligible for assistance under 
     that subsection and subject to the requirements of paragraph 
     (2) of that subsection.''.

     SEC. 5. REINSTATEMENT OF MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR SALE OF 
                   VENDEE LOANS.

       (a) In General.--Section 3733(a) of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraphs 
     (3), (4), (5), and (6) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5), 
     respectively; and
       (2) in subparagraph (B)(i) of paragraph (3), as so 
     redesignated, by striking ``paragraph (5) of this 
     subsection'' and inserting ``paragraph (4)''.
       (b) Increase in Maximum Percentage.--Section 3733(a)(1) of 
     such title is amended--
       (1) by striking ``65 percent'' in the first sentence and 
     inserting ``85 percent''; and
       (2) by striking the second sentence.
       (c) Stylistic Amendment.--Section 3733 of such title is 
     amended by striking ``paragraph (1) of this subsection'' each 
     place it appears and inserting ``paragraph (1)''.

     SEC. 6. PAYMENT OF ACCRUED BENEFITS.

       (a) Repeal of Limitation on Payment.--Subsection (a) of 
     section 5121 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``for a period not to exceed two years'' in the 
     matter preceding paragraph (1).
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect with respect to deaths occurring on or 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Aderholt). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Maine (Mr. 
Michaud) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, before I begin discussing our bill, Mr. Speaker, I would 
like to note with great sadness the passing of the former chairman of 
the Committee on Veterans Affairs, Bob Stump. Bob was a great friend to 
all of those who served in the Armed Forces since his own Naval 
experience as a Navy corpsman serving in the South Pacific during World 
War II. Although you did not see Bob making the rounds on the Sunday 
morning talk shows, his words, and especially his actions and deeds, 
spoke volumes about his dedication to all those who serve and have 
served our country in the United States military.
  Bob served in Congress for 26 years. He was chairman of the House 
Committee on Veterans Affairs from 1995 to 2000, and then chaired the 
House Committee on Armed Services until his retirement in December of 
2002. He has left a lasting legacy of service to our country, and he 
will be dearly missed.
  On behalf of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, I want to express our 
condolences to his wife, Nancy, his children, Karen, Hoot, and Bruce, 
and to his grandchildren as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1460, as amended, 
the Veterans Entrepreneurial and Benefits Improvement Act of 2003. The 
Committee on Veterans Affairs reported H.R. 1460 unanimously on May 15 
as a result of the initiative of the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Renzi), who introduced the bill. This bill was introduced following a 
hearing on the state of veterans employment on February 5 at which the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) highlighted the seriously inadequate 
performance of Federal agencies in reaching out to disabled veteran-
owned businesses. Since then, the ranking member, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Evans), and I have worked closely with the chairman, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo), and the ranking member, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), of the Committee on Small 
Business with respect to section 3 of the bill on which the Committee 
on Small Business had jurisdiction.
  I am pleased that we have been able to formulate language agreeable 
to both committees, and I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Manzullo) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) for 
their cooperative efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, disabled American veterans deserve a full opportunity to 
participate in the economic system that they fought so hard to defend. 
Section 2 of the bill would make improvements to the veteran and 
service-disabled veteran's small business opportunities by authorizing 
for the first time the use of VA education benefits to pay for 
nondegree/noncredit courses. These courses are offered by the Small 
Business Development Center and the National Veterans Business 
Development Corporation.
  Section 3 of the bill has been, if you want to look at it one way, 
almost 23 years in the making. It contains a disabled veterans 
contracting preference provision derived from the 1980 White House 
Conference on Small Business convened by then-President Jimmy Carter.
  The 1981 consultant report of the SBA Veterans Project and the 1999 
report of the bipartisan Congressional Commission on Servicemembers and 
Veterans Transition Assistance made similar-type recommendations.
  This provision for the first time would authorize Federal agencies to 
create sole-source contracts for disabled veteran-owned and -controlled 
small businesses. It would also furnish Federal agencies discretionary 
authority to restrict contracts to disabled veteran-owned and -
controlled businesses if at least two such concerns were qualified to 
bid on the contract. This is the first time Federal contracting 
officers will have such authority.
  Section 3 would also create a 4-year pilot in the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, service-disabled veterans-controlled businesses, and 
would have the same contracting priority as SBA's 8(a) program for 
socially and economically disadvantaged small business.
  For all other Federal agencies, service-connected disabled-veteran-
owned and -controlled businesses would be accorded priority to be 
awarded procurement contracts above the women-owned and HUBZone 
priorities, but just below 8(a) priorities.
  In all cases, to be eligible for these procurement preferences, 
veterans who own and control small businesses would need to have at 
least a 10 percent service-connected disability.
  The Federal Government, Mr. Speaker, contracts for about $235 billion 
in goods and services annually. America's sons and daughters who became 
disabled in their service to the Nation will

[[Page H5677]]

now have some of the same types of contracting preferences accorded to 
other deserving groups.
  Section 4 of the bill, Mr. Speaker, would extend VA's specially 
adapted housing grant to severely disabled service members prior to 
separation from active duty service. Under current law, an otherwise 
eligible servicemember may not apply for home modification assistance 
until he or she is actually separated from the military or placed on 
the temporary-disabled retirement list.
  I want to commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) for his 
leadership in putting together this important provision.
  Section 5 would reinstate the Department of Veterans Affairs' vendee 
loan programs, which the VA administratively terminated last January. I 
want to thank the gentleman for joining me for authoring this 
provision.
  When a purchaser agrees to buy a foreclosed VA home, VA often offers 
to finance the sale by establishing a vendee loan to encourage the 
prompt sale of a home. Vendee loans are made at market interest rates 
and often require a down payment. Borrowers are assessed a 2.25 percent 
funding fee that is paid in each case. The vendee loan program is based 
on sound business principles, and there is an ample body of empirical 
evidence to suggest that offering vendee financing is highly cost 
effective to the government. In March, for example, of 2002, a Booz, 
Allen, Hamilton study found that cost effectiveness of vendee loan 
financing, their report said that the government would save $16 million 
a year starting in 1999.
  Finally, section 6 of the bill would repeal the existing 2-year 
limitation on accrued benefits so that a veteran survivor may receive 
the full amount of an award and of benefits and may not be penalized if 
VA does not process the claim in a timely manner. This section is 
derived from H.R. 241, legislation that I introduced earlier this year.
  Finally, I want to thank especially the good leadership that the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) has provided in shaping this 
legislation. As always, I wanted to thank my good friend and colleague, 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), for his work on this, as well 
as the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) who is representing the 
minority in presenting this bill to the floor today and for his good 
work as ranking member of the subcommittee.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 1460, 
the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Benefits Improvement Act of 2003, 
which I am a proud co-sponsor of. I also would like to thank the 
chairman of the committee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith); 
the ranking member, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans); and the 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Benefits, the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Brown), for their work in bringing this important 
legislation to the floor.
  This bill includes several provisions related to veterans who are 
owners of small businesses or who aspire to be.
  I appreciate the efforts of the chairman, the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Manzullo); and the ranking member, the gentlewoman from New York 
(Ms. Velazquez); as well as the staff of the Committee on Small 
Business for their assistance with those provisions.
  H.R. 1460 would authorize the use of VA education assistance to pay 
for nondegree and noncredit business courses at approved institutions. 
This will enable veterans to obtain educational opportunities that meet 
their small business goals. This legislation would also improve the 
ability of service-disabled veterans who own small businesses to do 
business with the Federal Government.
  As a member of both the Committee on Small Business and the Committee 
on Veterans Affairs, I am pleased that we are considering this 
legislation to help service-disabled veterans to obtain government 
contracts. These men and women who have sacrificed so much for this 
country, they are disabled as a result of their service to our Nation. 
The least that we can do is to say if you own a small business, then 
you should have the opportunity to obtain contracts from the Federal 
Government.
  I am particularly disappointed about the number of service-disabled 
veterans who are obtaining Federal contracts. The number is already 
unacceptably small, and it has actually decreased over the past year. 
As Angela Styles of the Office of Management and Budget testified 
earlier this year, the Federal Government's record for contracts to 
service-disabled veterans is abysmal.
  This bill will help improve that record. Section 4 of the bill 
includes provisions from H.R. 761, introduced by the ranking member, 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), and by the chairman, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). These provisions would allow 
servicemembers such as those seriously disabled during the Iraq War to 
obtain special adapted housing grants before being discharged from 
military service. These grants are available only to the most severely 
disabled veterans.
  Under current law, servicemembers with severe disabilities may have 
their hospital discharge delayed if, for example, they do not have a 
wheelchair-accessible home available. But we can speed up the process 
by giving them their assistance immediately. Since they will meet the 
requirements as soon as they are discharged, there is no reason to 
delay providing them with assistance while their discharge is pending. 
This is a sensible, cost-effective and humane provision.
  Section 5 of the bill would reinstate a particularly effective VA 
vendee home loan program, and I am puzzled as to what the reasons were 
for terminating such an effective, cost-saving program; and I am 
pleased that Congress is taking action to reinstate it.
  H.R. 1460 also includes a provision of H.R. 241, which removes the 
time limitation on accrued benefits paid to the families of veterans 
who died while a claim for veterans benefits is pending. I have 
veterans in my district in Maine with claims which have been pending 
for many years. I hope none of them passes away while waiting for a 
decision. Should they do so, I want their families to see the full 
retroactive benefit to which the veteran is entitled.
  I urge all Members to support this bill.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I note with sadness the passing of a long-time 
friend of this Nation's veterans and former chair of our committee, Bob 
Stump. Although I did not have the opportunity to work with Mr. Stump, 
I appreciate the legacy of bipartisan cooperation he has left with the 
Committee on Veterans Affairs, similar to the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Chairman Smith).
  I would like to extend my sympathy and that of all members of this 
body to his wife and his children.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi), the 
author of the bill.
  Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I too want to share the words and the 
memories of Congressman Bob Stump. I am privileged to serve a major 
portion of the district in Arizona that he served so greatly for many, 
many years and more so, to learn more about him through the experience 
of his staff members who now work for me here in Washington. In 
addition, what I have learned greatly with serving with the Committee 
on Veterans Affairs under his mentorship and leadership has been a 
great influence on me.
  I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for those words, 
and to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) I am also grateful. I 
will pass those on at the ceremony honoring Bob Stump this Wednesday in 
Arizona.

                              {time}  1500

  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand here today in support of the 
thousands of service-disabled veteran small business owners across the 
Nation who want to do business with the Federal Government. The 
distinguished members of our community and the successful small 
businesses are an integral part of the backbone of our economy; the 
same economy they fought for so bravely; the same economy that they 
gave their personal sacrifice to preserve and protect.

[[Page H5678]]

  I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the 
chairman, because it is he who saw this many years ago and helped pull 
together the various portions of this legislation to build a bill that 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking member, has 
supported, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo), the gentlewoman 
from New York (Ms. Velazquez), and also our distinguished ranking 
member on the subcommittee, the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud). I 
also want to thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown) for 
allowing me to move forward this legislation, though it came under 
jurisdiction of his committee, and I especially want to thank the 
Committee on Veterans Affairs staff for their leadership and guidance 
in developing this legislation. They put a lot of hours into making 
this bill a reality.
  This bill is a first step in improving our current practice of 
contracting opportunities, and I look forward to working with the 
Committee on Veterans Affairs in the future and with the Committee on 
Small Business to further extend these small business opportunities.
  Our purpose in introducing this legislation was to give service-
disabled business owners and Federal contractors the tools they need to 
meet the government-wide statutory goal of 3 percent established in 
Public Law 106-50. When the Committee on Veterans Affairs held an 
oversight hearing chaired by our committee chairman, the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Smith), on February 5, the state of veterans 
entrepreneurship program was discouraging to hear. In many cases, there 
were only several agencies that had Federal contracts with any of our 
service-disabled veterans and many did not even reach 1 percent. This 
is unacceptable and our veterans deserve better.
  This bill sets out to lift these barriers that have denied service-
disabled veterans the opportunities to fully participate in Federal 
contracting, and we are morally bound to promote the successful 
employment of those who have borne the battle and bear the scars of 
freedom for all Americans.
  For the first time, this legislation, H.R. 1460, will allow veterans 
to use the Montgomery GI bill to educate themselves and to take 
entrepreneurial courses from small business centers. The National 
Veterans Business Development Centers Corporation will also be included 
in their ability to teach many of our veterans. This gives veterans the 
business education and training they need to successfully operate small 
businesses, and it is a real investment towards improving our economy 
and our veterans' livelihood.
  Secondly, we recognize certified small business owners as a source of 
Federal procurement programs. Service-disabled veterans have a tougher 
journey ahead of them when they return from duty with a disability, and 
these veterans are comprised of individuals of all races and both 
genders. Veterans have earned the right to compete for contracts on the 
same level as other classes of individuals.
  We hope that in the future those who have served within the 
Department of Defense and have provided homeland security will also 
have a priority in contracting with DOD and the Department of Homeland 
Security.
  Small business-contracting Federal officers will note that Public Law 
106-50 directed the creation of a database of small businesses that 
have identified themselves as being owned by service-disabled American 
veterans. This has been a labor intensive task, and I commend the 
Department of Veterans Affairs for their progress in realizing this 
effort. It is critically important that our Federal contractors have 
access to this information and be able to identify veteran-owned 
businesses that qualify for prime and subcontractor awards.
  This legislation is a beginning. This tool can be used by veteran 
contracting officers to find service-disabled veteran businesses and 
help them achieve the statutory goal of 3 percent.
  I want to thank again the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for 
his leadership and his kindness towards me and generosity. I thank 
everyone on the Committee on Veterans Affairs, and I hope disabled 
American veterans will find a way now to help grow their businesses and 
prosper.
  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself an additional 
minute.
  I again want to thank my friends on the other side of the aisle for 
their good hard work on this legislation, and I especially want to 
thank the extraordinary work by the author of it, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Renzi). This is a bill that will help so many of our 
veterans who are service-connected disabled who are in the business 
realm to get the kind of government contracts that they are deserving 
of and hopefully will lead to greater wealth and a capability on their 
part to provide for their families and for their loved ones.
  This is a good bill. It is pro-business, it is pro-veteran, and it 
deserves the support of everybody in this Chamber.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank our subcommittee chairman, the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), and again, the gentleman 
from Maine (Mr. Michaud), who is the ranking member, for their work on 
this bill, for marking it up and bringing it forward to the full 
committee where we marked it up and passed it unanimously.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 1460, the Veterans' 
Entrepreneurship and Benefits Improvement Act of 2003 and urge passage 
by this Chamber. I would like to thank Chris Smith, chairman of the 
full committee, the Benefits Subcommittee chairman, Henry Brown and 
ranking member, Michael Michaud, for their hard work in bringing this 
legislation to the floor. I also want to acknowledge the contributions 
of Don Manzullo and Nydia Velazquez, chairman and ranking member of the 
House Small Business Committee, along with their respective staffs for 
assisting us in crafting this legislation.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill as it provides 
increased opportunities for veterans to develop their entrepreneurial 
skills and become successful small business owners. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 
1460 is a good bill and a step in the right direction with respect to 
its small business contracting provisions. The Federal Government 
engages in procurement contracts of up to $235 billion a year. Surely, 
service-disabled veteran small business owners deserve an opportunity 
to participate in this system.
  Section 2 authorizes the use of VA education assistance to pay for 
nondegree and noncredit business courses at approved institutions. This 
provision should expand the educational and training opportunities for 
service-disabled veterans.
  Section 3 authorizes Federal agency contracting officers to create 
sole source and restricted competition contracts for ``certified'' 
service-disabled veteran small business owners; requires the collection 
of relevant data and a report to Congress on service-disabled small 
business owners; and establishes a 4-year pilot program at the 
Department of Veterans Affairs through which service-disabled veteran 
small business owners would receive equal priority among all small 
business programs.
  Section 4 is derived from a bill, H.R. 761, which I introduced. It 
would allow servicemembers to apply for and receive a grant for 
specially adapted housing while still in military service. This 
legislation was prompted by reports of seriously disabled 
servicemembers having to remain hospitalized until they were discharged 
from military services because they could not obtain a grant for 
specially adapted housing until after leaving military service. Without 
such a grant they were unable to obtain accessible housing. There is no 
question that these servicemembers will be discharged from military 
service. In order to qualify for the specially adapted housing grant, 
severe disabilities incompatible with continued military service are 
required. I hope that the Senate will act quickly to pass this 
legislation. I do not want to see severely disabled servicemembers from 
the recent Iraq war unnecessarily hospitalized due to the lack of 
accessible housing.
  Section 5 reinstates the VA's vendee loan program. The vendee loan 
program is a successful program that allows VA to finance loans to a 
new veteran or non-veteran purchaser when the prior loan has been 
foreclosed upon and VA has received the property. By allowing vendee 
loans, the VA is able to sell the property more quickly and at a higher 
cost than is possible with conventional financing. VA abruptly ended 
this program earlier this year. I strongly favor its reinstatement.
  Finally, section 6 would allow a surviving spouse or dependent 
children to receive accrued benefits if the veteran dies while a claim 
for VA periodic monetary benefits is being processed. Currently there 
is a 2-year time

[[Page H5679]]

limit on the retroactive period. I have introduced legislation to allow 
family members to continue the claims of veterans who die while a claim 
is pending. This provision is a good first step. The government should 
not be allowed to deny retroactive payments when the government's 
inaction is responsible for delayed adjudication of a claim.
  Again, I thank my colleagues on the Veterans' Affairs Committee for 
their hard work and I urge my colleagues to vote to pass this 
legislation.
  Mr. BROWN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, as an original sponsor of 
H.R. 1460, as amended, the ``Veterans Entrepreneurship and Benefits 
Improvement Act of 2003. I encourage my colleagues to support this 
legislation. I commend representative Renzi, Chairman Smith and Ranking 
Member Evans of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, and Chairman 
Manzullo and Ranking Member Velazquez of the Small Business Committee 
for bringing this important legislation to the floor for consideration.
  I especially want to comment on sections two and three of the bill.
  Section two would allow veterans, disabled veterans, dependents of 
totally disabled or deceased veterans, and active-duty members of the 
Selected Reserve to use their VA benefits to pursue pre-
entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship courses offered under the 
auspices of Small Business Development Centers and the National 
Veterans Business Development Corporation. Small businesses in the last 
decade accounted for about 70 percent of the new jobs created in our 
economy.
  The men and women who have served in our military indeed are engaging 
and resourceful individuals. Indeed, the 1999 report of the bipartisan 
Congressional Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition 
Assistance found the following: ``a 5-year profile survey of veteran-
owned businesses in Massachusetts conducted in the late 1980's and 
early 1990's showed that a pool of approximately 2,000 veterans engaged 
in micro businesses generated $74 million in taxable income for the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.'' And that is just in one state. With 
the availability of training under this bill, more veterans will be 
able to obtain the skills they need to start and grow their own small 
businesses. As Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Leo S. Mackay, 
Jr. testified at our April 30th hearing, ``the potential for positive 
effects on the economy, with enhanced competition and creativity within 
the marketplace, is significant.''
  Section three of the bill would place disabled veteran-owned and 
controlled small businesses on a par with socially and economically 
disadvantaged veterans in the 8(a) contracting program for procurement 
contracts offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the next 
four years. This authority would apply to ``setaside'' and restricted 
competition contracts to be applied by contracting officers on a 
discretionary basis. For all Federal agencies, disabled veteran-owned 
and controlled small businesses would rank ahead of HUBZone and women-
owned businesses in procurement preferences, but behind the 8(a) 
program. I find these types of preference as a needed `first step' 
because of two additional findings of the Transition Commission: first, 
``Disabled-veteran entrepreneurs require additional assistance because 
these business owners encounter costs and impediments that are not 
factors for their non-disabled competitors. Second, as a matter of 
fundamental fairness, Congress should accord veterans a full 
opportunity to participate in the economic system that their service 
sustains.''
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would note for the Record that the current 
independent Task Force for Veterans Entrepreneurship, the 
aforementioned Transition Commission, the 1981 expert report of the SBA 
Veterans Project, and the 1980 White House Conference on Small Business 
all recommended some type of federal ``setaside'' authority for 
disabled-veteran owned and controlled small businesses in the purchase 
of goods and services.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1460. The 
provisions of this legislation remove barriers to small business 
ownership for veterans. H.R. 1460 allows veterans to use their 
education benefits to pay for non-degree or non-credit courses of 
entrepreneurship, enabling them to learn the skills that they will need 
when starting and running their own businesses. The bill additionally 
amends the Small Business Act to give small businesses owned by service 
disabled veterans the opportunity to secure sole source contracts from 
the Federal Government. By giving those participating in a veteran's 
rehabilitation program the chance to name self-employment as their 
vocational goal, H.R. 1460 makes entrepreneurship a viable career 
option for many for whom it was not before.
  The passage of this legislation would mean a lot for those veterans 
who, like so many other Americans, dream of working for themselves. The 
opportunities that H.R. 1460 provides for self-employment are 
especially meaningful when salaried jobs can be so difficult to find. 
Large numbers of veterans live in my home district of El Paso, Texas 
where we unfortunately also have a high unemployment rate. A community 
like mine is a prime example of why we must provide veterans with the 
tools they need to become successful entrepreneurs. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Aderholt). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1460, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas-and-
nays.
  The yeas-and-nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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