[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 124 (Monday, July 24, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H6175-H6176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTECTING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR VETERANS ACT OF 2017
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 2749) 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, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2749
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 2017''.
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 (l) as subsection (m); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the following new
subsection (l):
``(l) 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 years 2018
through 2022, 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) Effective Date.--Subsection (l) 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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman
[[Page H6176]]
from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.
General Leave
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2749, as amended, the
Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2017.
H.R. 2749, as amended, is contracting reform legislation sponsored by
my friends, General Bergman and Representative Kuster, the chairman and
ranking member of our Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
This bill will help stop companies that exploit the existing
contracting laws and regulations to take work away from legitimate
service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and veteran-owned small
businesses.
It is crucial that Federal procurement be fair and that veteran
entrepreneurs actually receive the business opportunities that the law
creates for them. This bill is a smart fix for a difficult problem, and
I appreciate my colleagues' work on it.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 2749, as amended, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2749, as amended, the
Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act.
I thank General Bergman and Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire for
introducing this. The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations has
worked hard to ensure that our service-disabled veteran-owned small
businesses are provided the protections and support they need from the
VA to remain competitive in the Federal contracting process.
Congress granted Federal Government contracting preferences to small
businesses owned by veterans and service-disabled veterans because we
want our veteran entrepreneurs to thrive.
This bill, introduced by Representatives Bergman and Kuster, closes a
loophole utilized by some that pass through contracts to non-veteran-
owned businesses. This practice is unfair to the thousands of small-
business owners who are actually serving and owned by service-disabled
veterans who play by the rules.
The bill ensures that only our veteran entrepreneurs get this
preference by closing the loophole. It is smart, it is the right thing
to do, and I urge its passage.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. Bergman), a new member of our committee and chairman
of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Mr. BERGMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak today on behalf of H.R.
2749, the Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2017. I
thank the chairman and the ranking member for their support for Ranking
Member Kuster and myself.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2749 aims to provide the VA with the tools it needs
to correct the persistent problem in contracting. The problem is
improper pass-throughs. An improper pass-through is when a small
business obtains a contract under a set-aside, but gives all or
substantially all of the work to a large company and, nonetheless,
collects profit.
Sometimes multiple companies pass through the work while adding price
markups. This has long been prohibited by law and wastes taxpayer
dollars; but, in practice, agencies have little ability to stop it.
In the VA, veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small
businesses have special preference to receive contracts, but bad actors
are taking contracts away from law-abiding veteran businessowners who
truly want to perform their work. The committee gets complaints about
this situation nearly every week.
This bill will make every bidder for a VA contract certify that it
will perform the percentage of work the law already requires. The bill
also directs the VA to work with the Office of Inspector General in a
more effective way to find, stop, and, where appropriate, punish the
improper pass-throughs.
H.R. 2749 relies on existing law and fills in gaps in implementation,
but does not create any new bureaucracy.
The solution is long overdue. I strongly urge my colleagues to
support the bill.
Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this good piece of
legislation that is doing the right thing, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R.
2749, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rice of South Carolina). The question is
on the motion offered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2749, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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