[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8802-H8803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS SMALL BUSINESS CONTINUATION ACT

  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 499) to amend the Small Business Act to clarify the 
treatment of certain surviving spouses under the definition of small 
business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 499

       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 ``Service-Disabled Veterans 
     Small Business Continuation Act''.

     SEC. 2. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT REGARDING TREATMENT OF CERTAIN 
                   SURVIVING SPOUSES UNDER THE DEFINITION OF SMALL 
                   BUSINESS CONCERN OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY 
                   SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS.

       Effective on the date specified in subsection (e) of 
     section 1832 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
     Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328; 130 Stat. 2660), 
     section 3(q)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)) 
     is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (C)(i)(II), by striking ``rated as 100 
     percent'' and all that follows through ``service-connected 
     disability''; and
       (2) by amending subparagraph (C)(ii)(III) to read as 
     follows:
       ``(III) the date that--

       ``(aa) in the case of a surviving spouse of a veteran with 
     a service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling 
     or who dies as a result of a service-connected disability, is 
     10 years after the date of the death of the veteran; or
       ``(bb) in the case of a surviving spouse of a veteran with 
     a service-connected disability rated as less than 100 percent 
     disabling who does not die as a result of a service-connected 
     disability, is 3 years after the date of the death of the 
     veteran.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Schneider) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCHNEIDER. 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 on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 499, the Service-
Disabled Veterans Small Business Continuation Act, which protects small 
businesses owned by disabled veterans by providing a transitionary 
period to keep service-disabled veteran-owned small business status in 
the event of the business owner's death. This bill codifies our 
intention to bridge the differences between the SBA and VA by 
establishing uniformity.
  We know that running a small business often involves many members of 
a family. By extending surviving spousal rights to the SDVOSB 
definition, we are honoring the sacrifice a deceased veteran previously 
made for our country. We are also providing stability for the business 
and its employees to ensure that they can remain competitive, rather 
than being effectively penalized by the death of the service-disabled 
veteran business owner.
  I thank Ranking Member Chabot and Mr. Delgado for working together to 
ensure that when a disabled veteran business owner passes, the law does 
not impose insult to injury by penalizing the surviving spouse.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bipartisan piece of 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1315

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 499, the Service-Disabled 
Veteran Small Business Continuation Act.
  First, I would like to thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Roe 
of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee for their leadership and 
collaboration on this issue. I would also like to thank the gentleman 
from New York, a member of our Small Business Committee, Mr. Delgado, 
for his willingness to work with me and be a leader on this 
legislation.
  I, like all Members of this body, hear from many constituents on a 
wide range of issues. One issue that is particularly important to me 
and the folks in my district is to ensure that veterans and their 
families are treated fairly by the government that they have served so 
bravely.
  Many of our men and women in uniform come home after serving and 
decide to use their considerable talents to become small business 
owners. Unfortunately, the laws and regulations around starting a 
business can be difficult to navigate--almost prohibitive--when they 
shouldn't be. Further exacerbating the problem is when one part of the 
law says one thing, yet another part of the law says something entirely 
different.
  How can we expect our veterans to come home and become successful 
entrepreneurs when our laws are often unclear? That is why this bill, 
H.R. 499, is so important. While Congress has already codified in title 
38 a commonsense policy allowing the surviving spouse of the service-
disabled veteran small business owner to retain the company's SDVOSB 
status for a certain length of time, the Small Business Act has no such 
policy and this lack of parity creates legal uncertainty in the 
application of the law and confusion for veterans and their families.
  H.R. 499 provides clarity in the law by ensuring continuity across 
the government in the way we treat our veteran entrepreneurs and their 
families. The bill amends the Small Business Act to align with title 
38, guaranteeing that the surviving spouses of service-disabled veteran 
small business owners can keep the valuable SDVOSB small business 
designation for their companies for a certain period of time, even 
after the veteran owner passes away.
  Correcting this misalignment in the law is the least we can do to 
provide our Nation's heroes and their families with some measure of 
comfort and peace of mind, especially when dealing with this type of 
family tragedy.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Delgado).
  Mr. DELGADO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague 
Representative Schneider from Illinois for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the first bill I introduced 
as a Member of Congress, the bipartisan Service-Disabled Veterans Small 
Business Continuation Act.
  This legislation which I introduced with Members from both sides of 
the aisle, Ranking Member Chabot, Congressman Jack Bergman, and 
Representative Correa, responds to the critical need to ensure that 
spouses of service-disabled veterans can start or continue operating a 
small business after the veteran's passing.
  The spouses, families, and loved ones of our servicemembers carry 
enormous burdens. Not only do they make sacrifices to support their 
loved ones in the military, they are integral to the transition back to 
civilian life.
  The Service-Disabled Veterans Small Business Continuation Act seeks 
to address one of the many burdens carried by the spouses of our 
military veterans. Rightfully so, both the Small Business 
Administration, and the VA give contracting preferences to small 
businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. However, currently, when 
the veteran dies, only a small handful of spouses can retain that 
contracting preference. That is because this contracting preference is 
only given to the spouses of veterans with a 100 percent disability.
  Spouses of service-disabled veterans should be able to retain this 
preference

[[Page H8803]]

regardless of the veteran's disability rating. This bill makes an 
important correction ensuring that all spouses of service-disabled 
veterans retain Federal contracting preference as a service-disabled 
veteran-owned small business no matter the severity of that veteran's 
injury.
  This will give surviving spouses the opportunity to remain 
competitive in the Federal contracting market and help ensure that 
businesses are not upended after the death of their veteran spouse.
  I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their 
cooperation on this issue and commitment to the families and spouses of 
our veterans. Caring for our Nation's heroes should never be a partisan 
issue. I urge the House to support this legislation.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, this commonsense bill fixes an oversight by Congress to 
align the way the Federal Government treats the surviving spouse of a 
service-disabled veteran-owned small business. The bill simply aligns 
title 15, the Small Business Act, with title 38, ensuring continuity 
across the government for this important policy.
  This bill will provide our Nation's heroes and their families with 
peace of mind. I urge this bill's adoption, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Small 
Business Administration value the sacrifices of America's veterans and, 
in particular, we note today, service-disabled veterans who remain 
committed to their country by starting small firms.
  In that vein, the VA and the SBA have contracting preferences for 
service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. Despite the success of 
these programs, neither adequately address what happens when the 
service-disabled veteran owner dies. The death of a loved one by 
itself, an already devastating event, is compounded by needing to 
attend to the duties of running his or her small business and it is 
often debilitating.

  The sudden death of a veteran whose small business relies upon a 
contracting preference takes a toll on the spouse of the deceased 
veteran, the business operations, and the business' employees.
  H.R. 499 establishes much-needed certainty by rectifying inherently 
critical oversight. Setting forth the rules by which a surviving spouse 
can retain the service-disabled veteran-owned small business status 
honors the dedication of the veteran, the surviving spouse, and their 
business.
  The government has a responsibility to ensure those who give so much 
to their country have the opportunity for their small business passions 
to survive and prosper, even upon death.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 499.
  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. SCHNEIDER. 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, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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