[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 203 (Monday, December 16, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H10270-H10271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CONTRACTING PREFERENCE CONSISTENCY ACT

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4920) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for 
an exception to certain small business contracting requirements 
applicable to the Department of Veterans Affairs procurement of certain 
goods and services covered under the Ability One program, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4920

       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 ``Department of Veterans 
     Affairs Contracting Preference Consistency Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXCEPTION TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SMALL 
                   BUSINESS CONTRACTING REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN 
                   GOODS AND SERVICES COVERED UNDER ABILITY ONE 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (d) of section 8127 of title 
     38, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Except'' and inserting ``(1) Except'';
       (2) by inserting ``in paragraph (2) and'' before ``in 
     subsections (b) and (c)''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), with respect to the 
     procurement of a covered product or service, a contracting 
     officer of the Department shall procure such product or 
     service from a source designated under chapter 85 of title 
     41, and in accordance with the regulations prescribed under 
     such chapter.
       ``(B) In this paragraph, the term `covered product or 
     service' means--
       ``(i) a product or service that--
       ``(I) is included on the procurement list under section 
     8503(a) of title 41; and
       ``(II) was included on such procurement list on or before 
     December 22, 2006; or
       ``(ii) a product or service that--
       ``(I) is a replacement for a product or service described 
     under clause (i);
       ``(II) is essentially the same and meeting the same 
     requirement as the product or service being replaced; and
       ``(III) a contracting officer determines meets the quality 
     standards and delivery schedule of the Department.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Such section is further amended 
     in each of subsections (b) and (c), by striking ``For'' and 
     inserting ``Except as provided in subsection (d)(2), for''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply with respect to a contract entered into on or 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 4920.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, this bipartisan legislation sponsored by Ranking 
Member Roe and me, and 17 other cosponsors, would provide critically 
needed relief for nonprofit companies that employ blind and disabled 
workers under the AbilityOne Program.
  Approximately 2,000 blind and disabled Americans, including many 
veterans, are employed under VA's AbilityOne contracts. Without this 
legislation, these nonprofit companies will likely lose their VA 
contracts because they will lose their award preference. This bill 
would only exempt or grandfather the existing AbilityOne VA contracts 
from losing their preference so these employees would keep their jobs. 
It will not expand the program.
  VA expends approximately $27 billion on contracts and government 
purchase cards for goods and services. Of this spending, only about 
$100 million is spent on contracts with AbilityOne nonprofit 
businesses. Approximately $5 billion is spent on contracts with 
veteran-owned small businesses, many owned by disabled veterans.
  In other words, VA's AbilityOne contracts are a very small percentage 
of the Department's spending. However, the program is vital for the 
2,000 blind and otherwise disabled individuals employed through 
AbilityOne.
  This committee has long championed the Veterans First Contracting 
Program and providing more opportunities for veteran-owned small 
businesses to do business with the Federal Government.
  This legislation means we can support both the Veterans First and 
AbilityOne programs that employ and increase economic opportunities for 
veterans and individuals with disabilities.
  This bill was approved unanimously by the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs and is supported by the Blinded Veterans Association, National 
Federation of the Blind, American Council of the Blind, National 
Industries for the Blind, National Association for the Employment of 
People Who Are Blind, SourceAmerica, and National Council of 
SourceAmerica Employers.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this very important 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4920, the VA 
Contracting Preference Consistency Act.
  I thank Chairman Takano for introducing the legislation, which would 
preserve employment opportunities for the blind and severely disabled 
who rely on VA contracts.
  This bill addresses a technical conflict between the AbilityOne 
Program and the VA Veterans First program. I am sorry to say that this 
conflict exists because of Congress' oversight in the drafting of the 
Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006. 
Whereas earlier legislation was clear about the legislation between the 
AbilityOne and the service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses 
contracting programs, the 2006 act was silent. The result has been a 
series of lawsuits beginning in 2017.
  I wish this conflict did not exist, but the fact is, it does, and it 
still does. It has put the jobs of over 2,000 individuals who are blind 
or severely disabled potentially at risk. These are vulnerable 
populations with an unemployment rate that hovers around 70 to 80 
percent.
  The bill's solution is simple and equitable. It preserves only the 
AbilityOne work that was being performed in VA as of December 22, 2006, 
when the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act 
of 2006 was enacted, creating the Veterans First Program. No new work 
will go into the AbilityOne Program. Rather, it will all be reserved 
for service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses under the rule of 
two.
  This is very similar to the VA's policy, which balanced the two 
programs for nearly 10 years. While that policy was effective in 
practice, it was struck down because it lacked a clear statutory basis.
  Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of wrong information 
circulating about this legislation. Some had alleged that it would 
abolish the Vets First program or wipe away the Supreme Court's 
Kingdomware decision, and that is simply not true.
  The Vets First program is a success story. The volume of VA 
contracting with veteran-owned small businesses

[[Page H10271]]

now exceeds $5 billion annually. This legislation in no way, shape, or 
form erodes that.
  On the other hand, the VA spending in the AbilityOne Program 
fluctuates between $100 million and $200 million in a typical year. 
This legislation would preserve only a portion of that, the portion 
that exists before Vets First was created.
  At the end of the day, this issue is about preserving jobs for the 
blind and disabled individuals, and these jobs are extremely scarce. I 
want to see these jobs multiply and become higher paying with more 
opportunities for advancement. The first step to do that is to make 
sure jobs continue to exist.
  There have already been a significant number of furloughs at 
AbilityOne nonprofits. It is vital that we act before those furloughs 
turn into full-time layoffs.
  Last week, 497 veterans who are employed by the AbilityOne nonprofits 
or supporters of the program sent a letter urging passage of this bill. 
The committee has received many other letters from business owners 
praising or opposing the bill, depending on which program they are 
associated with. I do not for a minute want to fall into that false 
choice between opportunities for veterans and opportunities for blind 
and disabled individuals. They can coexist. They have coexisted in the 
past, and I want to make sure that they coexist in the future.

  Madam Speaker, to that end, I thank all the cosponsors of this 
broadly bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared 
to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).
  Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 4920, the Department of Veterans Affairs Contracting Preference 
Consistency Act.
  This bipartisan bill provides a necessary fix to ensure that 
nonprofit organizations that provide jobs for the blind and those with 
significant disabilities and companies that are owned by veterans 
receive their due and are no longer in conflict.
  The AbilityOne Program was enacted by Congress to give nonprofit 
organizations that employ the blind or those with significant 
disabilities preferential treatment in competing for certain Federal 
procurement contracts. Unfortunately, due to an unnecessary conflict 
between AbilityOne and a similar program, the Veterans First program, 
which sets aside some Department of Veterans Affairs contracts for 
service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses, a legislative fix 
became necessary.
  H.R. 4920 provides that fix by grandfathering in VA contracts that 
predate the creation of the Vets First program to restore eligibility 
for nonprofit organizations that employ blind individuals or those with 
significant disabilities. This bipartisan legislation is proof that the 
choices between helping veterans and those with disabilities is not 
mutually exclusive.
  I thank Chairman Takano, Ranking Member Roe, and all the members on 
the committee for their work on the bill, and I urge my colleagues to 
support its passage.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close.
  Madam Speaker, as has been testified today from both sides of the 
aisle, both of these programs are vitally important. We believe this 
legislation would move forward in making sure that both veterans and 
the blind and disabled who are working in our VA system will be taken 
care of.
  I appreciate everyone who is a sponsor of this bill, and I encourage 
all Members involved to vote ``yes.''
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in 
passing H.R. 4920, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4920.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________