[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.
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