[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H1180-H1182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       PROTECTING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR VETERANS ACT OF 2019

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 561) 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. 561

       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 2019''.

     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 (k) as subsection (l); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the following new 
     subsection (k):
       ``(k) 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.

[[Page H1181]]

       ``(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 fiscal years 
     2021 through 2025, 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) Application.--Subsection (k) 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 
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David P. 
Roe) 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 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to insert extraneous material on H.R. 561, as amended.
  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, H.R. 561, as amended, the Protecting Business 
Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2019, is sponsored by General Bergman 
and Congresswoman Kuster. It establishes important oversight for VA 
small business contracting.
  Under current law, a small business contractor cannot give a 
subcontractor more than 50 percent of its contract work. The 
legislation requires veteran- and service-disabled veteran-owned small 
businesses to certify that they are performing at least half of the 
work. It also requires VA to refer contractors violating or suspected 
of violating the law to the VA Inspector General for investigation.
  Madam Speaker, in addition, the legislation establishes an oversight 
process and penalties for fraudulently claiming to comply with the law.
  Congress strongly supports creating business opportunities for 
veteran-owned small businesses and enforcing government contracting 
set-asides so that veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned 
businesses can compete with larger government contractors.
  It is unfair to veteran small business owners who play by the rules 
to lose out on business opportunities to bad actors who do not follow 
the rules and pass on most of the work to subcontractors, especially 
when those subcontractors are not veteran owned.
  Madam Speaker, this bill is supported by the American Legion. Last 
Congress, the House passed identical legislation sponsored by my 
colleagues, General Bergman and Congresswoman Kuster.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 561, as amended, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1715

  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 561, as amended, the 
Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act.
  H.R. 561, as amended, is contracting reform legislation sponsored by 
my good friend, Lieutenant General Jack Bergman from Michigan, who is 
the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
  This bill would give the Department of Veterans Affairs and the 
Office of Inspector General badly needed tools to stop companies that 
exploit contracting loopholes to take work from legitimate veteran-
owned small businesses. It is crucial that the Federal procurement be 
fair and that veteran entrepreneurs actually receive the business 
opportunities that the law created for them.
  Unfortunately, there have long been some fly-by-night small 
businesses that obtain set-aside contracts only to pass on all of the 
work to large businesses while collecting the profits. This is illegal, 
but the law is difficult to enforce.
  This legislation requires a written certification in every contract 
proposal that the company will comply with the law. A false statement 
constitutes fraud, and the bill makes it the Inspector General's 
explicit responsibility to investigate such suspected fraud.
  This bill is a smart fix for a difficult problem, and I appreciate 
General Bergman as well as Dr. Neal Dunn of Florida, my good friend and 
the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health; and Congresswoman Ann 
Kuster of New Hampshire for their work on it going back several years. 
I urge all Members to support H.R. 561, as amended.
  Lieutenant General Jack Bergman is my good friend. I think General 
Bergman is the highest-ranking veteran in the U.S. Congress in either 
the House or the Senate. He represents the Upper Peninsula in Michigan 
and has been a great member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Bergman).
  Mr. BERGMAN. Madam Speaker, I give special thanks to the chairman and 
ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee because we are here 
for the right reasons, and that is to serve veterans and enable them to 
be productive in their lives after their service to our country.
  My bill, H.R. 561, the Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans 
Act, gives the VA the tools it needs to fix a persistent problem in 
contracting that is labeled improper passthroughs. These abuses occur 
when a small business obtains a contract under set-aside award 
conditions, but gives all, or substantially all, of the work to a large 
company while collecting profit for doing absolutely nothing. This 
practice has long been prohibited by law and wastes taxpayer dollars, 
but, unfortunately, in reality, agencies up until this point have had 
little ability to stop it.
  As a veteran and a small business owner myself, I know how much work 
and dedication goes into building a successful company. The VA provides 
unparalleled opportunities for veteran-owned small businesses, but 
these opportunities are, unfortunately, wasted when unethical companies 
exploit loopholes to rip off the American taxpayer.
  I am very proud of VA's Vets First Program which directed contracts 
worth $6.3 billion to veteran-owned small businesses last year alone. 
However, bad actors have been taking away contracts from law-abiding 
veteran business owners in the Vets First Program for way too long.
  My bill, the Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act, 
requires all bidders on these contracts to certify that they will 
perform the percentage of work that the law already requires. The bill 
also directs the VA to work with the Office of the Inspector General in 
a more effective way to find, stop, and, where appropriate, punish 
these improper passthroughs.
  H.R. 561 addresses the gaps in implementation of existing law without 
adding new bureaucracy at the VA. I repeat: no additional new 
bureaucracy at the VA.
  Madam Speaker, I strongly urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 561.

[[Page H1182]]

  

  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, just for the record, a 
lieutenant general, in case there are those who don't know what that 
is, has three stars. I salute this marine. Even though I was in the 
Army, I have to salute the general over here.
  Before I close in support of this bill, Madam Speaker, I want to 
express my disappointment that we are not considering another bill, S. 
3084, this afternoon as well.
  S. 3084 would correct a technical error in current law that unless 
swiftly addressed will jeopardize the financial security of certain 
current and former senior leaders across the VA healthcare system and 
make it harder for VA to recruit and retain the necessary talent to 
serve our Nation's veterans.
  In short, a provision of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health 
Services Act of 2010--and I remember that--is intended to raise the 
salary cap for employees serving our senior executive services-
equivalent positions in the Veterans Health Administration. However, 
due to a recently realized error in the law, VA will have to cut pay 
and issue debts for 30 current and 10 former senior leaders in those 
positions unless Congress acts to make the necessary corrections which 
S. 3084 will do.
  This was no fault of the Members. All of the employees who are 
impacted by this technical error serve in high-level, mission-critical 
leadership positions working on issues like suicide prevention, mental 
health, women's health, and more. We should be encouraging and 
supporting these leaders, not leaving them in limbo.

  What is more, our failure to address this issue in a timely manner is 
actively making it harder for VA to recruit candidates to fill 
important vacancies across the country.
  Madam Speaker, S. 3084 passed the Senate on January 16. We could have 
taken it up and passed it many times over by now. If we had, those 
leaders would be resting a lot easier, and those vacancies could have 
been filled. I urge Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Takano not to delay any 
longer and to schedule S. 3084 for floor time as soon as possible.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Takano for his leadership on 
all these bills we brought here. They are all very needed, and I 
appreciate the gentleman bringing them up in a timely fashion. I 
absolutely endorse all of those today, and I encourage my colleagues to 
support H.R. 561, as amended.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, in closing, I want to reiterate my support 
for H.R. 561. I want to appreciate the work with the minority. We have 
worked together to pass these five pieces of legislation on the floor. 
It is another demonstration of our commitment to put veterans above 
partisanship and to put the interests of America above partisanship.
  Madam Speaker, I can't tell you what a privilege it is to chair this 
committee. I urge all my colleagues to pass H.R. 561, as amended, 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. 561, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________