[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 506. Ms. ERNST submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
her to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle D of title VIII of division A, add 
     the following:

     SEC. 849. ELIMINATING SELF-CERTIFICATION FOR SERVICE-DISABLED 
                   VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
       (2) Small business concern; small business concerns owned 
     and controlled by service-disabled veterans.--The terms 
     ``small business concern'' and ``small business concerns 
     owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans'' have the 
     meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Small Business 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
       (b) Eliminating Self-Certification in Prime Contracting and 
     Subcontracting for SDVOSBs.--
       (1) In general.--Each prime contract award and subcontract 
     award that is counted for the purpose of meeting the goals 
     for participation by small business concerns owned and 
     controlled by service-disabled veterans in procurement 
     contracts for Federal agencies, as established in section 
     15(g)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(2)), 
     shall be entered into with small business concerns certified 
     by the Administrator as small business concerns owned and 
     controlled by service-disabled veterans under section 36 of 
     such Act (15 U.S.C. 657f).
       (2) Effective date.--Paragraph (1) shall take effect on 
     October 1 of the fiscal year beginning after the 
     Administrator promulgates the regulations required under 
     subsection (d).
       (c) Phased Approach to Eliminating Self-Certification for 
     SDVOSBs.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
     small business concern that self-certified as a small 
     business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled 
     veterans may--
       (1) if the small business concern files a certification 
     application with the Administrator before the end of the 1-
     year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 
     maintain such self-certification until the Administrator 
     makes a determination with respect to such certification; and
       (2) if the small business concern does not file a 
     certification application before the end of the 1-year period 
     beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, lose, at the 
     end of such 1-year period, any self-certification of the 
     small business concern as a small business concern owned and 
     controlled by service-disabled veterans.
       (d) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall promulgate 
     regulations to carry out this section.
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