[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 94]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    SUPPORT FAIRNESS TO VETERANS ACT

  (Mr. FITZPATRICK asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I introduced H.R. 2906, the Fairness to 
Veterans Act, because I believe if anyone deserves a leg up in America, 
it is those who have served on our behalf.
  The Fairness to Veterans Act is straightforward. It says that if any 
business receives a contracting preference, then a veteran-owned small 
business should receive that very same preference. I call this bill 
Fairness to Veterans because I believe it is only fair that if we are 
going to be singling out certain businesses to receive special 
consideration for government contracts, then that same benefit should 
be extended to veteran-owned small businesses.
  More than 250,000 servicemembers are transitioning each year from 
military to civilian life; 2.4 million veterans own a small business of 
their own. Overall, one in four veterans say they want to start a 
business. This bipartisan bill makes sure that we are tapping into the 
most highly skilled workforce in history and utilizing their unique 
skills to get our economy moving again.
  Mr. Speaker, whether my colleagues believe there should be 
contracting preferences or not is not at the heart of this legislation. 
The question here is: Do Members believe that veterans deserve to be on 
a level playing field with anyone when bidding for government 
contracts? I believe the answer to that question is a resounding 
``yes.'' I urge my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 2906.

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