[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2459-2460]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           BOOSTING RATES OF AMERICAN VETERAN EMPLOYMENT ACT

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 974) to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in awarding a contract for the 
procurement of goods or services, to give a preference to offerors that 
employ veterans.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 974

       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 ``Boosting Rates of American 
     Veteran Employment Act'' or the ``BRAVE Act''.

     SEC. 2. PREFERENCE FOR OFFERORS EMPLOYING VETERANS.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 81 of title 38, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding after section 8128 
     the following new section:

     ``Sec. 8129. Preference for offerors employing veterans

       ``(a) Preference.--In awarding a contract for the 
     procurement of goods or services, the Secretary may give a 
     preference to offerors that employ veterans on a full-time 
     basis. The Secretary shall determine such preference based on 
     the percentage of the full-time employees of the offeror who 
     are veterans.
       ``(b) Enforcement Penalties for Misrepresentation.--(1) Any 
     offeror that is determined by the Secretary to have willfully 
     and intentionally misrepresented the veteran status of the 
     employees of the offeror for purposes of subsection (a) may 
     be debarred from contracting with the Department for a period 
     of not less than five years.
       ``(2) If the Secretary carries out a debarment under 
     paragraph (1), the Secretary shall commence debarment action 
     against the offeror by not later than 30 days after 
     determining that the offeror willfully and intentionally 
     misrepresented the veteran status of the employees of the 
     offeror as described in paragraph (1) and shall complete 
     debarment actions against such offeror by not later than 90 
     days after such determination.
       ``(3) The debarment of an offeror under paragraph (1) 
     includes the debarment of all principals in the offeror for a 
     period of not less than five years.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
     item relating to section 8128 the following new item:

``8129. Preference for offerors employing veterans.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.

                              {time}  1715


                             General Leave

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, to improve employment opportunities for veterans and 
business opportunities for the companies that employ them, H.R. 974 
would authorize the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to 
consider how many veterans an offeror employs during a decision to 
award a contract. Under this bill, the Secretary may give a preference 
to such employers based on the percentage of the workforce made up of 
veterans. It makes sense.
  The bill would also allow the Secretary to debar any offeror who 
willfully and intentionally misrepresents the number of veterans they 
employ. I am glad that provision is in there.
  Mr. Speaker, the unemployment rate among certain age groups of 
veterans still exceeds their nonveteran peers, and this legislation is 
one commonsense step to incentivize employers to bring veterans into 
their workforce and increase job opportunities for veterans of all 
ages.
  I firmly believe that we should do all we can to encourage both small 
and large businesses to provide job opportunities for veterans as well 
as provide the Secretary the authority to consider such hires when 
making contracting decisions. This will further incentivize government 
contractors to make a positive investment in their companies by making 
investments in our Nation's veterans.
  I thank Miss Rice for her hard work on this bill, and it has my full 
support.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 974.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R. 947, the Boosting Rates 
of American Veteran Employment Act, or BRAVE Act.
  I thank the vice chairman for his kind words on this bill, and I 
especially would like to thank the gentlewoman from New York (Miss 
Rice), an unwavering advocate of our veterans and author of this smart 
piece of legislation.
  Both parties agree it is unacceptable that men and women returning 
home from our most recent conflicts don't have good, reliable jobs 
waiting for them. We can start right here in the Federal Government. 
The VA establishes long-term contracts with private companies for 
medical equipment, construction, supplies, services, and more.
  Currently, the VA gives preferences to veteran-owned small 
businesses. That is great. What this piece of legislation does is 
expand this contracting preference to allow the VA Secretary to give a 
preference to companies that actively search out and employ veterans, a 
policy that would incentivize companies to even hire more veterans. 
This is already a smart approach for those companies because veterans 
bring to a job the skills they have learned over the years and make the 
company even stronger.
  This bipartisan piece of legislation adds no cost to the taxpayers. 
It allows for debarment of any company that knowingly misrepresents its 
portion of veteran employees in order to receive the contracting 
preference.
  The BRAVE Act represents a win-win for the private sector, the 
Federal Government, and, most importantly, for our veterans.
  Again, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from New York (Miss 
Rice), who will tell us a little more about this in a few moments, and 
Chairman Roe of Tennessee and Vice Chairman Bilirakis for continuing to 
bring good pieces of veterans legislation to the floor. We are grateful 
for that.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New 
York (Miss Rice), the author, the lead sponsor of this piece of 
legislation, a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee since coming 
to Congress, and a fierce advocate for those warriors.
  Miss RICE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 974, the 
Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act, which I introduced 
along with Congressman and Colonel Paul Cook of California.
  The BRAVE Act is commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will 
authorize the VA Secretary, when awarding Federal contracts, to give 
preference to contractors with high concentrations of full-time veteran 
employees. This bill will cost taxpayers absolutely nothing.

[[Page 2460]]

  It will, first, reward companies that actively hire and invest in our 
veterans, companies that seek out veterans and give them opportunities 
to bring their unique skills, training, and experience to the civilian 
workforce.
  Second, it will create an incentive for other companies to do the 
same and bring more veterans into their workforce.
  Most importantly, as more and more companies hire more and more 
veterans, they will ultimately see that investing in veterans is good 
for business. That is the real incentive here. It is not just an 
advantage in securing Federal contracts; it is getting the benefit of 
employees who have worn the uniform, who have been trained by the 
greatest military in the world, and who have learned to get the job 
done, no matter what that job is.
  We need more businesses in the private sector to recognize the value 
of investing in the men and women who have served our country. It is 
not an act of charity. Veterans are not looking for a handout; they 
just need an opportunity. The BRAVE Act will help ensure that more 
veterans have those opportunities.
  I want to thank Chairman Roe of Tennessee, Vice Chairman Bilirakis, 
and Ranking Member Walz for supporting this bill and for helping to 
bring it to the floor today.
  This legislation passed unanimously in the last Congress, and I urge 
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to, once again, give it the 
bipartisan support it deserves.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on my side.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 974.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to 
support this legislation. I commend Representative Rice for her good 
work.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of 
H.R. 974, the Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment (BRAVE) 
Act.
  There is no question that post-9/11 veterans face a harsher economic 
reality than other Americans. Although in recent years the unemployment 
rate of post-9/11 veterans decreased since the double digit highs of 
2011, the veteran unemployment rate among veterans remains higher than 
the national average. Those who have sacrificed most for our nation are 
often left behind or forgotten by businesses and employers when they 
return home. The transition from military to civilian life is a 
challenging one for many veterans, and we must address the harsh 
realities our veterans face when they attempt to reintegrate into the 
economy.
  As we consider the best ways to boost veteran employment in the 115th 
Congress, we must concentrate our efforts on what many major veterans 
organizations are urging us to do. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of 
America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars have all argued that the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, when granting contracts, should give 
preference to businesses that employ a high concentration of veterans 
on a full-time basis. This is a common-sense proposal.
  Each year the Department of Veterans Affairs contracts tens of 
billions of taxpayer dollars on various goods and services. H.R. 974 
would ensure that when awarding a contract for goods or services, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs give preference to businesses that employ 
full-time a high percentage of veterans. H.R. 974 would also grant the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs the power to debar for five years from 
contracting with the Department those offerors who willfully mispresent 
the veteran status of their employees. This discourages potential 
businesses from over-reporting the percentage of veterans that make up 
their workforce.
  I believe that H.R. 974 would also have a ripple effect across other 
agencies in the government and ultimately help a countless number of 
veterans attain full-time employment. Today, there are an estimated 
24,000 businesses that work on federal contracts and employ about 28 
million workers in the process. In FY 2015, in my home state of 
Georgia, an estimated 50,000 workers were employed by Department of 
Defense contracts alone. In my opinion, H.R. 974 would spark other 
federal agencies to adopt similar provisions that would give preference 
to businesses that employ large concentrations of veterans on a full-
time basis.
  I ask that my colleagues support this bill.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 974, 
``Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act.'' ``BRAVE Act'' 
authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to give preference to 
companies with high concentrations of veteran employees when awarding 
VA contracts.
  I support this bipartisan bill because it provides an incentive to 
companies to actively hire veterans.
  H.R. 974 will spur the hiring of veterans into coveted positions 
within large government contractors.
  The BRAVE Act also gives the VA authority to debar contracting for at 
least five years of any company determined to have willfully and 
intentionally misrepresented the veteran status of its employees.
  One of the biggest problems facing our veterans right now is finding 
good jobs in civilian life, especially those who served in Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
  Our veterans have received the best training in the world.
  They have unique skills and experience that cannot be acquired 
anywhere but in the United States military.
  They have what it takes to excel in the civilian workforce; they do 
not need charity, just opportunity.
  With this bill, we urge private companies to hire highly-trained, 
highly-skilled veterans who know how to get the job done, whatever job 
it may be.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 974.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 974.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________