H. R. 561 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty 

An Act 

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. 

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. 

‘‘(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. 
H. R. 561—2 

‘‘(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. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.