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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 561 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        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.
    ``(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.
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