I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4281 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2014 

Mr. HUELSKAMP introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Business 

5 Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONTRACTS WITH SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 

2 OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY VETERANS. 

3 Section 8127 of title 38, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 

6 (m); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol8 lowing new subsection (l): 

9 ‘‘(l) LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING.—(1)(A) 

10 The requirements applicable to a small business concern 

11 under section 46 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

12 657s) shall apply with respect to a small business concern 

13 owned and controlled by a veteran with a service-con14 nected disability or a small business concern owned and 

15 controlled by a veteran that is awarded a contract under 

16 this section. 

17 ‘‘(B) For purposes of applying the requirements of 

18 section 46 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657s) 

19 pursuant to subparagraph (A)— 

20 ‘‘(i) a small business concern owned and con21 trolled by a veteran shall be treated as a small busi22 ness concern owned and controlled by a veteran with 

23 a service-connected disability; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘similarly situated entity’ used in 

25 such section 46 means a subcontractor for a small 

26 business concern owned and controlled by a veteran 


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1 with a service-connected disability or a small busi2 ness concern owned and controlled by a veteran de3 scribed in such subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(2) Upon awarding a contract to a small business 

5 concern under this section, the Secretary shall obtain from 

6 an offeror a certification that the offeror will comply with 

7 the requirements described in paragraph (1)(A) if award8 ed the contract. Such certification shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) specify the exact performance require10 ments applicable under such paragraph; and 

11 ‘‘(B) explicitly acknowledge that the certifi12 cation is subject to section 1001 of title 18. 

13 ‘‘(3) If the Secretary determines that a small busi14 ness concern that is awarded a contract under this section 

15 did not act in good faith with respect to the requirements 

16 described in paragraph (1)(A), the small business concern 

17 shall be subject to the penalties specified in— 

18 ‘‘(A) section 16(g)(1) of the Small Business Act 

19 (15 U.S.C. 645(g)(1)); and 

20 ‘‘(B) section 1001 of title 18. 

21 ‘‘(4)(A) The Director of the Office of Small and Dis22 advantaged Business Utilization established by section 

23 15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)) and 

24 the Chief Acquisition Officer established under section 

25 1702 of title 41 shall jointly implement a process using 


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1 the systems described in section 16(g)(2) of the Small 

2 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 645(g)(2)), or any other systems 

3 available, to monitor compliance with this subsection. The 

4 Director and the Chief Acquisition Officer shall jointly 

5 refer any violations of this subsection to the Inspector 

6 General of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

7 ‘‘(B) The Inspector General shall submit to the Com8 mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa9 tives and the Senate an annual report that includes— 

10 ‘‘(i) the number of referred violations received 

11 under subparagraph (A); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the disposition of such referred violations, 

13 including the number of small business concerns sus14 pended or debarred from Federal contracting or re15 ferred to the Attorney General for prosecution.’’. 

Æ 


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