I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1015 
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 
FEBRUARY 20, 2015 
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 Vet-
erans Affairs to small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by veterans. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTS UNDER CON-
TRACTS 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 (l) as subsection 
(m); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol-
lowing new subsection (l): 
‘‘(l) 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 a veteran with a service- 
connected disability or a small business concern owned 
and controlled by a veteran that is awarded a contract 
that is counted for purposes of meeting the goals under 
subsection (a). 
‘‘(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 a 
veteran with a service-connected disability or a small busi-
ness concern owned and controlled by a veteran described 
in such subparagraph (A). 
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‘‘(2) Before awarding a contract that is counted for 
purposes of meeting the goals under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall obtain from an offeror a certification that 
the offeror will comply with the requirements described in 
paragraph (1)(A) if awarded the contract. Such certifi-
cation shall— 
‘‘(A) specify the exact performance require-
ments applicable under such paragraph; and 
‘‘(B) explicitly acknowledge that the certifi-
cation is subject to section 1001 of title 18. 
‘‘(3) If the Secretary determines that a small busi-
ness concern that is awarded a contract that is counted 
for purposes of meeting the goals under subsection (a) did 
not act in good faith with respect to the requirements de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(A), the small business concern 
shall be subject to the penalties specified in— 
‘‘(A) section 16(g)(1) of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 645(g)(1)); and 
‘‘(B) section 1001 of title 18. 
‘‘(4)(A) The Director of Small and Disadvantaged 
Business Utilization for the Department, established pur-
suant 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 
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described in section 16(g)(2) of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 645(g)(2)), or any other systems available, to 
monitor compliance with this subsection. The Director and 
the Chief Acquisition Officer shall jointly refer any viola-
tions of this subsection to the Inspector General of the 
Department. 
‘‘(B) Not later than November 30 of each year, the 
Inspector General shall submit to the Committees on Vet-
erans’ 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 received 
under subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(ii) the disposition of such referred violations, 
including the number of small business concerns sus-
pended or debarred from Federal contracting or re-
ferred to the Attorney General for prosecution.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (l) of section 
8127 of title 38, United States Code, as added by sub-
section (a) shall apply with respect to a contract entered 
into after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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