I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7169 
To transfer the responsibility of verifying small business concerns owned 
and controlled by veterans or service-disabled veterans to the Small 
Business Administration, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 27, 2018 
Mr. KELLY of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CURTIS, Miss 
GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. BALDERSON, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, 
Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. BERGMAN, 
Mr. DUNN, Mr. BANKS of Indiana, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. CLARKE of New 
York, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, and 
Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on Vet-
erans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To transfer the responsibility of verifying small business con-
cerns owned and controlled by veterans or service-dis-
abled veterans to the Small Business Administration, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Verification Alignment 
and Service-disabled Business Adjustment Act’’ or the 
‘‘VA–SBA Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS ACT REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESS 
CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DIS-
ABLED VETERANS.—Section 36 of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 657f) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsections (d) and (e); 
(2) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), and 
(c) as subsections (c), (d), and (e) respectively; 
(3) by inserting before subsection (c), as so re-
designated, the following: 
‘‘(a) CONTRACTING OFFICER DEFINED.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘contracting officer’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 2101 of title 41, 
United States Code. 
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION
OF SMALL BUSINESS CON-
CERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DISABLED 
VETERANS.—With respect to a procurement program or 
preference established under this Act or any other Federal 
law applicable to small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by service-disabled veterans, the Administrator 
shall— 
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‘‘(1) certify the status of the concern as a 
‘small business concern owned and controlled by 
service-disabled veterans’; and 
‘‘(2) require the periodic recertification of such 
status.’’; 
(4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated— 
(A) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe-
riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) the concern is certified by the Adminis-
trator as a small business concern owned and con-
trolled by service-disabled veterans.’’; 
(5) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘and that the award can be made at a fair 
market price’’ and inserting ‘‘, that the award can 
be made at a fair market price, and each concern is 
certified by the Administrator as a small business 
concern owned and controlled by service-disabled 
veterans’’; and 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) ENFORCEMENT; PENALTIES.— 
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‘‘(1) VERIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—In car-
rying out this section, the Administrator shall estab-
lish procedures relating to— 
‘‘(A) the filing, investigation, and disposi-
tion by the Administration of any challenge to 
the eligibility of a small business concern to re-
ceive assistance under this section (including a 
challenge, filed by an interested party, relating 
to the veracity of a certification made or infor-
mation provided to the Administration by a 
small business concern under subsection (b)); 
and 
‘‘(B) verification by the Administrator of 
the accuracy of any certification made or infor-
mation provided to the Administration by a 
small business concern under subsection (b). 
‘‘(2) EXAMINATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) EXAMINATION OF APPLICANTS.—The 
procedures established under paragraph (1) 
shall provide for a program of examinations by 
the Administrator of any small business concern 
making a certification or providing information 
to the Administrator under subsection (b), to 
determine the veracity of any statements or in-
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formation provided as part of such certification 
or otherwise provided under subsection (b). 
‘‘(B) EXAMINATION
OF
CERTIFIED
CON-
CERNS.—The 
procedures 
established 
under 
paragraph (1) shall provide for the examination 
of risk-based samples of small business con-
cerns certified under subsection (b), or of any 
small business concern that the Administrator 
believes poses a particular risk or with respect 
to which the Administrator receives specific and 
credible information alleging that the small 
business concern no longer meets eligibility re-
quirements to be certified as a small business 
concern owned and controlled by service-dis-
abled veterans. 
‘‘(3) PENALTIES.—In addition to the penalties 
described in section 16(d) (15 U.S.C. 657f(d)), any 
small business concern that is determined by the Ad-
ministrator to have misrepresented the status of that 
concern as a small business concern owned and con-
trolled by service-disabled veterans for purposes of 
subsection (b), shall be subject to— 
‘‘(A) section 1001 of title 18, United 
States Code; 
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‘‘(B) sections 3729 through 3733 of title 
31, United States Code; and 
‘‘(C) section 8127(g) of title 38, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(g) PROVISION OF DATA.—Upon the request of the 
Administrator, the head of any Federal department or 
agency shall promptly provide to the Administrator such 
information as the Administrator determines to be nec-
essary to carry out subsection (b) or to be able to certify 
the status of the concern as a small business concern 
owned and controlled by veterans.’’. 
(b) PENALTIES FOR MISREPRESENTATION.—Section 
16 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 645) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (d)(1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘,, a’’ and inserting ‘‘, a 
‘small business concern owned and controlled by 
service-disabled veterans’, a’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘9, 15, 
or 31’’ and inserting ‘‘8, 9, 15, 31, or 36’’; and 
(2) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘,, a’’ and in-
serting ‘‘, a ‘small business concern owned and con-
trolled by service-disabled veterans’, a’’. 
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SEC. 3. USE OF VETERAN-OWNED AND SERVICE-DISABLED 
VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS DATABASE BY 
THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
AND SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the transfer date, 
section 8127 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘the Sec-
retary’’ and inserting ‘‘the Administrator’’; 
(2) in subsection (f)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘the Secretary’’ each place 
such term appears and inserting ‘‘the Adminis-
trator’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara-
graph (B) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(B) For purposes of this subsection— 
‘‘(i) the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(I) verify an individual’s status as a 
veteran; and 
‘‘(II) establish a system to permit the 
Administrator to access, but not alter, 
such verification; and 
‘‘(ii) the Administrator shall verify a busi-
ness concern’s status as a small business con-
cern. 
‘‘(C) If the Administrator receives an applica-
tion from an individual with respect to a business 
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concern for inclusion in the database, but the indi-
vidual’s status as a veteran cannot be verified under 
subparagraph (B) or the business concern’s status 
as a small business concern cannot be verified under 
subparagraph (B), the Administrator may not in-
clude the business concern in the database main-
tained by the Administrator.’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (8)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B)(ii)— 
(I) by amending subclause (I) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(I) the Secretary or the Administrator; 
or’’; and 
(II) in subclause (II), by striking 
‘‘the contracting officer of the Depart-
ment’’ and inserting ‘‘the applicable 
contracting officer’’; and 
(ii) by striking subparagraph (C); 
(3) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub-
section (l); 
(4) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(k) ANNUAL
TRANSFER
FOR
CERTIFICATION 
COSTS.—For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reim-
burse the Administrator in an amount necessary to cover 
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any cost incurred by the Administrator for certifying small 
business concerns owned and controlled by veterans that 
do not qualify as small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by service-disabled veterans for the Secretary for 
purposes of this section and section 8128. The Adminis-
trator is authorized to accept such reimbursement. The 
amount of any such reimbursement shall be determined 
jointly by the Secretary and the Administrator and shall 
be provided from fees collected by the Secretary under 
multiple-award schedule contracts. Any disagreement 
about the amount shall be resolved by the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget.’’; and 
(5) in subsection (l), as so redesignated, by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) The term ‘Administrator’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the Small Business Administration.’’. 
(b) ADMINISTRATION ACCESS TO DATABASE BEFORE 
THE TRANSFER DATE.—During the period between the 
date of enactment of this Act and the transfer date, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide the Adminis-
trator of the Small Business Administration with access 
to the database described under section 8127(f) of title 
38, United States Code. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
or the amendments made by this Act may be construed 
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as prohibiting the Small Business Administration from 
combining the database described under section 8127(f) 
of title 38, United States Code, with other databases 
maintained by the Administration. 
SEC. 4. STATUS OF SELF-CERTIFIED SMALL BUSINESS CON-
CERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY SERV-
ICE-DISABLED VETERANS AND VETERANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, any small business concern that self-certified 
as a small business concern owned and controlled by vet-
erans or a small business concern owned and controlled 
by service-disabled veterans shall— 
(1) if the concern files a certification applica-
tion with the Administrator before the end of the 1- 
year period beginning on the transfer date, maintain 
such self-certification until the Administrator makes 
a determination with respect to such certification; 
and 
(2) if the concern does not file such a certifi-
cation application before the end of the 1-year pe-
riod beginning on the transfer date, lose, at the end 
of such 1-year period, any self-certification of the 
concern as a small business concern owned and con-
trolled by service-disabled veterans. 
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(b) NON-APPLICABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF VET-
ERANS AFFAIRS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to par-
ticipation in contracts (including subcontracts) with the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. 
SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF THE CENTER FOR VERIFICATION 
AND EVALUATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
VETERANS AFFAIRS TO THE SMALL BUSI-
NESS ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) ABOLISHMENT.—The Center for Verification and 
Evaluation of the Department defined under section 74.1 
of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, is abolished effec-
tive on the transfer date. 
(b) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—All functions that, 
immediately before the effective date of this section, were 
functions of the Center for Verification and Evaluation 
shall— 
(1) on the date of enactment of this Act, be 
functions of both the Center for Verification and 
Evaluation and the Small Business Administration, 
except that the Small Business Administration shall 
not have any authority to carry out any certification 
functions; and 
(2) on the transfer date, be functions of the 
Small Business Administration. 
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(c) TRANSFER OF ASSETS.—So much of the per-
sonnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of ap-
propriations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, 
held, available, or to be made available in connection with 
a function transferred under this section shall be available 
to the Small Business Administration at such time or 
times as the President directs for use in connection with 
the functions transferred. 
(d) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any other Fed-
eral law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation 
of authority, or any document of or pertaining to a func-
tion of the Center for Verification and Evaluation that is 
transferred under this section is deemed, after the transfer 
date, to refer to the Small Business Administration. 
SEC. 6. DOLLAR THRESHOLD FOR SOLE SOURCE AWARDS 
TO SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN OWNED AND 
CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DISABLED VET-
ERANS. 
(a) SMALL BUSINESS ACT.—Effective on the transfer 
date, paragraph (2) of section 36(c) of the Small Business 
Act, as redesignated by section 2(a)(2), is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(2) the anticipated award price of the contract 
will not exceed— 
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‘‘(A) $7,000,000, in the case of a contract 
opportunity assigned a standard industrial clas-
sification code for manufacturing; or 
‘‘(B) $5,000,000, in the case of any other 
contract opportunity; and’’. 
(b) TITLE 38.—Effective on the transfer date, para-
graph (2) of section 8127(c)(2) of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) the anticipated award price of the contract 
will not exceed the amount described under section 
36(a)(2) of the Small Business Act; and’’. 
SEC. 7. REPORT. 
Not later than the end of the 1-year period beginning 
on the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 6 
months thereafter until the transfer date, the Adminis-
trator of the Small Business Administration and Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall, jointly, issue a report to the 
Committees on Appropriations, Small Business, and Vet-
eran’s Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
Committees on Appropriations, Small Business and En-
trepreneurship, and Veteran’s Affairs of the Senate on the 
planning for the transfer of functions and property re-
quired under this Act and the amendments made by this 
Act on the transfer date. Such report shall include— 
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(1) whether and how the verification database 
and operations of the Center for Verification and 
Evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
will be incorporated into the Small Business Admin-
istration’s existing certification database; 
(2) projections for the numbers and timing, in 
terms of fiscal year, of— 
(A) already verified concerns that will 
come up for recertification; and 
(B) self-certified concerns that are ex-
pected to apply for certification; 
(3) an explanation of how outreach to veteran 
service organizations, the service-disabled veteran- 
owned and veteran-owned small business community, 
and other stakeholders will be conducted; and 
(4) other pertinent information determined by 
the Administrator and the Secretary. 
SEC. 8. TRANSFER DATE. 
For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘transfer date’’ 
means the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, except that such date may be extended an un-
limited number of times by a period of not more than 6 
months if the Administrator of the Small Business Admin-
istration and Secretary of Veterans Affairs jointly certify 
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to Congress that such extension is necessary and notify 
Congress of the length of the extension. 
Æ 
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