I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2749 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 26, 2017 
Mr. BERGMAN (for himself and Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire) 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, and for other purposes. 
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 2017’’. 
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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 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 vet-
erans 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 re-
quirements described in paragraph (1)(A) if awarded the 
contract. Such certification shall— 
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‘‘(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)(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 
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 Busi-
ness 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 re-
quirements described in paragraph (1)(A), the small busi-
ness concern shall be subject to any or all of the following 
consequences— 
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‘‘(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 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 and sus-
pected violations received under subparagraph (B); 
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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