Title: VA-SBA Act
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Verification Alignment and Service-disabled Business Adjustment Act or the VA-SBA Act
This bill transfers responsibility for verifying that a small business concern is owned and controlled by a veteran or service-disabled veteran, for the purposes of eligibility for certain procurement programs, from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Specifically, the bill transfers maintenance of the database of veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses to the SBA. For the purposes of procurement programs for small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, the SBA must certify the status of such businesses, require their periodic recertification, and penalize any small business that misrepresents its status. Accordingly, the bill also abolishes the Center for Verification and Evaluation of the VA and transfers all of its functions to the SBA.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1615 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1615

  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

                             March 7, 2019

 Mr. Kelly of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Stauber, Miss 
Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Bergman, Ms. Kuster 
of New Hampshire, Mr. Watkins, Mrs. Radewagen, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. David 
 P. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Banks, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Balderson, 
   Mr. Burchett, Mr. Crow, Mr. Hagedorn, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Joyce of 
Pennsylvania, and Mr. Stivers) introduced the following bill; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the 
    Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Verification 
Alignment and Service-disabled Business Adjustment Act'' or the ``VA-
SBA Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Transfer date.
Sec. 3. Amendment to and transfer of veteran-owned and service-disabled 
                            veteran-owned business database.
Sec. 4. Dollar threshold for sole source awards to small business 
                            concern owned and controlled by service-
                            disabled veterans.
Sec. 5. Additional requirement for database.
Sec. 6. Procurement program for small business concerns owned and 
                            controlled by service-disabled veterans.
Sec. 7. Certification for small business concerns owned and controlled 
                            by veterans.
Sec. 8. Status of self-certified small business concerns owned and 
                            controlled by service-disabled veterans and 
                            veterans.
Sec. 9. Transfer of the Center for Verification and Evaluation of the 
                            Department of Veterans Affairs to the Small 
                            Business Administration.
Sec. 10. Report.

SEC. 2. 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 unlimited number of times by a period of 
not more than 6 months if the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs jointly issue a 
notice to Congress and the Law Revision Counsel of the House of 
Representatives containing--
            (1) a certification that such extension is necessary;
            (2) the rationale for and the length of such extension; and
            (3) a plan to comply with the requirements of this Act 
        within the timeframe of the extension.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO AND TRANSFER OF VETERAN-OWNED AND SERVICE-DISABLED 
              VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS DATABASE.

    (a) Amendment of Veteran-Owned and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned 
Business Database.--Effective on the transfer date, section 8127 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) by striking ``the Secretary'' and inserting 
                ``the Administrator''; and
                    (B) by striking ``subsection (f)'' and inserting 
                ``section 36 of the Small Business Act'';
            (2) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) by striking ``the Secretary'' each place such 
                term appears, other than under paragraph (7) and in the 
                last place such term appears under paragraph (2)(A), 
                and inserting ``the Administrator'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``to 
                        access'' and inserting ``to obtain from the 
                        Secretary of Veterans Affairs''; and
                            (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(B) For purposes of this subsection--
                    ``(i) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall--
                            ``(I) verify an individual's status as a 
                        veteran or a service-disabled veteran; and
                            ``(II) establish a system to permit the 
                        Administrator to access, but not alter, such 
                        verification; and
                    ``(ii) the Administrator shall verify--
                            ``(I) the status of a business concern as a 
                        small business concern; and
                            ``(II) the ownership and control of such 
                        business concern.
            ``(C) If the Administrator receives an application from an 
        individual with respect to a business concern for inclusion in 
        the database, but the individual's status as a veteran or 
        service-disabled veteran, the business concern's status as a 
        small business concern, or the ownership and control of such 
        business concern cannot be verified under subparagraph (B), the 
        Administrator may not include the business concern in the 
        database maintained by the Administrator.'';
                    (C) by striking paragraphs (4) and (7);
                    (D) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as 
                paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively, and redesignating 
                paragraph (8) as paragraph (6); and
                    (E) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B)(ii)--
                                    (I) by amending subclause (I) to 
                                read as follows:
                    ``(I) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the 
                Administrator; or''; and
                                    (II) in subclause (II), by striking 
                                ``the contracting officer of the 
                                Department'' and inserting ``the 
                                applicable contracting officer''; and
                            (ii) by striking subparagraph (C);
            (3) by redesignating subsection (k) (relating to 
        definitions) as subsection (l);
            (4) by inserting after subsection (j) (relating to annual 
        reports) the following:
    ``(k) Annual Transfer for Certification Costs.--For each fiscal 
year, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall reimburse the 
Administrator in an amount necessary to cover 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 controlled by service-disabled veterans for the Secretary for 
purposes of this section and section 8128. The Administrator 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 (k) (relating to definitions), as so 
        redesignated, by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) The term `Administrator' means the Administrator of 
        the Small Business Administration.''.
    (b) Transfer of Requirements Relating to Database to the Small 
Business Act.--Effective on the transfer date, subsection (f) of 
section 8127 of title 38, United States Code (as amended by subsection 
(a)), is transferred to section 36 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
657f), inserted so as to appear after subsection (e).
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--The following amendments shall take 
effect on the transfer date:
            (1) Small business act.--Section 3(q)(2)(C)(i)(III) of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)(2)(C)(i)(III)) is amended 
        by striking ``section 8127(f) of title 38, United States Code'' 
        and inserting ``section 36''.
            (2) Title 38.--Section 8128 of title 38, United States 
        Code, is amended by striking ``section 8127(f) of this title'' 
        and inserting ``section 36 of the Small Business Act''.

SEC. 4. DOLLAR THRESHOLD FOR SOLE SOURCE AWARDS TO SMALL BUSINESS 
              CONCERN OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DISABLED 
              VETERANS.

    (a) Small Business Act.--Effective on the transfer date, section 
36(c) of the Small Business Act, as redesignated by section 6(a)(2), is 
amended--
            (1) by striking the first dollar figure and inserting 
        ``$7,000,000''; and
            (2) by striking the second dollar figure and inserting 
        ``$5,000,000''.
    (b) Title 38.--Effective on the transfer date, paragraph (2) of 
section 8127(c) 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(c) of the Small 
        Business Act; and''.

SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR DATABASE.

    (a) Administration Access to Database Before the Transfer Date.--
During the period between the date of the enactment of this Act and the 
transfer date, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration with access to the 
contents of the database described under section 8127(f) of title 38, 
United States Code.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or the amendments 
made by this Act may be construed as prohibiting the Administrator of 
the Small Business Administration from combining the contents of the 
database described under section 8127(f) of title 38, United States 
Code, with other databases maintained by the Administration.
    (c) Recognition of the Issuance of Joint Regulations.--The date 
specified under section 1832(e) of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (15 U.S.C. 632 note) shall be deemed to be 
October 1, 2018.

SEC. 6. PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND 
              CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS.

    (a) Procurement Program for Small Business Concerns Owned and 
Controlled by Service-Disabled 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 redesignated, 
        the following:
    ``(a) Contracting Officer Defined.--For purposes 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 Concerns 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 controlled by service-
disabled veterans, the Administrator shall--
            ``(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 (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 if each concern is certified by the Administrator as 
        a small business concern owned and controlled by service-
        disabled veterans''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Certification Requirement.--Notwithstanding subsection (c), a 
contracting officer may only award a sole source contract to a small 
business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans or a 
contract on the basis of competition restricted to small business 
concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans if such a 
concern is certified by the Administrator as a small business concern 
owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans.
    ``(h) Enforcement; Penalties.--
            ``(1) Verification of eligibility.--In carrying out this 
        section, the Administrator shall establish procedures relating 
        to--
                    ``(A) the filing, investigation, and disposition by 
                the Administration of any challenge to the eligibility 
                of a small business concern to receive assistance under 
                this section (including a challenge, filed by an 
                interested party, relating to the veracity of a 
                certification made or information 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 information 
                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 information provided as part of such 
                certification or otherwise provided under subsection 
                (b).
                    ``(B) Examination of certified concerns.--The 
                procedures established under paragraph (1) shall 
                provide for the examination of risk-based samples of 
                small business concerns 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 requirements to be certified 
                as a small business concern owned and controlled by 
                service-disabled veterans.
            ``(3) Penalties.--In addition to the penalties described in 
        section 16(d), any small business concern that is determined by 
        the Administrator to have misrepresented the status of that 
        concern as a small business concern owned and controlled by 
        service-disabled veterans for purposes of subsection (b), shall 
        be subject to--
                    ``(A) section 1001 of title 18, United States Code;
                    ``(B) sections 3729 through 3733 of title 31, 
                United States Code; and
                    ``(C) section 8127(g) of title 38, United States 
                Code.
    ``(i) 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 necessary 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 under section 36A.''.
    (b) Penalties for Misrepresentation.--Section 16 of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 645) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``,, a'' and inserting ``, a `small 
                business concern owned and controlled by service-
                disabled veterans', a `small business concern owned and 
                controlled by veterans', a''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (A), by striking ``9, 15, or 31'' 
                and inserting ``8, 9, 15, 31, 36, or 36A''; and
            (2) in subsection (e), by striking ``,, a'' and inserting 
        ``, a `small business concern owned and controlled by service-
        disabled veterans', a `small business concern owned and 
        controlled by veterans', a''.

SEC. 7. CERTIFICATION FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED 
              BY VETERANS.

    The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 36 the following new section:

``SEC. 36A. CERTIFICATION OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND 
              CONTROLLED BY VETERANS.

    ``(a) In General.--With respect to the program established under 
section 8127 of title 38, United States Code, the Administrator shall--
            ``(1) certify the status of the concern as a `small 
        business concern owned and controlled by veterans'; and
            ``(2) require the periodic recertification of such status.
    ``(b) Enforcement; Penalties.--
            ``(1) Verification of eligibility.--In carrying out this 
        section, the Administrator shall establish procedures relating 
        to--
                    ``(A) the filing, investigation, and disposition by 
                the Administration of any challenge to the eligibility 
                of a small business concern to receive assistance under 
                this section (including a challenge, filed by an 
                interested party, relating to the veracity of a 
                certification made or information provided to the 
                Administration by a small business concern under 
                subsection (a)); and
                    ``(B) verification by the Administrator of the 
                accuracy of any certification made or information 
                provided to the Administration by a small business 
                concern under subsection (a).
            ``(2) 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 (a), to determine the veracity 
        of any statements or information provided as part of such 
        certification or otherwise provided under subsection (a).
            ``(3) Penalties.--In addition to the penalties described in 
        section 16(d), any small business concern that is determined by 
        the Administrator to have misrepresented the status of that 
        concern as a small business concern owned and controlled by 
        veterans for purposes of subsection (a), shall be subject to--
                    ``(A) section 1001 of title 18, United States Code;
                    ``(B) sections 3729 through 3733 of title 31, 
                United States Code; and
                    ``(C) section 8127(g) of title 38, United States 
                Code.''.

SEC. 8. STATUS OF SELF-CERTIFIED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND 
              CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS AND VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
small business concern that self-certified as a small business concern 
owned and controlled by veterans or a small business concern owned and 
controlled by service-disabled veterans shall--
            (1) if the concern files a certification application with 
        the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 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 certification 
        application before the end of the 1-year period 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 controlled by service-disabled veterans.
    (b) Non-Applicability to Department of Veterans Affairs.--
Subsection (a) shall not apply to participation in contracts (including 
subcontracts) with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (c) Notice.--The Administrator shall notify any small business 
concern that self-certified as a small business concern owned and 
controlled by veterans or a small business concern owned and controlled 
by service-disabled veterans about the requirements of the Verification 
Alignment and Service-disabled Business Adjustment Act, including the 
transfer date and any extension of such transfer date made pursuant to 
section 2, and make such notice publicly available, on--
            (1) the date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) the date on which an extension described under section 
        2 is approved.

SEC. 9. TRANSFER OF THE CENTER FOR VERIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO THE SMALL BUSINESS 
              ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Abolishment.--The Center for Verification and Evaluation of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs defined under section 74.1 of title 38, 
Code of Federal Regulations, is abolished effective 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 
        verification functions of the Center for Verification and 
        Evaluation; and
            (2) on the transfer date, be functions of the Small 
        Business Administration.
    (c) Transfer of Assets.--So much of the personnel, property, 
records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, 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 Federal law, Executive 
order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any document of 
or pertaining to a function 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. 10. 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 Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
and Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly issue a report to the 
Committees on Appropriations, Small Business, and Veterans' Affairs of 
the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations, 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Veterans' Affairs of the 
Senate on the planning for the transfer of functions and property 
required under this Act and the amendments made by this Act on the 
transfer date. Such report shall include--
            (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 
        existing certification database of the Small Business 
        Administration;
            (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 expected 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.
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