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By Debbie Gregory.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published new guidelines that took effect on October 1, 2018 for verification of Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) and Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs),

Under the changes, the VA continues to determine whether individuals are veterans or service-disabled veterans, and is responsible for verification of applicant firms for listing in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database.

Responsibility for adjudicating challenges of the status based upon issues of ownership and control is now to be determined by administrative judges at Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA).

These newly implemented rules are an attempt to resolve inconsistencies between SBA and VA regulations that have led to conflicting decisions about a company’s qualification for set-asides.

The standard for reviewing a VOSB or SDVOSB’s eligibility is “totality of the circumstances,” with the burden of proving eligibility falling on the applicant. Decisions based on an applicant’s failure to meet any veteran eligibility criteria are not subject to appeal; however, an applicant can re-apply and submit a new application six months after denial.

The changes also clarify the process for removal from the VIP database and expand the reasons for removal to include having tax liens and unresolved debts. Other removal criteria include being found guilty of or involved in criminally-related matters as well as debarment of any individual owning or controlling the business concern, as well as submitting false information to VA.

The VA is not providing an additional level of review, but merely acting on determinations issued by courts or other administrative bodies. Further, bankruptcy has been added as a changed circumstance that can lead to a contractor’s removal from the VIP database.

The new rules clearly define VA’s role in determining whether individuals are veterans or service-disabled veterans, and responsibility to determine the ownership interests of those individuals now ultimately falls on SBA, subject to appeal to OHA.

By Debbie Gregory.

Former Marine Cody Nichols is the owner/operator of Our Troops Services. The Tulsa, OK resident is also an employer whose company hires veterans for landscaping, fencing and construction jobs.

But unfortunately, on May 20th, Nichols was the victim of a theft that left him without any of his equipment, despite the fact that the equipment was stored in a yard with a barbed wire fence. Working with just of a couple of donated push mowers, the company was facing hard times and falling behind.

Just when it seemed the darkest of times for this veteran and his employees, a shining light in the form of non-profit Soldier’s Wish surprised Nichols with $15,000 worth of new lawn equipment!

Soldier’s Wish identifies and fulfills the unmet needs of military veterans, regardless of branch or rank. The 501(c) 3 organization provides support directly to veteran service members and/or their families to help them lead normal, productive lives.

“We’re going to survive. I really thought our company was going to die,” said Nichols.

As a veteran-owned business, Our Troops Services is one of the approximately 2.4 million veteran-owned small businesses that drive the U.S. economy and employ about 5.8 million individuals.

The company is mostly focusing on lawn care now to get back up and running. According to a GoFundMe campaign set up to help this seven-month-old start-up, the company is looking to move operations out of a private home and in to a safe area.

So far, they have raised over $7,500 of their $25,000 goal. But these veterans have the fortitude they learned during their military service, and they will keep moving forward.

VAMBOA would like to give a big shout out to both Our Troops Services and Soldier’s Wish. We applaud the great non-profits who are assisting those who serve, past and present, as well as their families and supporters.

By Debbie Gregory.

Vets First, a policy that gives preference to veteran-owned small businesses, has long been circumvented by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is in direct defiance of orders from Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and more recently, the U.S. Supreme Court.

The program was created for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and expanded the Service-Disabled Veteran contracting program for VA procurements. It was designed to ensure that legitimately owned and controlled VOSBs and SDVOSBs are able to compete for VA VOSB and SDVOSB set-aside and are credited by VA’s large prime contractors for subcontract plan achievements.

In Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States, the court ruled that not only was the VA disregarding VETS First, but in moving forward, the department’s “rule of two” should be used for all VA procurements.

The “rule of two” states a contracting officer of the VA, “shall award contracts on the basis of competition restricted to small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans if the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans will submit offers and that the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States.”

In order to be in compliance, the VA must:

Revise its acquisition policies and training to ensure better oversight of its contracting activities;
Improve the ability for veteran-owned small businesses to obtain Federal Supply Schedule contracts for the products the VA buys; and
Discontinue its use of contract vehicles that do not contain veteran-owned small businesses.

With more than 7,000 veteran and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses in the U.S. that have met the Vets First criteria, there is no excuse for the not to award contracts to these businesses.

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