House Resolution: H.R. 7401 Contract Our Veterans Act of 2024

House Resolution: H.R. 7401    Contract Our Veterans Act of 2024

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 raises the government-wide goal of awarding contracts to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses from 3 percent to 5 percent.  There is no goal for awarding contracts to veteran-owned small businesses. H.R. 7401 would establish a veteran-owned small business goal in the Department of Defense (DoD) of 5 percent of contract awards to veteran-owned small businesses.

H.R. 7401 also provides DoD with a mechanism to reach these goals similar to the special authorities provided to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) known as “VETS First”. Under VETS First, VA is authorized to set-aside” contract opportunities with competition restricted to veteran and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. The result of VETS First at VA has been an exponential rise in contract awards.  Prior to VETS First VA awarded approximately 3 percent of total contract dollars to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. In FY 2022 VA awarded 15 percent of contracts to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.  In FY 2022, DoD awarded just 2.2 percent of contract dollars to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

VETS First at DoD has the potential to provide billions of dollars more of contract opportunities to veteran and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. This would greatly increase the number of veteran and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses working with DoD which greatly increases the nation’s defense industrial base. VETS First would also increase by thousands the number of veteran jobs as veteran-owned small businesses hire veterans at greater rates than any other business type in the United States. DOD spends billions training active-duty service men and women. VETS First allows the nation to take advantage of their skill sets after military service in support of the nation’s defense.