Service-Disabled Veteran Opportunities in Small Business Act
Service-Disabled Veteran Opportunities in Small Business Act (H.R. 865) would amend the Small Business Act to require training aimed at increasing federal contract awards to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. The SBA Administrator, in consultation with the head of the Office of Veterans Business Development, must ensure that “covered employees” at federal agencies that have not met the contracting goal receive this training. The bill also requires the SBA to issue guidance with best practices within 180 days and to report to Congress annually (starting one year after enactment) on which agencies failed to meet the goal, how many trainings were conducted, and what the trainings covered. The aim is to strengthen federal procurement outcomes for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses by embedding targeted training and accountability. It does not change the contracting goal itself but creates a structured training and reporting framework to help agencies reach that goal and to inform Congress about progress and program content.
Key Points
- 1Adds a new subsection (j) to Section 36 of the Small Business Act requiring training on increasing SDVOB contract awards for agencies that have not met the established goal.
- 2Training must be provided to “covered employees” at the applicable federal agencies and is led by the SBA Administrator, in consultation with the head of the Office of Veterans Business Development.
- 3The SBA must issue guidance with best practices for increasing SDVOB contracting within 180 days of enactment.
- 4The Administrator must submit an annual report to Congress, starting one year after enactment, listing agencies that missed the goal, the number of trainings conducted, and an overview of training content.
- 5The guidance and training emphasize improving outcomes for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses in federal contracting.