Serving Those Who Served The New Contracting Priority for Service-Disabled & Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

Developing Veterans Entrepreneurship Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-50) Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-183) Executive Order 13360 (October 20, 2004) Veterans Benefits, Healthcare, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-461)

VA Hierarchy of Programs Service-disabled veteran-owned firms Veteran-owned firms HUBZone firms and 8(a) participants (tied) All others (including general small business) [Public Law 109-461, § 502]

Definitions Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business One or more service-disabled veterans— Own 51% or more of the firm Manage and control the daily operations of the firm Firm must be small under relevant industry (NAICS) code Firm must register and be verified in VetBiz Vendor Information Pages [FAR 2.101, VAAR 802.101] Veteran-Owned Small Business One or more veterans— Own 51% or more of the firm Manage and control the daily operations of the firm Firm must be small under relevant industry (NAICS) code Firm must register and be verified in VetBiz Vendor Information Pages [FAR 2.101, VAAR 802.101]

Acquisition Planning Market Research “Shall” consider service-disabled and veteran-owned firms first “Shall” document that research for file “Shall” keep records of VIP queries done to determine acquisition strategy “Shall” document consideration of IDIQ orders from veteran contract holders only “Shall” obtain HCA and OSDBU review and approval before soliciting from all contract holders [VAAR 807.103, 807.105, 810.002]

Required Sources of Supplies Agency inventories and excess Service-disabled veteran-owned small firms Veteran-owned small firms Federal Prison Industries JWOD Wholesale supply sources National committed use contract awarded by VA National Acquisition Center Mandatory Federal Supply Schedules including VA Schedules in Groups 65 and 66 Optional Federal Supply Schedules Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts Commercial sources and open market purchases Existing FAR 8.002(a)(1) New VAAR 808.002(a)

Required Sources of Services Service-disabled veteran-owned small firms Veteran-owned small firms JWOD Mandatory Federal Supply Schedules Optional Federal Supply Schedules Federal Prison Industries or commercial sources Existing FAR 8.002(a)(2) New VAAR 808.002(b)

Federal Supply Schedules “May” set-aside task or delivery orders, or BPAs, for service-disabled or other veteran-owned small firms Previously, could “consider” socioeconomic factors “Shall” include evaluation factors in Requests for Quotations (RFQs) Give maximum consideration for service-disabled and veteran-owned firms [VAAR 808.405-5]

Sole Source Authority “May” sole-source to service-disabled veteran firm if— Price not more than $5 million Firm determined responsible Award at fair and reasonable price “May” sole-source to veteran small business if— No responsible service-disabled veteran firm identified Note: Noncompetitive actions exempt from synopsizing in FedBizOpps [VAAR 805.202, 819.7007, 819.7008]

Set-Aside Authority “May” set-aside for service-disabled veteran firms if contracting officer has reasonable expectation of— Receiving two or more offers Making award at fair market price “May” set-aside for veteran small businesses if— Contracting officer first considered service-disabled veteran set-aside Note: Micro-purchases eligible for set-aside Interested party may protest decision not to set-aside, if over simplified acquisition threshold [FAR 19.1405, VAAR 813.202, 819.407, 819.7005, 819.7006]

Subcontracting Plans Contracting officer “shall” ensure offerors have goals “at least commensurate with” prime contracting goals OSDBU “shall” review achievement reports to ensure subcontracts awarded to eligible firms [VAAR 819.704]

Reporting Requirements Federal Procurement Data System Revised New fields to collect information on use of new authorities VA Contracting Accomplishments Reported Mandates annual report to Congress by December 31 Heightens importance of FPDS entries by October 31 [VAAR 804.6, 804.604]

Protests and Debarment Eligibility of firms may be protested Misrepresentation of service-disabled or veteran-owned status is cause for debarment at VA Firm “shall” be debarred for 5 years Information will be shared with other agencies for making responsibility determinations [VAAR 809.406-2, 819.307]

VA Mentor-Protégé Program Goals Encourage large businesses to provide mutually beneficial developmental assistance E.g., Mentor receives evaluation points toward award of negotiated contracts, credit toward subcontracting plan achievements, and awards/recognition E.g., Protégé may receive management guidance, technical assistance, temporary assignment of personnel for training Note: Protégé must be service-disabled or other veteran-owned small business Improve prime contractor and subcontractor performance Foster long-term business relationships Strengthen and improve prime contracting and subcontracting opportunities at VA [VAAR 819.7101, 819.7105, 819.7106, 819.7111]

Questions? Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W. (00SB) Washington DC 20420 202.461.4300 www.va.gov/osdbu