WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Small Business Committee, today introduced the Service-Disabled Veteran Opportunities in Small Business Act to help disabled veterans’ small businesses thrive.
“Louisiana’s disabled veterans served our country honorably, and this bill would make sure the Small Business Administration meets its goal of awarding government contracts to businesses so they can provide good jobs to their communities,” said Kennedy.
The House of Representatives passed the companion bill, which Reps. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.) and Nicholas LaLota (R-N.Y.) co-led.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) currently offers a program to provide service-disabled veterans’ small businesses with $7 million for manufacturing contracts and $3 million for other contracts. The Service-Disabled Veterans Opportunities in Small Business Act would:
- Require the SBA to issue guidance to meet goals for extending contracts to small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans more effectively.
- Provide training for federal agencies that fail to meet contracting goals.
- Require the SBA to issue a report to Congress detailing a list of each federal agency that failed to meet its contracting goals.
Full text of the bill is available here.