Noteboom The Law Firm

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses Given More Contracts

July 23, 2010 - The Department of Defense (DoD) has a goal of awarding 3% of their contracts to service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses. This year the DoD is very close to that goal. The amount of contracts awarded to such businesses has steadily increased since 2003 when disabled-veteran-owned small businesses were awarded $300,000. Last year, the DoD awarded disabled-veteran-owned small businesses $4.3 million in contracts.

While DoD officials have noted not only have the number of contracts awarded to such veterans increased, the amount of money awarded to these businesses has obviously increased as well; which is very encouraging. Officials have also noted, however, they are not yet at their government wide goal of 3%.

The amount of firms awarding these contracts has increased as well, from 751 in 2003 to over 3,000 in 2009. Partial credit must go to the Pentagon's Mentor-Protégé Program which pairs young companies with more established contractors over either 3 or 4 year agreements. Protégé graduates then, become important players to the supplier side.

The number of disabled-veteran contractors bidding for contracts from the federal government every year is also growing. The contracts are awarded in specific groupings, such as: 

• Professional;
• Scientific and technical services;
• Construction; and
• Administration specialties.

The government is also helping service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses by actively working to eliminate fraud while attempting to drive business owners to participate in the program. The less fraud involved in the program the more likely business owners are going to want to participate.

In fiscal 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded 16% of its available contracts to service-disabled veteran businesses; more than double their 7% goal. The VA does not, however, train their subcontractors and there was a very big problem with fraud among what was supposed to be businesses listed as being verified as only veteran-owned.

The near future should see the VA's list of verified veteran-owned businesses free of fraud. This will result in veteran-owned businesses able to supply quality work to veteran clients and thus fulfilling the vision of making sure veteran-owned businesses are rightfully awarded the contracts that were designed to go to them.