Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3949, the Veterans' Small Business Assistance and Servicemembers Protection Act of 2009, a bill which I am pleased to cosponsor. Mr. Speaker, this is an omnibus…
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3949, the Veterans' Small Business Assistance and Servicemembers Protection Act of 2009, a bill which I am pleased to cosponsor.
Mr. Speaker, this is an omnibus bill that would make improvements in several areas of veterans legislation by including provisions from bills introduced by Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin, Ms. Kirkpatrick, Mr. Miller of North Carolina, Mr. Connolly, Mr. McIntyre, Ms. Jackson-Lee, and Mr. Frank.
However, I am very disappointed that due to jurisdictional issues raised by the majority side of the Committee on Small Business, a provision from my bill, H.R. 3223 was withdrawn from the bill. My provision would merely change the word ``may'' to ``shall'' to authorize VA contracting officers to award non-competitive contracts worth less than $5,000,000 to qualified service disabled veteran-owned businesses. Such contracts would also be required to provide the best value to the government in the judgment of the contracting officer. Changing ``may'' to ``shall'' would merely put service-disabled veterans on an equal footing with businesses qualifying as an 8(a) firm under the Small Business Act. The word ``shall'' is used when awarding noncompetitive contracts to 8(a) firms. The disparity created by using ``may'' versus ``shall'' has a negative effect on the ability of service disabled veteran-owned businesses to obtain contracts with VA. It is important that service-disabled veterans are able to compete on a level field and I will continue to advocate for changing ``may'' to ``shall''.
Mr. Speaker, I am especially proud of the provisions in Public Law 109-461 passed during the 109th Congress, that improve the competitive status of veteran-owned businesses, VOB, and service-disabled veteran- owned small businesses, SDVOB. We did that by giving Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, contracting officers additional tools to award contracts to those businesses and by making it plain that Congress believed that VOB and SDVOB have priority in VA small business contracting. One of those provisions required VA to maintain a database of veteran and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses and to verify the ownership and control of the businesses listed in the database.
Unfortunately, VA has been slow to implement the verification process and has currently
verified only about 2,000 of the 15,000 businesses listed in the database. Therefore, I am delighted that Subcommittee Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin has clarified Congress' intent on having a business included only after verification of ownership and control as a means to prevent awarding contracts to businesses which are not veteran-owned.
With the implementation of the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, it is more important than ever to ensure VA receives up-to-date advice from schools and State Approving Agencies on issues related to veterans education. I congratulate Ms. Kirkpatrick for extending the life of the Advisory Committee on Veterans Education through 2015.
I am also especially pleased with H.R. 3949's provisions that would strengthen protections for servicemembers under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, SCRA, by clarifying the rights and obligations of servicemembers and providers regarding service contracts for cell phone service, residential and automobile leases.
The bill also makes important changes to SCRA by codifying a servicemember's private right of action and authorizing the U.S. Attorney General to bring appropriate action in U.S. District Courts. The bill also authorizes the Courts to award fines up to $110,000, and take other appropriate actions in violations of SCRA.
Mr. Speaker, in addition to direct injuries to a servicemember's eyes, one of the hidden injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the damage to vision done by explosions. Unfortunately, visual injuries as a result of one or more concussive injuries may not manifest for an extended time beyond the event. When combined with direct eye injuries, the number of veterans who will be seeking VA assistance with visual impairment will increase and I share Ms. Jackson-Lee's and her cosponsor, Mr. Boozman's concern that VA lacks sufficient staff who are experts in treating veterans with visual and mobility impairment. I congratulate them for the provisions that would create a scholarship program for those seeking a degree or certificate in that field.
Mr. Speaker, I have long been an advocate on behalf of VA's National Cemetery System and compassionate treatment of the heroes that are buried there and their families. I appreciate Mr. Frank's initiative that would allow burial of a parent with a servicemember killed in combat or training for combat, as long as the burial would not displace another veteran or servicemember and it is limited to servicemembers who have no dependents.
