Good afternoon. 

Madame Chair, veteran-owned businesses comprise a significant portion of the small business community and as long as I have the privilege of representing Arkansas, one of the things I will count as the most important is the passage of the veteran-owned small business provisions in Public Law 109-461.   Since the passage of those provisions, the value of contracts awarded to veteran and disabled veteran-owned small businesses increased from about $197 million in 2005 to $2.8 billion in fiscal 2009 or a fourteen-fold increase in spending with veteran and disabled veteran businesses.  I believe that can only be termed a success and I congratulate VA for its efforts to recognize the value of doing business with our veterans.

But as some of our witnesses will testify today, all is not well.  More than three years after passage of PL 109-461, VA continues to lag in implementing the database of validated veteran businesses.  This means that companies falsely claiming veteran or disabled veteran-owned status are stealing business from valid businesses.  VA also continues to do contract with businesses that have been identified as not meeting the requirements of being categorized as a veteran or disabled veteran-owned small business.

Madam Chair, as you know, GAO has provided us with a draft report on VA’s small business program and while it would not be proper to go into details until the report is final, I believe it is fair to say that it shows both the Bush and Obama administrations have dragged their feet implementing some important portions of P.L. 109-461.  We have passes legislation that will clarify the intent of the law regarding the VIP database, but other issues such as staffing and process remain for our oversight.

Today, GAO will testify that VA is falling somewhat short in other set-aside categories.  However, I would like to point out that unlike any other set aside category, veterans have earned their place in line by service, not a factor of race, gender or location.  In fact, the most admirable thing about the veteran category is that veterans largely represent the makeup of American society with the exception of the number of women in uniform, a number that is steadily increasing.  So, when you do business with veteran-owned businesses, you do business with America.

Finally, I concur with the criticisms by our witnesses of the Small Business Administration regarding under-resourcing the Office of Veterans Business Development.  If there is one place in the federal government that should be properly resourced to help veteran entrepreneurs, the Office of Veterans Business Development is it and I hope that we will hear from SBA today how that office will receive the resources our veterans deserve.  Absent significant improvement in its resources, perhaps we must consider where that office could be serve veterans.

Madam Chair, I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses and a lively discussion and I yield back.