Press Releases

Today, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), a member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Rep. Jimmy Paneta (D-Calif.), introduced bipartisan legislation to close a loophole currently denying veterans the opportunities the Supreme Court ruled they are entitled to in the Kingdomware decision. The members released the following statements:

"The VA should be actively and aggressively looking for opportunities to serve our veterans. This legislation will hold the VA accountable for seeking out veteran-owned small businesses for contracting opportunities as Congress intended," said Dunn. "We will forever be indebted to our veterans. This is one way for us to ensure we support those who have faithfully served this nation."

“As a veteran, I understand the challenges that our service members face when they transition from military to civilian life,” said Panetta. “Congress should be working to serve those who served us by opening every opportunity for our veterans to thrive. This commonsense legislation will ensure that the VA continues to invest in our nation’s veteran- and service-disabled-owned small businesses by closing this loophole. I thank Congressman Dunn for his partnership in supporting our veterans, and I look forward to working with the committee and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to uphold our debt of gratitude to those who have served in our armed forces.”

“The Department of Veterans Affairs must do everything in its power to honor its commitment to support service-disabled veteran and veteran-owned small businesses,” said Chairman Roe. “I thank Reps. Dunn and Panetta for their leadership to close this loophole that is denying veterans the opportunities the Supreme Court ruled they are entitled to in the Kingdomware decision.”

The Ensuring Veteran Enterprise Participation in Strategic Sourcing Act would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to work with the General Services Administration (GSA) to increase the number of Service-Disabled Veteran and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses represented on GSA contracts. Read more about the bill here.