H.R. 2882 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2882 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 31, 2013 Mr. Coffman (for himself, Mr. Graves of Missouri, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Flores, Mr. Hanna, and Mr. Connolly) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Small Business Act and title 38, United States Code to provide for a consolidated definition of a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Improving Opportunities for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Act of 2013. 2. Small Business defintion of small business concern consolidated Section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (2), to read as follows: (2) Small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans The term small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans means a small business concern— (A) (i) not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans; and (ii) the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of a veteran with permanent and severe disability, the spouse or permanent caregiver of such veteran; or (B) not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more veterans with service-connected disabilities that are permanent and total who are unable to manage the daily business operations of such concern or, in the case of a publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more such veterans. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (6) Treatment of Businesses After Death of Veteran-Owner (A) In general Subject to subparagraph (C), if the death of a service-disabled veteran causes a small business concern to be less than 51 percent owned by one or more such veterans, the surviving spouse of such veteran who acquires ownership rights in such small business concern shall, for the period described in subparagraph (B), be treated as if the surviving spouse were that veteran for the purpose of maintaining the status of the small business concern as a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. (B) Period described The period referred to in subparagraph (A) is the period beginning on the date on which the service-disabled veteran dies and ending on the earliest of the following dates: (i) The date on which the surviving spouse remarries. (ii) The date on which the surviving spouse relinquishes an ownership interest in the small business concern. (iii) The date that is ten years after the date of the veteran’s death. (C) Application to surviving spouse Subparagraph (A) only applies to a surviving spouse of a veteran with a service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling or who dies as a result of a service-connected disability. . 3. Veterans Affairs Definition of small business concern consolidated Section 8127 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking subsection (h); and (2) in subsection (l)(2), by striking means and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following: has the meaning given that term under section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)).. 4. SBA to assume control of verification of ownership and control status of applicants for inclusion in the database of small businesses owned and controlled by service disabled veterans and veterans The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 47. Vets First program Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this section, the Administrator shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that transfer control and administration of the program under subsections (e) through (g) of section 8127 of title 38, United States Code, to the Administrator, consistent with the following: (1) Not later than 270 days after completing the memorandum of understanding, the Administrator shall make rules to carry out the memorandum. If the Administrator does not make such rules by such date, the Administrator may not exercise the authority under section 7(a)(25)(A) until such time as those rules are made. (2) The Administrator shall assume authority and responsibility for maintenance and operation of the database and for verifications under the program. (3) Any appeal by a small business concern, at the time that verification is denied or a contract is awarded, of any determination under the program shall be heard by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Small Business Administration. (4) The Secretary shall, for a period of 6 years commencing on a date agreed to in the completed memorandum, reimburse to the Administrator of the Small Business Administration any costs incurred by the Administrator for actions undertaken pursuant to the memorandum from fees collected by the Secretary of Veteran Affairs under multiple-award schedule contracts. Any disputes between the Secretary and the Administrator shall be resolved by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget . 5. Memorandum of Understanding Section 8127(f) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (7) Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this paragraph, the Secretary shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration consistent with section 47 of the Small Business Act. .