,i #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cide ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,november #e1 #bjae ,mr4 ,coffman 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,chabot1 ,mr4 ,miller of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,mr4 ,hanna1 ,mr4 ,connolly1 and ,mr4 ,moulton7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,small ,business1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 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 #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to improve contracting opportunities for certain veteran-owned small businesses1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,improving ,opportunities for ,service-,disabled ,veteran-,owned ,small ,businesses ,act of #bjae4 #b4 ,improving contracting opportunities for certain veteran-owned small businesses 7a7 ,definition of small business concern consolidated ,section #c7q7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb7q77 is amended-- 7#a7 by amending paragraph 7#b7 to read as follows3 7#b7 ,small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans ,the term small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans means any of the following3 7,a7 ,a small business concern-- 7i7 not less than #ea percent of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans or1 in the case of any publicly owned business1 not less than #ea percent of the stock 7not including any stock owned by an ,,esop7 of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans2 and 7ii7 the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans or1 in the case of a veteran with permanent and severe disability1 the spouse or permanent caregiver of such veteran4 7,b7 ,a small business concern-- 7i7 not less than #ea percent of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans with a disability that is rated by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs as a permanent and total disability who are unable to manage the daily business operations of such concern2 or 7ii7 in the case of a publicly owned business1 not less than #ea percent of the stock 7not including any stock owned by an ,,esop7 of which is owned by one or more such veterans4 7,c7 7i7 ,during the time period described in clause 7ii71 a small business concern that was a small business concern described in subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 immediately prior to the death of a service-disabled veteran who was the owner of the concern1 the death of whom causes the concern to be less than #ea percent owned by one or more service-disabled veterans1 if-- 7,i7 the surviving spouse of the deceased veteran acquires such veteran's ownership interest in such concern2 7,,ii7 such veteran had a service-connected disability 7as defined in section #aja7af7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code7 rated as #ajj-percent disabling under the laws administered by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs or such veteran died as a result of a service-connected disability2 and 7,,iii7 immediately prior to the death of such veteran1 and during the period described in clause 7ii71 the small business concern is included in the database described in section #habg7;f7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7ii7 ,the time period described in this clause is the time period beginning on the date of the veteran's death and ending on the earlier of-- 7,i7 the date on which the surviving spouse remarries2 7,,ii7 the date on which the surviving spouse relinquishes an ownership interest in the small business concern2 or 7,,iii7 the date that is #aj years after the date of the death of the veteran4 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following new paragraphs3 7#f7 ,,esop ,the term ,,esop has the meaning given the term employee stock ownership plan in section #dige7;e77#g7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf 7#bf ,u4,s4,c4 #dige7;e77#g774 7#g7 ,surviving spouse ,the term surviving spouse has the meaning given such term in section #aja7c7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 4 7b7 ,veterans affairs definition of small business concern consolidated 7#a7 ,in general ,section #habg of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking subsection 7h7 and redesignating subsections 7i7 through 7l7 as subsections 7h7 through 7k71 respectively2 and 7,b7 in subsection 7k71 as so redesignated-- 7i7 by amending paragraph 7#b7 to read as follows3 7#b7 ,the term small business concern owned and controlled by veterans has the meaning given that term under section #c7q77#c7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb7q77#c774 2 and 7ii7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#c7 ,the term small business concern owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities has the meaning given the term small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans under section #c7q77#b7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb7q77#b774 4 7#b7 ,conforming amendments ,such section is further amended-- 7,a7 in subsection 7b71 by inserting or a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities after a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans2 7,b7 in subsection 7c71 by inserting or a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities after a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans2 7,c7 in subsection 7d7 by inserting or small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities after small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans both places it appears2 and 7,d7 in subsection 7f77#a71 by inserting 1 small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities1 after small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans4 7c7 ,technical correction ,section #h7;d77#c7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcg7;d77#c771 is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,h7 ,in this contract1 the term small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans has the meaning given that term in section #c7q74 4 #c4 ,regulations relating to database of the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs 7a7 ,requirement ,to use certain ,small ,business ,administration regulations ,section #habg7;f77#d7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking verified and inserting verified1 using regulations issued by the ,administrator of the ,small ,business ,administration with respect to the status of the concern as a small business concern and the ownership and control of such concern14 7b7 ,prohibition on ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs issuing certain regulations ,section #habg7;f7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#g7 ,the ,secretary may not issue regulations related to the status of a concern as a small business concern and the ownership and control of such small business concern4 4 7c7 ,delayed effective date ,the amendments made by this section and section #b shall take effect on the date on which the ,administrator of the ,small ,business ,administration and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs jointly issue regulations implementing such sections4 ,such date shall be not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,appeals of inclusion in database 7a7 ,in general ,section #habg7;f7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 as amended by section #c1 is further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#h7 7,a7 ,if the ,secretary does not verify a concern for inclusion in the database under this subsection based on the status of the concern as a small business concern or the ownership or control of the concern1 the concern may appeal the denial of verification to the ,office of ,hearings and ,appeals of the ,small ,business ,administration 7as established under part #acd of title #ac1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or any successor administrative appellate entity created with the ,small ,business ,administration74 ,the decision of the ,office of ,hearings and ,appeals shall be considered a final agency action4 7,b7 7i7 ,if an interested party challenges the inclusion in the database of a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans or a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities based on the status of the concern as a small business concern or the ownership or control of the concern1 the challenge shall be heard by the ,office of ,hearings and ,appeals of the ,small ,business ,administration as described in subparagraph 7,a74 ,the decision of the ,office of ,hearings and ,appeals shall be considered final agency action4 7ii7 ,in this subparagraph1 the term interested party means-- 7,i7 the ,secretary2 and 7,,ii7 in the case of a small business concern that is awarded a contract1 the contracting officer of the ,department or another small business concern that submitted an offer for the contract that was awarded to the small business concern that submitted an offer under clause 7i74 7,c7 ,for each fiscal year1 the ,secretary shall reimburse the ,administrator of the ,small ,business ,administration in an amount necessary to cover any cost incurred by the ,office of ,hearings and ,appeals of the ,small ,business ,administration for actions taken by the ,office under this paragraph4 ,the amount of any such reimbursement shall be determined jointly by the ,secretary and the ,administrator and shall be provided from fees collected by the ,secretary under multiple-award schedule contracts4 ,any disagreement about the amount shall be resolved by the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,paragraph 7#h7 of subsection 7f7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 as added by subsection 7a71 shall apply with respect to a verification decision made by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs on or after the date of the enactment of this ,act4