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Thank you, Chairmen Chabot for holding this important hearing regarding the SBA resources available to veterans. To help honor the sacrifices of our military in light of Veteran’s Day, this hearing gives us the opportunity to highlight veterans’ economic contributions. 

Over the last century, these brave Americans have fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, and Europe for not only our freedoms, but for the freedoms of others. We owe them a debt we can never fully repay. At minimum, we can help afford them the opportunity to build a new life after their many years of military service. 

Veterans possess unique skills and experience that make them ideally suited to entrepreneurship. Studies have shown that it is not the military training, but the personality traits and leadership attributes of our veterans that make them such strong business professionals. 

This is evidenced by the rate in which veterans start small businesses compared to the wider population. For instance, the share of young veteran business owners has grown, while the rate of non-veteran owners has dropped in recent years. 

While veterans clearly have a knack for entrepreneurship, we must ensure they have the support they need to start and grow their businesses.  Whether it is help creating a business plan, navigating the procurement process, marketing a new product, or identifying international trade opportunities—the SBA’s Veteran entrepreneurial programs provide an array of services to help small firms flourish. 

One of the most important tools we have to accomplish this mission is the Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business procurement program. In 2016, this initiative awarded more than 200,000 contracts worth over $16 billion to SDV small firms. This amounts to twice as many contracting actions as we saw in 2015. 

These awards accounted for over 3.9 percent of all small business eligible federal contracts – meeting the statutory goal of 3 percent for the fourth year in a row. This accomplishment should be applauded.  At the same time, we should note that we can do much better.  There has been a decrease by 0.22% from 2015 to veteran-owned small businesses. 

Given that entrepreneurship remains a promising career path for many of these men and women, programs like the ones we are discussing today are critical to reducing the unemployment rate for veterans – which remains close to 6 percent for the most recent generation who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Recognizing the specialized need of veterans, the SBA has the Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) whose mission is to maximize the availability, applicability, and usability of all administration small business programs for Veterans, Service-Disabled Veterans, Reserve Component Members, and their Dependents or Survivors. 

There are a range of SBA entrepreneurial development programs targeted at our veterans, most notably the Veterans Business Outreach Centers, which serve over 60,000 clients each year.  

With respect to all of these programs, it is vital that taxpayer resources are being used wisely and to maximum effect. That is why this Committee has long pushed for clearer metrics and accountability, especially among the newer pilot programs at SBA.  

However, promoting efficiency and ending duplications should not be an excuse to underinvest in entrepreneurial development.  I think I speak for all of the members here today in saying that we will do whatever it takes to help all veterans overcome the challenges they face in today’s economy.  

I look forward to hearing how the SBA programs are helping meet the needs of Veterans and what we can do to improve them.