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Washington, D.C.— Today, the House passed a set of bipartisan bills to enhance entrepreneurial opportunities for military veterans. The bills improve and update several SBA programs meant to facilitate veteran entrepreneurship.

“The brave men and women who sacrifice so much to protect their country deserve every opportunity to continue their great contribution by starting a business when they get home,” said Chairwoman Velázquez. “Today, the House has acted to create new opportunities for veterans by strengthening SBA programs that help veterans access capital, compete for federal contracts,  and provide training to current and aspiring veteran entrepreneurs.”

H.R. 3661, “The Patriot Employer Protection Act”
Introduced by Representative Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN)

In the event that an essential employee is called up for National Guard or Reservist duties, the SBA offers two programs to assist small businesses, the Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL) and the Repayment Deferral for Active Duty Reservists (Repayment Deferral). This legislation removed statutory restrictions that limit use of the programs to active duty “during a period of military conflict” and replaces this language with “being ordered to perform active service for a period of more than 30 consecutive days.” This distinction is meant to broaden the pool of service members and reservists eligible for both programs.

H.R. 1615, “Verification Alignment and Service-Disabled Business Adjustment Act”
Introduced by Rep. Trent Kelly (R-MS) and Rep. Crow (D-CO)

This bill reduces confusion around federal procurement requirements for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) and veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) by clarifying agency responsibility around a business’s status and eligibility for set-aside contracts.

Specifically, the bill transfers the responsibility of maintaining a database of fully certified SDVOSBs and VOSBs from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the SBA. It also clarifies that that the VA is responsible for verifying the individual business owner’s status as a veteran or service-disabled veteran, and the SBA is responsible for determining the business concern’s status as a small business concern.

H.R. 3537, “Veteran Entrepreneur Training Act of 2019”

Introduced by Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Rep. Ross Spano (R-FL)

This legislation will codify the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Boots to Business Program for five years to help transitioning servicemembers launch and grow small businesses. It additionally requires a report be submitted within 180 days after the bill’s enactment, notifying Congress of the program’s performance and effectiveness.

The Boots to Business program is a two-day entrepreneurship program offered by the SBA as part of the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program. The program offers transitioning service members and military spouses information regarding self-employment and business ownership. With over 200,000 servicemembers making the transition from military to civilian life every year, this program seeks to ease their transition into entrepreneurship.

H.R. 499, “Service-Disabled Veterans Small Business Continuation Act”

Introduced by Ranking Member Chabot and Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY)

This legislation amends language in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to clarify that surviving spouses will remain eligible for the contracting certification of a SDVOSB upon the death of the disabled service member as long as specific requirements are met.

H.R. 3734, “Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act”

Introduced by Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Ranking Member Steve Chabot (R-OH)

This bill will increase transparency around the Interagency Task Force for Small Business Development, which was designed to coordinate federal efforts to improve capital access, business development, and contracting goals for veteran and service disabled veteran businesses. Specifically, the bill mandates that a report be sent to Congress each year on the appointments made to the task force and its plans for outreach and program promotion. The bill also requires a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to Congress on the ability of veterans and military spouses to access credit.

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