Ineligible firms awarded vet pacts

Small businesses owned/operated by disabled veterans may have been unfairly cheated out of hundreds of millions of dollars in Defense Department contracts by firms ineligible for those awards, DoD’s Inspector General reported Feb. 20. The IG audit found DoD "awarded $876.8 million in contracts to ineligible contractors and did not implement procedures to ensure compliance with the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) subcontracting requirements ..." At least 16 of the 29 contractors, reviewed by the IG received business from the Pentagon on the basis that they met the disabled veteran requirements, were found to be ineligible, the IG's office said in the 29-page report. Under executive order, all government agencies have been directed to boost opportunities for service-disabled veteran businesses to get contracts, with a goal of having at least 3 percent of all federal dollars going to firms owned by disabled veterans. The rules require at least 51 percent be owned by one or more service-disabled veterans. One or more service-disabled veterans must be in control of the management and daily operations of a business. The report found that DoD had been awarding contracts, intended for disabled veterans, to some contractors who did not meet those requirements. In addition, DoD contracting personnel "did not perform the oversight necessary to verify compliance,” the report said. It did not name any of the questionable firms, but cited as an example one identified only as "Contractor A." The report said that the IG was “unable to confirm" with the Department of Veterans Affairs that Contractor A's president was actually a service-disabled veteran. It recommended DoD’s Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) require contractors to submit valid documentation before contracts are awarded. In response to the report, OSBP Acting Director J. Scott Baum disagreed with the findings but declined to address the recommendations, the IG's office said. In Baum’s memo to the IG, he claimed it was the Small Business Administration, and not his office, that is "responsible for determining eligibility and ensuring compliance" with the SDVOSB rules. (Source: MIlitary.com 02/20/20) https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/02/20/pentagon-awarded-876m-contracts-meant-disabled-vets-ineligible-companies-ig.html