New Year at American Veteran: G.I. Bill Fixes Signed; VA to Vet Small Businesses

The New Year is upon us at American Veteran magazine and this afternoon marks the start of the 112th Congress--with many shifts in leadership among the veterans affairs and armed services committees. Aside from the party shift in the House, the Senate is also slated to make significant changes to its committee assignments. American Veteran will follow today's developments and we will publish comprehensive lists of relevant committee assignments as they become available.

Over the next few weeks, AMVETS Acting Legislative Director Christina Roof will work diligently to deliver AMVETS Legislative Priorities for 2011 to each relevant committee member.

Yesterday marked another significant step in delivering quality educational and vocational training benefits to today's veterans with President Barack Obama's signing of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2010, which passed Congress during the lame duck session.

The bill includes many of the improvements which AMVETS has called for over the last two years in an effort to make the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill more equitable for today's war fighters.

Among the critical improvements are offering benefits to Active Guard & Reserve, or AGR, soldiers and members of the military activated on Title 32 orders for homeland defense missions. The new law also allows veterans enrolled in non-degree or vocational training programs an opportunity to utilize their Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits to defray costs, and also offers distance learners a portion of the living stipend benefit.

The changes could make Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits available to an additional 400,000 veterans and current service members.

Unfortunately, the total law did not satisfy all of AMVETS' expectations, as Congressional leaders scrapped break payments of living stipends for more than 350,000 veterans currently enrolled under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. AMVETS recognized that offering break payments remained a budget-neutral proposal and asked Congressional leaders to keep the benefit intact. However, in the hours prior to the vote, the controversial proposal was kept in the bill.

Starting next fall, students enrolled under Chapter 33 will no longer be entitled to living stipend payments during winter and summer break months.

American Veteran will continue to follow implementation of the new G.I. Bill fixes.

On Monday, VA also announced its new plan to vet veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses seeking government contracts. To read VA's announcement of the new policy, Click Here.

AMVETS Acting Legislative Director Christina Roof, who previously served as a small business consultant, has consistently called on VA to audit its contractors to ensure compliance. Roof called the new policy a "step in the right direction," but expressed concerns that the new verification process could create a backlog of contractors looking for work.

Under the new policy, VA will require the 13,000 companies currently listed in the Vendor Information Pages, or VIP, database to verify their status within 90 days. After this time, VA will consider additional applications for the VIP database from other potential VOSBs and SDVOSBs.

AMVETS outlined contractor compliance as a top priority in the 2011 Legislative Agenda. American Veteran will continue to follow this story closely. Check back regularly for updates.

(Image: Cover of AMVETS Legislative Priorities for 2011. Photo courtesy of Architect of the Capitol.)

Live from Capitol Hill: AMVETS to Testify on VA Contractor Compliance

This afternoon AMVETS National Deputy Legislative Director Christina Roof will testify before the House VA Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity to discuss federal contractor compliance and, particularly, the state of VA oversight on contracts for veteran-owned small businesses.

To view live video of this afternoon's hearing, Click Here.

To view a list of this morning's witnesses and to read their prepared statements, Click Here.

Prior to joining AMVETS, Roof served as a small business consultant, bringing a wealth of knowledge on small business administration and contract compliance to her post at AMVETS.

Over the last two years, Roof has established herself as a subject matter expert on veteran-owned small businesses, or VOSBs, and service disabled veteran-owned small businesses, or SDVOSBs, and VA's contracting processes.

During her testimony, Roof plans to discuss persistent shortcomings in the validation process for VOSBs and SDVOSBs and shortcomings in auditing, which have created a system rife for fraud within VA contracting.

Roof will also call on VA and Congress to establish more stringent rules and penalties for small businesses claiming veteran-owned status to ensure that truly veteran-owned small businesses receive the preferences in contracting they deserve.

Roof will also call on Congress to establish a centralized federal database for VOSBs and SDVOSBs to allow different departments to share information on small businesses eligible to execute federal contracts set aside for veterans.

Given the recent economic crisis and abysmal veteran unemployment statistics, Roof says that small businesses owners' efforts to exploit the system through dubious means like "rent-a-vet" are tantamount to stealing jobs from eligible veterans, and she hopes that Congress and VA will take the necessary steps to ensure contractor compliance and contract delivery moving forward.

American Veteran will continue to follow this story closely as it develops. Check back regularly for updates.

Live from Capitol Hill: AMVETS Testifies on VA's Center of Veteran Enterprise

This afternoon, AMVETS Deputy National Legislative Director Christina Roof appeared before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Development to discuss the VA's Center for Veteran Enterprise, or CVE, which handles vetting and certification for veteran-owned and service disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

To view a Web cast of this morning's hearing, Click Here.

Roof has been a leading voice before Congress on veterans' small businesses, commonly referred to as VOSBs and SDVOSBs, calling attention to critical oversight issues within VA.

In this morning's hearing, Roof applauded VA's efforts to address oversight issues in recent months, but cited several issues within VA's newly-established guidelines for VOSBs ownership and operation.

Roof said that the current verification process focuses solely on ownership, still leaving the door open for fraud, and that the new guideline that veterans can only register one VOSB stifles entrepreneurship.

Roof also reiterated the call from the Independent Budget partners for all federal agencies to use VA's VIP program as its sole source to verify veterans' status for small business owners.

Live from Capitol Hill: House VA Subcommittee on Oversight to Host Hearing on VA Acquisitions

This morning, the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will host a hearing on VA acquisitions and veterans' contracting. AMVETS Deputy Legislative Director Christina Roof will be on hand for this morning's hearing and submitted testimony for the record on behalf of AMVETS.

To view live video of this morning's hearing at 10 a.m. eastern, Click Here.

In the spring, AMVETS became a vocal advocate for improved oversight on VA contracting and auditing procedures within the federal government for veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs).

Through extensive research into auditing processes and her background in small business administration, Roof was able to identify key deficiencies within veterans' contracting and has sparked the subcommittee to take action, commissioning additional hearings and looking for potential legislative solutions to persistent issues.

To read Roof's original testimony from March, Click Here.

American Veteran will follow the developments out of today's hearing and we will include commentary from Roof later today. In the meantime, to view a list of today's witnesses and to read their statements, Click Here.

This (Short) Week at American Veteran

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, AMVETS National Headquarters will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 26 and Friday, Nov. 27 so that our staff can spend the holidays with their loved ones. Congress is also on recess this week for the Thanksgiving District Work Period, which means many of our legislators will be in our hometowns, listening to their constituents.

Tomorrow on American Veteran Online, we will feature the story of AMVETS Riders Chapter No. 7 in Morristown, Tenn., which helped to escort Army Spc. Fred Greene, one of the fallen from the Fort Hood shooting, to his home town of Mountain City, Tenn.

American Veteran will also follow up on last week's Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, citing government contracting fraud among businesses claiming to be service-disabled veteran owned small businesses (SDVOSBs).

In May, AMVETS Deputy Legislative Director Christina Roof testified that a lack of oversight could lead to excessive fraud by small businesses seeking to take advantage of veterans' preferences in contracting and proposed changes to the system to ensure compliance. The new report confirmed AMVETS' greatest concerns over the gravity of the situation.

We will also post highlights from Cmdr. Miskulin's visit to the Far East, which we were unable to post last week.

We're always eager to hear from our readers and the AMVETS posts and departments around the country, so please feel free to comment below, send us story ideas and content, or click on the new "Like/Dislike" boxes at the bottom of each entry.

Finally, AMVETS leaders ask that this Thanksgiving, we all give thanks for the brave men and women, young and old, who have fought to preserve the ideals of our great nation--especially those who have been called to serve and cannot join us this holiday season.

Army Corps of Engineers snubs veterans on work at Arlington National Cemetery

In May 2009, the Army Corps of Engineers posted a preliminary solicitation seeking contractors for excavation and grading work at Arlington National Cemetery. The work was specifically set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs). To view the official notification and subsequent amendments, visit the Corps' posting on FedBizOpps.gov.

After only a few short weeks online, the solicitation changed, apparently setting aside the work at our nation's most hallowed veterans' cemetery for Historically Underserved Business Zone (HUBZone) contractors.

When the veterans' community caught wind of the change, it prompted some significant questions to the Corps about the solicitation and bid processes.

Upon further inquiry, AMVETS legislative department learned that the original posting lacked proper coding, making it appear as though the Corps was not actually looking for potential bids, but rather simply companies that would be interested in the kind of work offered at Arlington.

When the original posting went onto FedBizOpps.gov, only two SDVOSBs replied, and only one was actually qualified to do the work. Upon learning of this, the Corps decided to open up the work for HUBZone contractors.

However, it came to the attention of Corps administrators that the original coding was flawed, meaning that veteran contractors were not properly informed of the opportunity. This oversight prompted requests from the veterans' community to reopen the bid process for both veteran-owned businesses and HUBZone contractors that had expressed an interest, taking into consideration the Corps' clerical error.

The Corps balked at this idea, noting that their arbitrary internal deadline had passed and that the work would be posted exclusively for HUBZone contractors. To date, 23 SDVOSBs have inquired about the work at Arlington, compared to four HUBZone contractors. Only one contractor is certified as both.

It seems unconscionable that the civilian leadership behind the scenes at the Army Corps of Engineers would not acknowledge their mistake to ensure an equitable bid process. Veterans should be given first priority to maintain the final resting place of veterans.

The Corps plans to post the official solicitation for bids on this project next week exclusively for HUBZone contractors.

Contact the Army Corps of Engineers today and tell them to reopen this contract to service-disabled veteran's small businesses. To view a list of contact information for the Corps, Click Here.

(Photo: An Army bugler plays "Taps" during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in March 2009 honoring fallen military medical personnel. DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, released.)