What you Must Know about Service Disabled Veteran Certification

Welcome to all... To the Premier Blog for the most boring of subjects: Federal Government Contracting. The good news is that you will find nuggets of information that you can trade in for payments from the government. Hey, send me a question or two and I'll have more fun blogging! GB. March, 2012
 

Attention Veterans! A new government movement is afoot and you need to know about it. I am emotionally involved with this issue, so this blog may be controversial today. So bear with me, and nothing personal to anyone or any organization. I just have some questions.

Formal Veteran Owned Business Certification:

You can expect that your government customers will begin requiring that you are registered with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Center for Veterans Enterprise, aka VetBiz and CVE. The process currently involves a lot of time and paperwork.

Background: Not long ago, and still to some extent, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) were self certifying. You certified that you are an SDVOSB, usually through OCRA (On Line Certifications and Representations). In real life, nothing much happened on that regard until you got a contract award - and a competitor protested. Only then were you required to prove your SDVOSB status. Sometimes a contracting officer would ask for verification up front, but not that often.

Why the change? Fraud, dishonest, nasty despicable fraud. Many companies deceptively claim to be an SDVOSB to get government contracts, when in reality they were not meeting the actual federal requirements.

In any SBA Small Business Certification, the claimed owner(s) must have control of the company, with hiring/firing authority, and control of the money. But often someone or some organization would run the company through a figurehead - a person that actually did not operate the business. This is called cheating. Many deserving businesses have been hurt by this practice. And the cheaters know who they are. Shame on you!

In order to minimize the fraud, SDVOSBs are now on the road to being required to register with CVE/VetBiz. I totally support that! Put the (fill in the blank) in jail.

The problem for me is the documentation required. Specifically three years of tax records, contract information, and up to date payroll records. It is taking a long time to get certified because of the backlog. Why?

My take is they are not simply registering SDVOSBs to real veterans; they are screening companies so that it is harder for start-ups to get registered. Basically they are saying that you may not really be an SDVOSB if you are a startup. What if you don't have three years experience? What has that got to do with your disabled veteran status and your new business?

Of course, you can provide an explanation letter why you don't have three years, but they may or may not accept it. Who decides? What are the criteria? Is there any appeal? Isn't the point to confirm that real veterans own and operate the business? Maybe you just got back from downrange and just started your dream company. Should you have to beg the government for permission to be an SDVOSB?

The solution is in your hands. This is new stuff. Contact the decision makers and let them know your concerns. Let your Congress representative hear about it; contact the Department of Veterans Affairs, and ask questions. Let’s make sure to reduce the fraud, but not at the expense of startups.

To the Department of Veterans Affairs: I love you, but find a better way to screen SDVOSBs without excessive overhead, and in the process maybe you will help the federal government stop building redundant empires of government employees and agencies. Attention Veterans: Pass the word.