[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 106 (Monday, June 24, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5045-H5046]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BOOSTING RATES OF AMERICAN VETERAN EMPLOYMENT ACT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2109) to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in awarding a contract for the
procurement of goods or services, to give a preference to offerors that
employ veterans.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2109
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Boosting Rates of American
Veteran Employment Act'' or the ``BRAVE Act''.
SEC. 2. PREFERENCE FOR OFFERORS EMPLOYING VETERANS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 81 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding after section 8128
the following new section:
``Sec. 8129. Preference for offerors employing veterans
``(a) Preference.--In awarding a contract for the
procurement of goods or services, the Secretary may give a
preference to offerors that employ veterans on a full-time
basis. The Secretary shall determine such preference based on
the percentage of the full-time employees of the offeror who
are veterans.
``(b) Enforcement Penalties for Misrepresentation.--(1) Any
offeror that is determined by the Secretary to have willfully
and intentionally misrepresented the veteran status of the
employees of the offeror for purposes of subsection (a) may
be debarred from contracting with the Department for a period
of not less than five years.
``(2) If the Secretary carries out a debarment under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall commence debarment action
against the offeror by not later than 30 days after
determining that the offeror willfully and intentionally
misrepresented the veteran status of the employees of the
offeror as described in paragraph (1) and shall complete
debarment actions against such offeror by not later than 90
days after such determination.
``(3) The debarment of an offeror under paragraph (1)
includes the debarment of all principals in the offeror for a
period of not less than five years.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 8128 the following new item:
``8129. Preference for offerors employing veterans.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentlewoman from American Samoa (Mrs.
Radewagen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2109.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2109, the Boosting Rates of
American Veteran Employment Act, or BRAVE Act.
We know that overall veterans' unemployment rates are below the
national average, and that includes a 3.5 percent rate for our younger
post-9/11 veterans. However, this hides an alarming statistic: nearly
one-third of veteran jobseekers are underemployed at a rate 15.6
percent higher than nonveteran jobseekers.
Both parties agree that men and women returning from our most recent
conflicts deserve to come home to a reliable, good paying job. We owe
them that.
We can start right here in the Federal Government. The VA establishes
long-term contracts with private companies for medical equipment,
construction supplies, services, and more.
Currently, the VA gives a preference for these contracts to veteran-
owned small businesses.
The BRAVE Act would expand this contracting preference to allow the
VA Secretary to give a preference to companies that actively employ
veterans, a policy that would incentivize companies to hire more
veterans, already a smart approach for companies, because veterans
bring to a job the skills they earned and learned in their years of
invaluable military training.
This bipartisan bill would not add any additional costs or burdens to
the taxpayers. It allows for the debarment of any company that
knowingly misrepresents its proportion of veteran employees in order to
receive a contracting preference.
The BRAVE Act represents a win-win for the private sector, the
Federal Government, and most importantly, veterans themselves.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Rice for her hard work on
this excellent bill, and Ranking Member Roe for beginning work on this
bill last Congress. I urge my colleagues to support it today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2109, introduced by
Representative Rice of New York.
Mr. Speaker, to improve employment opportunities for veterans and
business opportunities for the companies that employ them, H.R. 2109
would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, to consider the
number of veterans who would be employed by a potential contractor and
give the company that employs certain veterans credit for doing so
during the contract approval process.
The bill would also allow VA to debar any contractor who willfully
and intentionally misrepresents the number of veterans they employ.
Mr. Speaker, thanks to President Trump and Republican pro-growth
policies, the veteran unemployment rate is at a near historic low of
2.7 percent.
I firmly believe that we should encourage businesses to provide job
opportunities to veterans as well as provide VA with the authority to
consider veteran hires when making contracting decisions. This
legislation emphasizes that.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Rice for her work on this bill,
which has my full support. I urge all my colleagues to support H.R.
2109.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
New York (Miss Rice), my good friend, who is a member of the Veterans'
Affairs Committee and a member of the Subcommittee on Economic
Opportunity, and the sponsor of H.R. 2109.
Miss RICE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R.
2109, the Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act, which I
introduced along with Paul Cook from California.
The BRAVE Act is commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will
authorize the VA Secretary to give preference to contractors with high
concentrations of full-time veteran employees when awarding Federal
contracts.
First, this bill will reward companies that actively hire and invest
in veterans, companies that seek out veterans and give them
opportunities to bring their unique skills and training
[[Page H5046]]
and experience to the civilian workforce.
Second, it will create an incentive for other companies to do the
same, which in turn will help bring more veterans into the workforce,
and with good-paying jobs at that, the types of opportunities that give
veterans and their families the stability they need as they transition
to civilian life.
Most importantly, as more and more companies hire more and more
veterans, they will ultimately see that investing in veterans is just
good for business. That is what the real incentive should be, not just
an advantage in securing Federal contracts, but getting the benefit of
employees who have worn the uniform, who have been trained by the
greatest military in the world, and who have learned to get the job
done no matter what the job is or how tough it may be.
What business wouldn't want to have employees like that?
Lastly, it bears emphasizing that this bill will cost taxpayers
absolutely nothing.
We need more businesses in the private sector to recognize the value
of investing in the men and women who have served our country.
To be clear, this isn't an act of charity. Veterans are not looking
for a handout. They just need an opportunity to show what they can do.
That is what this bill will help accomplish.
The BRAVE Act will help ensure that more veterans have those
opportunities.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Roe
for supporting this bill and for helping to bring it to the floor
today.
This legislation passed unanimously in the last Congress, and I urge
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to once again give it the
bipartisan support it deserves.
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the
legislation sponsored by Miss Rice, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2109.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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