The House has passed legislation to expand business opportunities for veterans and help military reservists keep their businesses afloat during and after deployment.

H.R. 4253, The Military Reservist and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity Act, was sponsored by Rep. Jason Altmire, D-PA.

The bill would increase funding for SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development; make available additional capital for veterans through the SBA’s 7(a) and disaster loan programs; and it increase the number of Veterans Business Outreach Centers across the country. It establishes an interagency taskforce to improve coordination and outreach to veteran and reservist entrepreneurs by federal agencies.

The Senate approved similar legislation last year.

The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA) plan to merge around April 1.

The new organization will keep the ITAA name, and ITAA chief executive Phil Bond will continue in that role. GEIA President Dan Heinemeier will serve as executive vice president.

“We are creating a single place for companies to come together and move the technology industry forward, whether those firms are focused on the government or commercial markets; IT or electronics,” said ITAA Chairman Hank Steininger, Grant Thornton’s Managing Partner, Global Public Sector. “GEIA’s market forecasting reports and standards programs will combine with ITAA’s public policy advocacy and other programs to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”

The two groups combined have about 400 member companies.

The Defense Department has issued a final rule requiring training and certification for contractors who work on information assurance. The department said the rule applies to about 83 small businesses that have contracts in that category.

The rule says contractors without DOD-approved certifications will be blocked from the information systems.

It was published in the Jan. 10 Federal Register.