Will VA appeal get its day in court?

Supreme Court to decide on Kingdomware “Vets First” petition

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide within days whether to hear a challenge to the Veterans Affairs Department’s “Vets First” program.

Kingdomware Technologies Inc. initiated a petition to the Supreme Court in an effort to overturn a 2014 decision by the Federal Circuit Court.

The circuit court had ruled on a case involving the VA’s obligations under a 2006 law passed by Congress that directed the VA to give strong preferential treatment in contracting to veterans and service-disabled veterans if certain conditions were met.

Under the circuit court’s interpretation, that preferential treatment for veterans is only required until the VA’s small business goals are met, and is voluntary beyond that.

But Kingdomware believes that Congress intended the preferences to be enforced at all times, whether goals are met already or not.

The Justice Department weighed in recently to ask the Supreme Court to let the circuit court ruling stand. The circuit court’s ruling allows for more efficiency in contracting, and even though the preferences are mostly voluntary in the VA’s Vets First program, the VA has surpassed its goals every year, the DOJ officials said.

The VA contracted 19% of its work with service-disabled veterans in fiscal 2013, according to SBA figures; the government’s goal is 3% a year.

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