New Set-Aside For Veterans' Businesses Is Proposed Proposed legislation would expand set-aside opportunities for veteran-owned small businesses with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Only service-disabled veterans are eligible for set-asides under current law. Rep. John Boozman’s Veteran-Owned Small Business Promotion Act, H.R. 3082, would create a set-aside and sole-source program for all veteran-owned firms and direct the department to award 9% of its prime contract and subcontract awards to those firms. At least one-third of the awards would be reserved for companies owned by service-disabled veterans. The governmentwide goal is 3% of prime contracts for service-disabled vets, but in 2004 those firms received less than three-tenths of one percent of the dollars, according to Eagle Eye Publishers Inc. The bill would give veteran-owned businesses first priority over other socioeconomic categories in set-asides by VA. A leading advocacy group, the Task Force on Veteran Entrepreneurship, has urged Congress to establish that priority governmentwide. The head of OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy, David Safavian, has said he believes disabled veterans should have first preference. (SAA, 5/27/04) While some federal procurement officials say there are not enough qualified service-disabled firms to meet the 3% goal, the number of SDV companies registered in the Central Contractor Registration has tripled to nearly 7,000 in the past two years, according to the Defense Department. But Eagle Eye’s research found that the top 25 SDV contractors received more than half the total dollars going to such firms last year. Boozman chairs the House Veterans Economic Opportunity Subcommittee. Cosponsors of the bill include Reps. Stephanie Herseth (R-SD), Michael Bilirakis (R-FL,), Dan Burton (R-IN) and Terry Everett (R-AL).