Court: Vet-owned take priority over AbilityOne vendors at VA

      The Veterans Affairs Dept.’s contracting preferences for veteran-owned small firms override the government’s mandate to buy from AbilityOne nonprofit vendors employing severely disabled workers, an appeals court ruled.

      The VA must give top priority to small businesses owned by veterans and service-disabled veterans, even for items on the so-called AbilityOne list, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Court decided. The appeals judges upheld a previous decision of the Court of Federal Claims.

      The case was brought by a small business owned by a service-disabled veteran, who protested the VA’s contract to procure eyewear from an AbilityOne nonprofit with blind workers.

      The appeals court said the 2006 “VA Act” law giving veterans top priority in contracts at the VA takes precedence because it was the more recent law. The Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act, which mandates government buys of certain items from nonprofits employing disabled people, dates from 1938.

      The court also said it carried out a general legal principle that laws applying specifically should take precedence over laws that apply generally. On that basis, the judges said the law stating a strong preference for veteran contractors specifically at the VA overrides the more general law mandating that the federal government procure certain items with firms employing disabled people.

More Information: US Court decision: https://bit.ly/2yE7MYG

Unpriced Schedules

Court: Vet-owned take priority over AbilityOne vendors at VA

SBA chief responds to queries on GOP tax bill talk in IGNITE

Senate committee approves six small business bills

Top 10 federal opps for small biz in 2019

Column: Policies and Procedures Manuals - Are They Necessary?

Washington Insider: