ARTICLE · 19 NOVEMBER 2018

GAO Recommends Improvements To Subcontracting Under VA's Veterans First Program

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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report on the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs's (VA) implementation of the Veterans First Program.

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Mitchell A Bashur is Associate in Holland & Knight's Tysons office

Vijaya S Surampudi is Associate in Holland & Knight's Washington D.C. office

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report on the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs's (VA) implementation of the Veterans First Program. This congressionally-mandated program requires the VA to set-aside contracts for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) or, alternatively, to Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) where: (1) the contracting officer (CO) reasonably expects that at least two such businesses will submit offers; and (2) the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price. This two-part test is commonly known as The VA Rule of Two. This program was challenged in Kingdomware v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 1969 (2016), but the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the program and found the VA was not setting aside contracts consistent with the two-part test.

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