093_HR0364
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Section 502 of the federal Veterans
3 Entrepreneurship and Small Business Act of 1999 establishes a
4 federal government-wide goal that not less than 3% of all
5 federal contract awards for each fiscal year are to be
6 awarded to businesses owned by service-disabled veterans; and
7 WHEREAS, Representative Chris Smith, the Chairman of the
8 House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, has stated that this 3%
9 goal is not a ceiling but is the bare minimum to meet
10 compliance with the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small
11 Business Act of 1999; and
12 WHEREAS, In signing the Veterans Entrepreneurship and
13 Small Business Act of 1999 into law, President William
14 Jefferson Clinton stated that, "[The Act] will provide
15 assistance to veterans who are entrepreneurs and especially
16 to service-disabled veteran entrepreneurs, men and women who
17 have sacrificed so much in service of our county. By helping
18 these American heroes to establish, maintain, and grow their
19 own small businesses, we help to sustain our strong economy
20 and express our gratitude for their service to America."; and
21 WHEREAS, Procurement spending to service-disabled,
22 veteran-owned businesses falls far below the 3% goal
23 established by the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small
24 Business Act of 1999; Angela Styles, an official from the
25 Office of Management and Budget, has testified before the
26 House Committee on Veterans' Affairs that in fiscal year 2001
27 alone, federal agencies denied disabled-veteran's companies
28 nearly $6 billion in procurement opportunities and for the
29 first 3 quarters of fiscal year 2002, up to and including the
30 third quarter, service-disabled veteran-owned small
31 businesses were awarded approximately .10% of the total
32 dollars awarded by federal agencies during that period; and
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1 WHEREAS, For fiscal year 2001 and for the first 3
2 quarters of fiscal year 2002, the Small Business
3 Administration, the Department of Labor, and the Office of
4 the President have reported spending zero dollars with
5 service-disabled veteran-owned businesses; and
6 WHEREAS, Research shows that many of contracts supposedly
7 awarded to service-disabled veteran-owned businesses are not
8 even with companies owned by service-disabled veterans, but
9 with firms illegally claiming that status; and
10 WHEREAS, According to Joseph Forney, the 2002 Veterans
11 Small Business Advocate of the Year, "For the veteran small
12 business owners who are among the 1,800 veterans on average
13 who are dying each day, there will never be an opportunity
14 for the federal government to remedy the disastrous
15 implementation of this small business program."; therefore,
16 be it
17 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-
18 THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the
19 members of the Illinois House of Representatives respectfully
20 urge the United State Congress to closer examine how
21 procurement opportunities are awarded to service-disabled
22 veteran-owned businesses and to take all necessary measures
23 to require the full and immediate implementation of the
24 Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Act of 1999; and
25 be it further
26 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
27 delivered to the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate,
28 the Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives, and each
29 member of the Illinois congressional delegation.