Congressman Nye Holding Hearing on Contract Fraud of Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business program

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Glenn Nye (VA-02), the Chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology, will  hold a hearing of his subcommittee this Thursday, July 15th as part of his investigation into contract fraud in a program intended to help disabled veterans. As Chairman, Glenn Nye has jurisdiction over all small business contracting programs.

Nye’s subcommittee has been examining fraud and abuse in the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business program after a report ordered and overseen by the Small Business Committee found that unscrupulous businesses had fraudulently obtained more than $100 million in government contracts intended for small businesses owned by disabled veterans. Thursday’s hearing will examine U.S. government agencies’ veteran contracting programs and what steps can be taken to ensure veteran-owned small businesses are awarded their deserved share of federal projects.

“If we are serious about honoring our commitment to our veterans, then the program designed to support veteran entrepreneurs must be more than an empty promise,” Nye said. “It’s time we demanded some accountability from these agencies.”

Witnesses at Nye’s hearing will include the following two panels:

Panel 1 witness list:

Joe Jordan, SBA, Associate Administrator, Government Contracting and
Business Development

Linda Oliver, DoD, Director, Office of Small Business Programs

Tim Foreman, DoVA, Executive Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged
Business Utilization

Craig Fugate, FEMA, Administrator

Lisa Jackson, EPA, Administrator

Panel 2 witness list:

John Kobelski, President CEO, Andromeda Systems Inc, Virginia Beach

Stephen Hope, President, CIAN Inc, Peoria

Joe Sharpe, Director, National Economic Commission, The American Legion

In November, a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) – the investigative arm of Congress – found that there are no fraud prevention controls in place to prevent ineligible businesses from obtaining contracts intended for small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. Currently, neither the SBA nor government contracting officers check to verify whether businesses that claim to be service-disabled veteran-owned small business are actually eligible to receive contracts.

As Chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology, which has oversight over federal small business contracting programs, Congressman Glenn Nye oversaw the investigation. Nye has also introduced legislation to remedy the problem and implement penalties for businesses that cheat the system and defraud veterans. Just this May, Nye held a hearing in Norfolk to hear directly from the veteran small business owners affected by the fraud and receive an update from the GAO.

Congressman Nye represents Virginia’s Second Congressional District which is home to the highest concentration of veterans anywhere in the country.

WHO: Congressman Glenn Nye and the House Small Business Committee,
Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology

WHAT: Hearing – “Improving Contracting Opportunities and Preventing
Fraud for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses”

WHEN: Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 10:00 am

WHERE: 2360 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515