Now that the midterm elections have passed we’re looking forward to some significant changes in the 112^th Congress.  In a wave of sweeping voter referendum on existing government policy, 90 new congressional representatives have been elected by their constituents across this nation. Of these 90, 25 military veterans were elected – three in the Senate and the remaining 22 in the House. Currently more than 120 military veterans serve in Congress, a number that is growing in population, bucking the trend of declining veteran representation in the legislature over years prior.

The 111^th Congress did little for veterans in business. Many related bills fell flat, including HR 6022, sponsored by Congressman Joel Courtney (D-Conn.), which never moved at all. Nor was it co-sponsored by any other legislator. This bill dealt with parity in small business set-asides, placing service SDVOBs on par with all other small business categories.  This inaction was indicative of the hypocrisy, delays, and obstructions we have seen in Congress last year.

Sadly, the parity debate is not over. Rather it should be revisited by Congress in the upcoming session and by the many veterans who will be serving in the new Congress. Knowing that these new 90 entering the service of their nation includes a requirement to serve our veterans, this is a call to arms for them to be accountable to the future of this nation.

I recently learned that the National Security Administration had failed to issue more than $50 million targeted for SDVOBs. Why? The response was simple, “We could not find enough SDVOBs to do the required work.” The solution to this problem is simple: We need more vetrepreneurs to join NAVOBA, register with VetBiz and the Central Contractor Registry to eliminate this convenient excuse.

There are more than 3 million vetrepreneurs in this country. We know there are more than they need to do the work. By providing the numbers of businesses we’ll no longer hear agencies say “we can’t find SDVOBs.”

NaVOBA’s FGAB will ensure we hold government accountable to pass and enforce legislation in support of veteran-owned businesses. I personally will indentify key congressional representatives and report on their actions relative to veteran business legislation for 2011.

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