The sweeping defense policy bill poised to pass Congress this week seeks to crack down on stolen valor among businesses by making it harder for some of them to win federal contracts intended for veterans.
The compromise National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, includes an amendment that would stipulate that small businesses that self-certify as being service disabled and veteran owned could not count toward the government’s target for how much contracting goes to such businesses.
The goal is to disincentivize stolen valor by motivating federal officials to award contracts to businesses that are formally certified as being veteran owned.
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“For too long, loopholes have allowed imposters to self-certify as service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses and take advantage of government benefits set aside for our nation’s heroes,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, an Army National Guard veteran who sponsored the amendment, said in a statement to Military.com. “There is no room for error when it comes to our men and women who served, and service-disabled veterans should know that our grateful nation is doing everything in its power to support their success.”
A separate provision of the bill would also increase the goal of how many contracting dollars go to veteran-owned small businesses from 3% to 5%.
Including the provisions in…
