In a year when the president and congress seem unable to work together and Washington has been mired in partisan gridlock, the two sides have found a common cause that they and all Americans can agree on.   Congress recently passed, and the president signed the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act of 2011(VOW to Hire Heroes Act).  The act provides tax credits and other incentives for employers to hire veterans. 

Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs said “I am committed to reducing the veterans’ unemployment rate to below 5 percent over the next two years. They kept their vow to us, now it’s our turn to vow to help them.” 

President Obama, on signing the law, said “Back in September, I sent Congress a jobs bill. And in it, I proposed a tax credit for any business that hires a veteran who’s been unemployed for at least four weeks. I proposed an even bigger tax break if a business hires a veteran who’s been unemployed for at least six months. And if a business hires an unemployed veteran with a disability related to their service, I proposed doubling the tax break that we already have in place.  Today, because Democrats and Republicans came together, I’m proud to sign those proposals into law. And I urge every business owner out there who’s hiring to hire a veteran right away.” 

With or without the act and its incentives, it’s hard to imagine that any business would turn away a qualified veteran for employment.  We all share our sense of indebtedness to the men and women in uniform who gave up careers and  educational opportunities to keep us safe and free.  Those sacrifices make their transition to private sector employment all the more challenging. 

Faced with a job market demanding specific experience, expertise or education, many veterans have become entrepreneurs instead of employees.  There are a few business sectors that are open to anyone with a solid work-ethic and common sense, where start-up capital, a long resume and degree are not a requirement.  Among them are building and facilities management.  While the president and congress talk about helping vets, and while each agency has congressionally mandated goals for contracting with veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs), the General Services Administration (GSA) has implemented arbitrary obstacles which prevent all government customers from using the most deserving and qualified contractors for facility services. 

How does the GSA create these obstacles for VOSBs?  “Contract bundling” or the practice of combining multiple unrelated requirements (each of which individually could be done by a veteran-owned small business) into a single complex contract which can only be performed by a larger, more complex contractor.  In 1997 the Small Business Reauthorization Act (Public Law 105-135) mandated that “each Federal agency, to the maximum extent practicable, shall (1) comply with congressional intent to foster the participation of small business concerns as prime contractors,  subcontractors, and suppliers (2) structure its contracting requirements to facilitate competition by and among small business concerns, taking all reasonable steps to eliminate obstacles to their participation; and (3) avoid unnecessary and unjustified bundling of contract requirements that precludes small business participation in procurements as prime contractors. 

GSA, through its multiple award schedules (GSA Schedule) program, is the de facto gatekeeper between federal agencies and vendors.  And GSA has made the determination that to deny access to the federal marketplace to small VOSBs who offer a single specialized facilities management service (such as janitorial, custodial, or trash removal services) unless they also provide at least two totally unrelated services, such as snow removal or plumbing. 

According to Donald Denno, the Director of the Acquisition Division of the Facilities Maintenance and Hardware Acquisition Center (FMHAC) for GSA “Quite simply, we don't have federal agencies telling us that they are currently looking to buy janitorial service, as a stand-alone through schedule”.  Mr. Denno poses three rhetorical questions, “Would such firms have more sales?    Would making this change result in an overall savings for the Federal Government?  Would this change result in a good use of scarce contracting resources?  My answer to all three of these questions is “no.”

The law, and common sense, suggest that GSA is wrong.  Whether or not federal agencies prefer buying services bundled as opposed to stand-alone (does  Camp Pendleton in San Diego really care whether or not their janitorial contractor can remove snow?), the law mandates that agencies “avoid unnecessary and unjustified bundling of contract requirements that precludes small business participation in procurements as prime contractors.” 

Allowing maximum competition  may not “result in a good use of scarce contracting resources”, but limiting competition results in fraud, waste, abuse and higher costs.  Full and open competition has long kept contractors and contracting officers honest and protected the taxpayer.  Besides, the law states that  “the reduction of administrative or personnel costs alone shall not be a justification for bundling of contract requirements unless the cost savings are expected to be substantial in relation to the dollar value of the procurement requirements to be consolidated.” 

It’s intuitively obvious that when agencies are allowed to contract with VOSBs, those firms would have more sales then they would when agencies are precluded from contracting with them.  It’s also obvious that by limiting participation of smaller businesses with lower overhead, by limiting competition for federal contracts, and by limiting choice for federal customers, costs to the taxpayer is increased. 

The anti-bundling laws are clear.  Congress and the president have found common ground in support of veteran employment.  Now is the time for GSA to  commit itself the letter and spirit of the anti-bundling statutes and the VOW Act.  GSA should cease arbitrarily bundling facilities maintenance requirements so that qualified  VOSBs ‘need not apply’.  Encourage VOSBs and other small businesses to serve their country, and encourage federal customers to choose from the best qualified veteran-owned contractors.   Our veterans bravely served our country when they “took out the (terrorist) trash” while risking life and limb in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Let’s not deny them the opportunity to earn a living, grow a business, and create jobs by allowing them to compete for contracts to ‘take out the trash’ in the comfort and safety of federal offices. 

Don’t forget, hire a vet.