093_HR0329

                                     LRB093 11820 BDD 15914 r

 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 George W. Bush
14    stated  that,  "[The Act] will provide assistance to veterans
15    who are  entrepreneurs  and  especially  to  service-disabled
16    veteran  entrepreneurs,  men and women who have sacrificed so
17    much in service of our  county.  By  helping  these  American
18    heroes  to  establish,  maintain,  and  grow  their own small
19    businesses, we help to sustain our strong economy and express
20    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
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11820 BDD 15914 r
 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.