093_HR0364

                                     LRB093 12069 BDD 16813 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 William
14    Jefferson  Clinton  stated  that,  "[The  Act]  will  provide
15    assistance to veterans who are entrepreneurs  and  especially
16    to  service-disabled veteran entrepreneurs, men and women who
17    have sacrificed so much in service of our county. By  helping
18    these  American heroes to establish, maintain, and grow their
19    own small businesses, we help to sustain our  strong  economy
20    and express 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 12069 BDD 16813 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.