Bill Belknap Testifies Before Congress on Federal Contracting and Veteran-Owned Businesses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Contact | Molly Day
202-552-2904 | mday@nsba.biz
Washington, D.C. – Earlier today, National Small Business Association Trustee William Belknap, Sr., owner of AEONRG, LLC, testified before a joint hearing of the House Subcommittees on Small Business Contracting and Infrastructure and Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity. The hearing, “Leveling the Playing Field: Examining the Landscape of Veteran Owned Small Businesses” was focused on how to improve and bolster access to the federal marketplace for veteran-owned small businesses.
Belknap’s firm is a VA-certified SDVOSB in the federal contracting space, providing construction services for federal clients, primarily for Veterans Affairs Medical Centers since 2012.
“Veterans make up a substantial portion of the small business community, owning roughly two million businesses and employing nearly 5.5 million Americans, however veteran business owners face unique and persistent challenges,” stated Belknap. “There are a handful of simple changes that can be made to the federal acquisition process to make it more attractive and more efficient for veteran entrepreneurs to become federal government contractors.”
Belknap went on to highlight the following adjustments that could achieve increased ease and efficiency:
Simplify solicitations and contracts and migrate to periodic one-time registration entities such as SAM or SDVOSB renewal.
Count military service toward proposal past performance/experience.
Improve accountability of federal agencies to meet set aside goals and avoid contract bundling that precludes many small businesses from viably competing.
Promote Veteran entrepreneur mentorships.
Incorporate modern self-reporting in contract performance analysis
Standardize and improve agency acquisition training.
Increase maximum SDVOSB sole-source thresholds and use 8A regulations in SDVOSB Awards.
Please click here to watch the hearing and here to read the full testimony.
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