U S Government Accountability Office

Department of Veterans Affairs U S Government Accountability Office

The Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (the 2006 Act) requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to give priority to veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (VOSB and SDVOSB) when awarding contracts to small businesses. The 2006 Act also requires GAO to conduct a 3-year study of VAs implementation of the act. GAO evaluated (1) the extent to which VA met its prime contracting goals for VOSBs and SDVOSBs in fiscal years 2007-2009; (2) VAs progress in implementing procedures to verify the ownership, control, and status of VOSBs and SDVOSBs in its mandated database; and (3) VAs progress in establishing a review mechanism of prime contractors subcontracts with VOSBs and SDVOSBs. GAO obtained and analyzed data on VAs prime and subcontracting accomplishments, and reviewed a sample of verified businesses to identify any deficiencies in VAs verification program.