FAIR Vets Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The FAIR Vets Act modernizes sole-source award thresholds for service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns under section 36 of the Small Business Act. It removes the parenthetical reference to options from the threshold provision, raises the manufacturing-related threshold from $7 million to $10 million, and raises the other contract threshold from $3 million to $8 million. Within 180 days after enactment, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council must update the Federal Acquisition Regulation, including FAR 19.1406, and the Secretary of Defense must update the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. The new thresholds apply to solicitations issued on or after the date 180 days after enactment.
Who Benefits and How
Service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses benefit because larger sole-source awards can be made without exceeding the statutory thresholds. Federal contracting officers benefit from clearer and higher thresholds when using the SDVOSB sole-source authority. Defense acquisition programs benefit once DFARS is updated for the new limits. Veteran entrepreneurs benefit from a broader direct-award pathway in federal procurement.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The FAR Council and Defense Department procurement officials must update acquisition rules within 180 days. Contracting officers must apply the new thresholds only to solicitations issued after the effective date. Competing contractors may face more direct awards to SDVOSBs within the higher dollar limits. Agency procurement staff must adjust templates, training, and market-research practices around the revised thresholds.
Key Provisions
- Expands the SDVOSB sole-source manufacturing threshold from $7 million to $10 million.
- Expands the SDVOSB sole-source threshold for other contracts from $3 million to $8 million.
- Excludes options from the threshold calculation by deleting the options parenthetical.
- Requires FAR Council and Defense Department acquisition-rule updates within 180 days.
- Applies the revised thresholds to solicitations issued on or after the 180-day effective date.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Raises sole-source contract thresholds for service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, excludes options from the threshold calculation, and requires FAR and DFARS implementation within 180 days for solicitations issued after that date.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans, Federal Procurement, Small Business, Defense Contracting
Primary Purpose
Raises sole-source contract thresholds for service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, excludes options from the threshold calculation, and requires FAR and DFARS implementation within 180 days for solicitations issued after that date.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses
- Federal contracting officers
- Defense acquisition programs
- Veteran entrepreneurs
Identified Costs
- FAR Council staff
- Defense Department procurement officials
- Competing contractors
- Agency procurement staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMrs. Kiggans of Virginia (for herself, Mr. Neguse, and Mr. …
Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
Introduced in House
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "FAR"
- → Federal Acquisition Regulation
- "DFARS"
- → Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement
- "SDVOSB"
- → Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology