HR7534-119

In Committee

Contract Our Veterans Act of 2026

119th Congress Introduced Feb 12, 2026

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Small Business Act to create procurement authorities for small businesses owned and controlled by veterans. Contracting officers may award sole-source contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold if the veteran-owned small business is responsible, the anticipated price stays within section 36(c)(2) limits, and the award is fair, reasonable, and best value. Contracting officers must use restricted competition when they reasonably expect at least two veteran-owned small businesses to submit offers at fair and reasonable prices. Eligible firms and veteran owners must be listed in the existing database. The bill also establishes a governmentwide goal of at least 5 percent of prime and subcontract awards to veteran-owned small businesses and adds reporting categories across SBA procurement reports.

Who Benefits and How

Veteran-owned small businesses, veteran small business owners, and federal agencies seeking veteran suppliers benefit from sole-source authority, restricted competitions, a 5 percent governmentwide goal, and more detailed reporting on awards.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal contracting officers must assess eligibility, responsibility, price, best value, database listing, and when restricted competition is required. SBA, procurement data systems, and agencies must track the new veteran-owned small business goal and reporting categories.

Key Provisions

  • Creates Small Business Act section 36B for veteran-owned small business sole-source and restricted-competition contracting.
  • Allows sole-source awards above the simplified acquisition threshold when responsibility, price limits, and best-value findings are met.
  • Requires restricted competition when at least two veteran-owned small businesses are expected to submit fair and reasonable offers.
  • Requires eligible firms and veteran owners to be listed in the existing verification database.
  • Establishes a governmentwide goal of at least 5 percent of prime and subcontract awards for veteran-owned small businesses.
  • Adds veteran-owned small business categories to SBA procurement reporting and participation rules.

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

Creates veteran-owned small business contracting tools, a 5 percent governmentwide goal, and reporting categories for veteran-owned small business awards.

Key Policy Areas

Veterans, Small Business, Procurement

Primary Purpose

Creates veteran-owned small business contracting tools, a 5 percent governmentwide goal, and reporting categories for veteran-owned small business awards.

Policy Domains

Veterans Small Business Procurement

Substantive provisions

Identified Gains
  • Veteran-owned small businesses
  • Veteran small business owners
  • Federal contracting officers
  • Small Business Administration
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Federal contracting officers: , , ,
Small Business Administration: , , ,
Veteran small business owners: , , ,
Veteran-owned small businesses: , , ,
Identified Costs
  • Federal contracting officers
  • Small Business Administration
  • Federal procurement data systems
  • Competing contractors
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Competing contractors: , , ,
Federal contracting officers: , , ,
Small Business Administration: , , ,
Federal procurement data systems: , , ,

Legislative Progress

In Committee
Introduced Committee Passed
Feb 12, 2026

Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.

Feb 12, 2026

Introduced in House

Feb 12, 2026

Mr. Fine (for himself, Mr. Van Orden, Mr. Donalds, and …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Government
4 mentions across 2 clauses
-4 negative

Federal contracting officers, Federal procurement data systems, Small Business Administration

Veterans
3 mentions across 2 clauses
+3 positive

Veteran small business owners, Veteran-owned small businesses

Professional Services
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Competing contractors

2/5
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Veterans Small Business Procurement
Actor Mappings
"sba"
→ Small Business Administration

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