Vets First at VA — what SDVOSB priority means for your requirement

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the one agency where veteran-owned status is not just a preference among preferences. Under 38 U.S.C. § 8127, it comes first, and the Supreme Court in Kingdomware confirmed in 2016 that “shall” means shall. For a program office with a bounded software or modernization requirement, that changes the sequence of decisions.

The order of priority

Section 8127(i) sets VA’s contracting priority: service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses first, then veteran-owned small businesses, then the other small-business programs. A VA contracting officer evaluates whether the requirement can go to an SDVOSB before considering any other set-aside or an open competition.

The VA Rule of Two

Section 8127(d) requires a VA contracting officer to award to a veteran-owned small business on a restricted basis when there is a reasonable expectation that two or more such firms will submit offers and the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States. Kingdomware settled that this applies to orders under the Federal Supply Schedule as well as to open-market contracts, and that the Department’s overall goal attainment does not excuse the analysis on any given procurement.

The practical effect: market research at VA is not optional and not generic. The question is whether two or more verified SDVOSBs, or VOSBs, can do this work at a fair price.

Sole-source and non-competitive authorities at VA

Two VA-specific authorities sit beside the Rule of Two:

• Below the simplified acquisition threshold. Section 8127(b) allows the CO to use procedures other than competitive procedures to award to an SDVOSB or VOSB.
• Above the SAT and below $5 million. Section 8127(c) allows a sole-source award to an SDVOSB or VOSB when the CO determines the firm is responsible and the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value, and the anticipated price is not more than $5 million.

For a bounded requirement such as a program portal, an intake and routing workflow, a reporting layer, or an accessibility remediation scope, those two authorities often fit the whole requirement.

Verification, not self-certification

VA relies on SBA’s Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) under 13 CFR Part 128. The CO confirms the firm’s status in SBA’s certification database and that it matches the SAM registration. A firm that cannot be found in the database cannot receive the preference, whatever its capability statement says.

What a VA program office can do this quarter

1. Write the requirement in bounded terms. Users, records, decisions, interfaces, and acceptance evidence. A requirement written this way is easier to price, easier to research, and easier to award.
2. Run the SDVOSB market research first. Post a sources-sought notice with the actual capability description, search SBA’s database by NAICS 541511 and 541512, and ask OSDBU for known firms.
3. Choose the authority that fits the size. Below the SAT, 8127(b). Between the SAT and $5 million, 8127(c) or a Rule-of-Two set-aside. Above that, a set-aside competition.
4. Ask the firm for the file. Certification record, SAM registration, capability statement mapped to the requirement, labor-based pricing, and the responsibility package.

Where Be Chosen Agency fits

BCA is an SBA-certified SDVOSB and VOSB in NAICS 541511 that builds custom applications, public websites and portals, workflow and intake systems, integrations and dashboards, and bounded AI-enabled functions, with Section 508 conformance testing built into delivery. It has no VA past performance yet and says so. For larger VA IT requirements, BCA teams with holders of VA’s T4NG2 vehicle rather than proposing as a prime. Send a sources-sought summary or a program need to Teton Wilson and BCA will return a bounded scope and a candid capability statement.