Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7534

Rep. Fine Proposes 5% Federal Contract Guarantee for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

Contract Our Veterans Act of 2026

about 1 month ago·View on Congress.gov

Legislative Progress

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Key Points

The bill establishes a government-wide goal requiring at least 5% of all federal prime contracts and subcontracts to go to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans, adding veterans to the existing set-aside categories that already include women-owned and disadvantaged businesses.
From policy text
“The Governmentwide goal for participation by small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans shall be established at not less than 5 percent of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards for each fiscal year.”
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Government contracting officers would be allowed to award sole-source contracts (without competitive bidding) directly to veteran-owned small businesses, as long as the business is a responsible source, the price is fair, and the contract stays within existing dollar limits.
The bill creates a restricted competition track where only veteran-owned small businesses can bid on certain contracts, provided the contracting officer expects at least two such businesses will submit offers at a fair price.
From policy text
“A contracting officer shall award contracts on the basis of competition restricted to small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans if the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans will submit offers”
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To qualify for these contracting benefits, veteran-owned businesses must be registered in an official government database, ensuring only verified veteran-owned firms can participate.
From policy text
“A small business concern may be awarded a contract under this section only if the small business concern and the veteran owner of the small business concern are listed in the database described in section 36(f)(1) of the Small Business Act”
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Federal agencies would be required to track and publicly report contracting data specific to veteran-owned businesses, including breakdowns by sole-source awards, restricted competitions, and unrestricted competitions, creating a new accountability scorecard.

VeteransEconomy FinanceLabor Employment

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Who is affectedScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 12, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.

Feb 12, 2026

Introduced in House

Related News

2 articles

Arizona Free Press·23 days ago

Congressman Fine Introduces Legislation to Help Veteran Small Business Owners

Congressman Randy Fine (FL-06) introduced the Contract Our Veterans Act, establishing a 5% federal contracting goal for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs). The bill grants agencies sole-source award authority and allows for contract set-asides to help veterans compete with larger corporations.

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Contractor News·29 days ago

Federal Bill Seeks to Increase DOD Contracts for Veteran Businesses

The Contract Our Veterans Act aims to set a 5% contracting goal for the Department of Defense to award prime and sub-contracts to veteran-owned small businesses. The bipartisan effort seeks to promote entrepreneurship and strengthen national supply chains by prioritizing veteran-led firms.