Peach Tree Times

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing a bipartisan bill to support small businesses run by service-disabled veterans in Georgia.

In his latest effort to support Georgia’s veterans and small businesses, Sen. Ossoff introduced the bipartisan Investing in VETS Act to help service-disabled veteran business owners compete for Federal government contracts, helping expand their business opportunities to new markets.

The new bipartisan legislation will help service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses compete for Federal contracts by requiring the Federal government and its 24 agencies to award at least five percent of its total contracts to service-disabled Veteran-owned Small Business per fiscal year, which is the same requirement in place for Woman-Owned Small Businesses and Small Disadvantaged Businesses.

“Service-disabled veterans have made huge sacrifices in our national defense. I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to support small businesses run by service-disabled veterans in Georgia,” Sen. Ossoff said.

Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02) and Congressman Frank Mrvan (D-IN-01) will introduce the bipartisan companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“The Investing in Veterans Entrepreneurial Talents Act is a crucial piece of legislation that seeks to raise the federal contracting participation goal for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) to 5 percent. This change will align the participation goals for SDVOSBs with those of Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) and Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Small Businesses (SDBs), creating a more equitable playing field for small businesses,” said Chanin Nunvatong, Executive Director of The American Legion.“Senator Ossoff has shown great leadership on this issue, and the American Legion fully supports this act as it will provide much-needed recognition and support for SDVOSBs and veterans who have served our country with distinction.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 27% of all veterans have a service-connected disability.  There are currently more than 700,000 veterans across Georgia and over 97,000 who own small businesses in the state.

Sen. Ossoff is a strong advocate for veterans in the state of Georgia and nationwide.

Sen. Ossoff is also pushing to pass the bipartisan Major Richard Star Act, which would ensureGeorgia’s combat-disabled veterans receive the full retirement pay and disability benefits they deserve.

Last year, Sen. Ossoff helped pass the most significant expansion of health care for toxic-exposed veterans in more than two decades. He also successfully passed bipartisan legislation into law that will ensure veterans can access their military records and the service benefits they have earned.

Click here to read the Investing in VETS Act.

Original Source can be found here.