Durbin, Vitter Bill To Level Playing Field For Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Passes Committee

Press Release

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-LA), Chairman of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, today praised the passage of the Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act through the Small Business Committee. Their bipartisan legislation -- which would allow veteran-owned small businesses to participate in the General Services Administration's (GSA) surplus property program -- now must be voted on by the full Senate. U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has introduced a companion measure in the House of Representatives.

"I am proud to join Senator Vitter and Representative Duckworth in introducing the Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act to encourage small business growth and give veteran opportunities to succeed," Durbin said. "Veterans throughout Illinois have already contacted me to let me know how the surplus property program could help them reduce overhead costs and invest those resources in growing their business and creating jobs. This is common sense legislation that I look forward to voting in favor of on the Senate floor."

"Veteran-owned small businesses deserve the same opportunities as all other small businesses, and in the case of excess federal property, our nation's veterans certainly deserve the same access to the federal government's excess office equipment, computers, and tools," said Vitter. "I am proud to join Senator Durbin in leveling the playing field for our veterans and their small businesses."

The Durbin-Vitter legislation would expand access to the federal surplus program to include veteran-owned small businesses, which account for approximately 9% of all small businesses in the United States. The surplus property program makes available excess federal property, such as vehicles, computers, office equipment, tools, and heavy construction equipment at no cost except shipping and handling.

Currently, if excess federal property is not claimed or donated, the federal government must pay to dispose of it -- a costly and time-consuming undertaking. The National Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property, which helps facilitate the GSA's excess federal property program, estimates that taking surplus property off the federal government's hands and pairing it with those who could use it saved the U.S. $200 million in 2013.

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