“A federal court has ruled that the VA violated the SDVOSB Rule of Two, as well as a more recent statute, by moving SDVOSB set-aside requirements to the AbilityOne program.”
“If you think you heard this before, you’re not going crazy or living your own personal Groundhog Day. The court’s ruling is just the latest in a long-running debate about how the VA should balance the SDVOSB and AbilityOne contracting preferences.”
“Before we get to the latest ruling, let’s fire up the wayback machine and travel back to June 16, 2016. My Chicago Cubs were in first place, and heading toward their first World Series title in over 100 years. And the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in a little case known as Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States.”
“In Kingdomware, the Supreme Court interpreted the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006, which is codified in relevant part at 38 U.S.C. 8127. The Court held that the statute’s Rule of Two applies broadly, and generally requires the VA to set aside contracts for SDVOSBs when the VA has a reasonable expectation of receiving two or more SDVOSB offers.”
“Despite the Kingdomware decision, the VA continued buying certain goods from AbilityOne nonprofits under the provisions of another statute, the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act, or JWOD. The JWOD predates the VA Rule of Two law. It provides that government agencies, including the VA, must purchase certain products and services from designated nonprofits that employ blind and otherwise severely disabled people. The products and services subject to the JWOD’s requirements appear on a list known as the “AbilityOne List…” Read the full post here.
Source: SDVOSB vs. AbilityOne: VA Violated Rule of Two Again, Court Says – By Steven Koprince, November 9, 2020. LinkedIn.
