A ruling of the US Court of Federal Claims in PDS Consultants, Inc. v. United States announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (“VA”) cannot buy products or services using the Ability One list without first applying the “rule of two” analysis and determining whether qualified veteran-owned small businesses (VOSB) or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSBs) are available to bid.

The ruling resolves confusion regarding precedence between the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act ( JWOD) and the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (VBA) that existed following the Kingdomware case. It also means that there continues to be an excellent opportunity for Veteran Owned Small Businesses success.

This makes partnering with a veteran-owned company a very attractive strategy for working with the VA in areas where one may have looked at Ability One in the past.  If you have any concerns, questions or would like to develop strategies on how to get started in partnering with a veteran- owned company, please reach out to Coley, We would be happy to help.

Related articles:
https://www.law360.com/articles/833501/vet-owned-eyewear-co-says-va-stiffed-it-on-contracts
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/court-of-federal-claims-holds-that-va-27388/
https://ecf.cofc.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2016cv1063-80-0