Media

IAVA Celebrates Supreme Court Ruling Supporting Veterans

June 16, 2016
Press

Veterans group heralds Supreme Court win as victory for Vet Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 16, 2016) – Today Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) applauds the unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court in favor of the veteran small business appellant in Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States. IAVA was a key player in the ruling, advocating in favor of veteran entrepreneurs and small business owners in its and submitted an amicus brief in the case. The ruling requires the Department of Veteran Affairs to consider setting aside all procurements for veteran and service-disabled owned small businesses, and that they cannot exempt federal supply schedule procurements (FSS).

“IAVA was proud to support Kingdomware Technologies, a service-disabled veteran owned small business in its case,” said IAVA Chief Policy Officer, Jonathan Schleifer. “The unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Thomas, supports our new greatest generation in achieving the American dream.”

“America’s warriors have been asked to do more with less against an ever evolving enemy and they have forged through their military service the entrepreneurial mindset required to start and grow a small business. Many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan return home ready to start their own business. A recent IAVA Membership Surveyindicates six percent of IAVA members already own a small business, while 20 percent plan to start their own business,” continued Schleifer. “Year after year, IAVA has made it a priority to support veteran entrepreneurs and small business owners through a myriad of advocacy efforts and policy recommendations. One such recommendation has been to extend contracting preference to veteran-owned small businesses for goods obtained through the federal supply schedule of the General Services Administration. We not only celebrate this victory for Kingdomware Technologies, but for all veterans with the spirit and grit it takes to build a small business from the ground up.”