Two recent decisions by the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) should have you rushing to get the status of your Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Joint Venture vetted by a Knowledgeable Professional. See IITS-Nabholz, LLC, SBA No. VET-114 (2007) & Cooper-Glory, LLC, SBA No. Vet-116 (2009).

I know that many of you are being caught off guard by this News. Particularly given the fact that many of you took your cue to pursue Joint Venturing from some of the same Agencies (or their Affiliates) that are now participating in ‘Eligibility Protest’ against you.

Too many, well meaning organizations, are sitting on a Joint Venturing Time Bomb – because of any number of reasons. They took a short-cut, hired the wrong legal advisor, listened to the good opinion of a Government Staffer or they took the do it yourself approach.

Now Congress is holding Hearings on SDVOSB Fraud, without consideration of the fact that there has been meaningful under performance against the requirements to develop helpful tools that could have countered what many see as natural human behavior (i.e. the tendency to move toward the path of least resistance).

As an example of the type and kind of assistance that could have helped in this situation – I point your attention to the delay after delay in implementing the simple requirements of Sections 2 (iv) & (v) and Section 5 of Executive Order 13360. Let’s not mention the individual things that our Public Servants and Professional Advisors should have done, before they took the money (i.e. educate themselves on the new application of this model).

That’s right I said it, and I know a lot of people are going to get their draws in a knot over this one. But I just can’t take it anymore. To see the men and women that have served this country with Honor, be reduced to the status of common criminals -- just because you did not take the time to help them understand what they did not know!

Not On My Watch!

In today’s contracting environment it no longer matters what the cause of the condition is that produced the violation, as the outcome will be viewed the same way by all on-lookers.
• You don’t qualify for Contract Award
• You are violating the spirit of the Law, and
• You have committed a Fraud…
Do not pass go – Do not collect a Contract Award – And, to add insult to Service Disabled Veteran injury, Go straight to Jail. This is a very real future possibility given the language in the SB Jobs & Credit Act of 2010.

This could not be happing at a more injurious time for the Disabled Veteran Business Community and their families, with new Jobs Creation – Credit – Tax, Parity & SB Contracting Reform legislation speeding through the Senate and scheduled for approval, before the August Break.

We have to deal with this crap!

Fortunately, there is a simple fix for this matter that will put this issue back on message and Protest Proof your JV relationships. I am so confident in this fact that I will provide you with the following Binding Guarantee:

‘If you have your JV Documentation vetted by my team, and you follow our guidance to the letter, and your Bid Award is Protested because of your JV’s SDVOSB Eligibility, and you don’t win that Protest. We will do the following:
• Refund all of the Fees you paid our Firm for this matter, and
• All of the Legal Costs associated with the Protest you lose because of the Eligibility of your SDVOSB Joint Venture.’

Why can my Team do this, you might ask!

The answer is simple – I am one of the Pioneers of the SDVOSB Joint Venturing Strategy – I know the Laws better than most – And, I cannot stand to see federal employees push Disabled Veterans in Harm’s Way and run away at the first signs of a Fight. Oh, and by the way, I am a Service Disabled Veteran Small Business Owner.

We deserve better treatment from the ‘Grateful Nation’ that cashed the Blank-Check that we issued them, when we gave our Solemn Promise to Protect and Defend this Country. So I am giving you a Guarantee that you can hold me accountable for, because that is how ‘Veterans Roll.’

Send this message to as many Service Disable Veterans as you can and tell them to contact me directly. Because I got their Back – Thank You, For Your Service!

True Patriot
Walter Cotton III (US Army Retired)
waltercotton@sdvosbnet.biz