Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
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Veterans
Local Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business
30 March 2005
Gerald Kroon, Director of Government Programs at Damar Machine in Monroe, gave U.S. Representative Jay Inslee a tour of the Damar Machine Company. Damar Machine Company is the nation's largest Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) in the aerospace/defense industry. Inslee met with the owners and some employees of Damar Machine Company to discuss ways that he can help ensure that the federal government increases its federal contracts with Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses.
In late 2004, the President issued an Executive Order "to strengthen opportunities in Federal contracting for service-disabled veteran businesses." The goal is to ensure that SDVOBs receive three percent of federal contracting dollars. However, a recent report by the Department of Defense for Fiscal Year 2003 showed that only 0.3% of the over $86 billion in federal contracting in fact went to SDVOBs.
U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee listens to Gerald Kroon explain the Damar Machine operations.