Creating Opportunities for Veterans

At the U.S. General Services Administration, we honor the service and the sacrifice of our veterans on this Veterans Day and everyday. Our veterans are returning home with the skills and knowledge that make them valuable members of the American workforce. GSA is bringing the remarkable skills of veteran owned small businesses into government so that we can better serve the American people.  

During fiscal year 2011 GSA awarded over $185 million to veteran owned small businesses, and over $91 million went to veteran owned small business owners with service related disabilities. These contracts went to firms that are bringing the services and expertise of the private sector into government operations.

Last week, GSA awarded a $34 million contract to Arcanum Group Inc., a small business owned and operated by a service-disabled veteran in Denver, Colorado. Arcanum will be helping GSA with a variety of technical, administrative, and procurement support functions.  David Walters, the President of Arcanum Group Inc., said that the contract will allow his company to double its workforce, and many of these jobs will go to veterans. David has instituted a “Hire Vets First” policy, which recognizes the talent of America’s veterans and offers them priority employment.

GSA has also been reaching out to veterans through our Mentor-Protégé Program, which helps small businesses compete for federal contracting opportunities by pairing small businesses with established  businesses. We have 45 veteran owned small business proteges enrolled in the program, which accounts for more than half of all of the proteges enrolled in the program.  We have seen significant opportunities awarded to veterans through this program and participants have added 132 new jobs as a result.

Over a million veterans are expected to return from Iraq and Afghanistan over the next five years, and we have an obligation to ensure that our veterans are able to succeed in a civilian workforce. That is why the President’s jobs plan includes the Wounded Warrior Tax Credit and a Returning Heroes Tax Credit, which provide  incentives to businesses that hire veterans. The Obama Administration is providing ways to increase opportunities for veterans, and GSA is helping in this push through our contracts and procurements.

As the men and women that have served our country return home, GSA is committed to making as many opportunities available to veteran owned small businesses as possible. We will continue to follow the President’s lead in ensuring that we serve our veterans as well as they have served us.