# PART 802 - DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMS

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 41 U.S.C. 1121(c)(3); 41 U.S.C. 1702; and 48 CFR 1.301 through 1.304.

Source: 73 FR 2717, Jan. 15, 2008, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart 802.1 - Definitions

802.101 Definitions.

## Subpart 802.1 - Definitions

### 802.101 Definitions.

A/E means architect/engineer.

Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO) means the Principal Executive Director, Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction.

COR means Contracting Officer's Representative.

FAR means the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

GAO means the Government Accountability Office.

HCA means the Head of the Contracting Activity, an individual appointed in writing by the SPE.

OGC means the Office of the General Counsel.

Public Law (Pub. L.) 109-461 means the Veterans Benefits, Health Care and Information Technology Act of 2006, as codified in 38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128.

SDVOSB/VOSB when used as an initialism means a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) and/or veteran-owned small business (VOSB) that has been found by VA eligible to participate in the Veterans First Contracting Program implemented at subpart 819.70 and listed in the Vendor Information Pages. The term is synonymous with VA or VIP-verified small business concerns owned and controlled by Veterans.

Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) or small business concern owned and controlled by Veterans with service-connected disabilities has the same meaning as service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern defined in FAR 2.101, except that for acquisitions authorized by 38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128 for the Veterans First Contracting Program, these businesses must be listed as verified in the VIP database. In addition, some SDVOSB listed in the VIP database may be owned and controlled by a surviving spouse. See definition of surviving spouse in this section.

Small business concern has the same meaning as defined in FAR 2.101.

SPE means the Senior Procurement Executive who is also the Executive Director, Office of Acquisition and Logistics. The SPE is responsible for the management direction of the VA acquisition system.

Surviving spouse means an individual who has been listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) database of veterans and family members. To be eligible for inclusion in the VetBiz.gov VIP database, the following conditions must apply:

(1) If the death of the veteran causes the small business concern to be less than 51 percent owned by one or more service-disabled veterans, the surviving spouse of such veteran who acquires ownership rights in such small business shall, for the period described below, be treated as if the surviving spouse were that veteran for the purpose of maintaining the status of the small business concern as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.

(2) The period referred to above is the period beginning on the date on which the veteran dies and ending on the earliest of the following dates:

(i) The date on which the surviving spouse remarries;

(ii) The date on which the surviving spouse relinquishes an ownership interest in the small business concern;

(iii) The date that is 10 years after the date of the veteran's death; or

(iv) The date on which the business concern is no longer small under federal small business size standards.

(3) The veteran must have had a 100 percent service-connected disability rating or the veteran died as a direct result of a service-connected disability.

VA means the Department of Veterans Affairs.

VAAR means the Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation.

VA Rule of Two means the determination process mandated in 38 U.S.C. 8127(d)(1) whereby a contracting officer of the Department shall award contracts on the basis of competition restricted to small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans if the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more small business concerns owned and controlled by Veterans will submit offers and that the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States. For purposes of this VA specific rule, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) or a veteran-owned small business (VOSB), must meet the eligibility requirements in 38 U.S.C. 8127(e), (f) and VAAR 819.7003 and be listed as verified in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database.

Vendor Information Pages (VIP) or VIP database means the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database at https://www.vetbiz.va.gov/vip/. This site's database lists businesses that VA CVE has determined eligible for the Veterans First Contracting Program.

Veteran-owned small business (VOSB) has the same meaning as veteran-owned small business concern defined in FAR 2.101, except that for acquisitions authorized by 38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128 for the Veterans First Contracting Program, these businesses must be listed as verified in the VIP database. SDVOSBs, including businesses whose SDVOSB status derive from ownership and control by a surviving spouse, are also considered VOSBs, as long as they are listed as eligible in VIP.

Veterans First Contracting Program means the program authorized by Public Law 109-461 (38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128), as implemented in subpart 819.70. This program applies to all VA contracts (see FAR 2.101 for the definition of contracts) as well as Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs), Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs), and orders against the Federal Supply Schedules (FSS), unless otherwise excluded by law.

VISN means Veterans Integrated Service Network, an integrated network of VA facilities that are focused on pooling and aligning resources to best meet local needs in the most cost-effective manner and provide greater access to care.