Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, on Wednesday announced updates to the planned launch of the SBA’s new Veteran Small Business Certification Program. Launching in January 2023, the program will be the SBA’s primary vehicle for handling certification for veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, classifications that enable those businesses to qualify for sole-source and set-aside federal contracting awards, according to a news release. Guzman also announced that she intends to grant a one-time, one-year extension to current veteran-owned small businesses that are already verified by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Center for Verification and Evaluation as of Jan. 1, 2023. The extension will give veteran business owners an extra year to get recertified under the new SBA system. "The decision to extend the certification will make a real difference for our nation’s veteran business owners as we move forward with transitioning this certification from the Department of Veterans Affairs," said Larry Stubblefield, associate administrator for the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development. "In addition to supporting a smooth transition for currently certified firms, we will be able to focus on certifying new entrants and growing our base of certified firms."
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