Wounded vet's business rejected by VA
WASHINGTON — Mark Lilly retired from the Navy SEALs with a Purple Heart, a Silver Star and five Bronze Stars upon 23 years of service that included combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lilly, who said he oversaw development of military bases overseas, decided to make construction his next career. His company, Chesapeake, Va.-based Syncon, has attracted both commercial and U.S. government work since its start in 2009.
It wasn't enough to get Syncon certified as a veteran-owned business after the Department of Veterans Affairs questioned whether he had enough experience. His firm is one of thousands of small businesses rejected by the VA since the agency stepped up efforts last year to prevent fraud. Lilly, 47, said his case shows the process may be hurting veterans even as the government seeks to boost opportunities for returning troops.
“It's really disheartening,” Lilly, who said he was shot twice during the same incident while serving in Afghanistan, said. “As you go through military retirement, the VA says they encourage you to be an entrepreneur and that they'll support you the entire time. Now I find out the VA could very well be my demise.”
The lack of VA certification has cost Syncon the opportunity to compete for as much as $5 million in contracts since late March, said Lilly, who is a licensed general contractor in Virginia.
He said he'd hoped to double Syncon's staff to 10 employees this year, and instead is working on a multiweek contract providing security and project-management services for an oil company in the Middle East to cover his company's overhead costs.
“I should be ensuring my projects are on schedule and on budget,” said Lilly,. “You can't do that if you are in the Middle East doing a consulting assignment.”
The agency's rejection of veterans is drawing scrutiny from lawmakers. The leaders of two House veterans subcommittees have asked VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to fix the verification process so decisions conform with “existing case law.”
Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, said VA officials must create a system that balances fraud-policing with fair treatment of veterans.
When the department “erroneously denies” qualified applicants, “it negatively affects our veterans who have worked hard to start a business,” the Florida Republican said in an email. His committee has inquired about Lilly's situation, he said.
Almost two-thirds of the more than 7,200 companies seeking status as being owned by veterans or disabled veterans have been turned down by the VA under a new verification program, according to March data from the agency.
