High court to hear dispute over gov't contracts to veterans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will decide whether the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is complying with a law designed to increase the number of federal contracts awarded to small businesses owned by disabled veterans.

The justices have agreed to hear an appeal from Kingdomware Technologies Inc., a disabled veteran-owned contractor that says it should have been considered to provide services for VA medical centers.

Federal law requires the agency to use a bidding process if two or more disabled veteran-owned companies can offer service at a fair and reasonable price.

But a federal appeals court ruled that the agency did not have to follow that practice if it otherwise met the goal of awarding between 7 and 12 percent of all contracts to firms owned by disabled veterans.