ORH Counselors Achieves Federal SDVOSB Certification

NORRISTOWN, Pa. -- ORH Counselors today announced it has achieved Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) certification through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) and has been added to the VA’s Vendor Information Pages (VIP). 

The VA’s Vets First Verification Program is a result of The Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-461). The CVE verifies SDVOSBs/VOSBs according to the tenets found in Title 38 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 74 that address Veteran eligibility, ownership, and control. In order to qualify for participation in the Veterans First Contracting Program, eligible SDVOSBs/VOSBs must first be verified.

Due to Federal programs encouraging small business utilization and SDVOSB participation in procurements, ORH is just one of many SDVOSB small businesses with the capacity to collect Federal student loans.  There are currently forty-five (45) small businesses listed at www.sam.gov as SDVOSBs under the NAICS code for debt collection (561440).

The largest single Federal client for private collection agencies (PCAs) remains The U.S. Department of Education (ED).  ORH is currently implementing its first subcontract in suburban Philadelphia, a metropolitan area long known for its abundance of agents with past experience on Federal task orders. ORH has the capacity to add additional Federal subcontracts to its client roster.

“ORH Counselors is pleased to be able to offer Federal contractors the ability to count subcontracts given to us toward their Federal SDVOSB spending goals,” stated CEO Keith Baker, continuing, “We have confidence our resources and capital are sufficient to meet the needs of additional Federal clients.”

To be eligible as a SDVOSB, the following criteria must be met.

• The Service Disabled Veteran (SDV) must have a service-connected disability as determined by the VA or Department of Defense (DoD).
• The business must be small under its primary NAICS code.
• One or more SDVs must hold the highest officer position, must unconditionally own 51% of the business, and must control its management, long-term decision making, and daily operations.
• SDV ownership must be direct ownership.

ORH is a member of the Fed Cetera Network, a business development organization under 48 CFR 52.219-9.