Defense contractors are being squeezed by tighter Department of Defense contract rules that have lowered wages and could mean the best-qualified employees will leave employers, small business representatives said Thursday.

But the fiscal realities of defense spending cuts may not change the situation soon, said U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

The reason: The defense budget could be dealt a $500 billion cut over a decade if automatic, across-the-board cuts aren’t stopped before Jan. 2 — in addition to $487 billion in reductions the Defense Department already has accepted .

Military veterans and small business representatives at a roundtable raised that and other issues Thursday to U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, and Miller, R-Fla. Both are members of the House Armed Services Committee.

Among other concerns, attendees cited issues about the level of Department of Veterans Affairs mental health staffing and the difficulty of small businesses to become qualified to compete for defense contracts.

Turner and Miller said they’d explore what legislative action might be needed when Congress reconvenes.

“The time and expense it takes for a small business to be certified is in many ways prohibitive,” Miller said. “It’s not government’s responsibility to create jobs, but we sure can kill them if we don’t do the right thing.”

Strict rules may discourage veterans from starting their own businesses, he added.

“You have large companies and corporations that have the capital and resources to do this, but small businesses are the backbone of the economy and the vast majority of veterans can be small business owners and we don’t need to be an impediment to their success,” he said.

The congressman was critical of the lack of staffing and the time the VA takes to see veterans nationally for mental health services. Miller said he has heard of wait times between 50 to 60 days nationwide, but he added those with suicidal tendencies are seen immediately.

The Dayton VA has a vacancy of 23 mental health positions currently, according to VA figures. The agency is authorized for 194 mental health staffers and has 171, the VA said Thursday.

Kimberly D. Frisco, a Dayton VA Medical Center spokeswoman, said the hospital plans for attrition and actively recruits employees.

Veterans with mental health needs typically are seen within a week, but the center didn’t have numbers immediately available about average wait times, Frisco said.

The Dayton VA provides mental health services to more than 29,000 veterans a year, the center reported.

Michael McGovern, a spokesman for Sharen Neuhardt, a Democrat near Yellow Springs who opposes Turner in the Nov. 6 election, said the congressman has not shown enough support for active-duty service members and veterans.

“More must be done to help small business compete for defense contracts,” McGovern added in an email. “The percentage of defense contracts from Wright-Patterson that goes to Miami Valley businesses is far too low.”

McGovern said Neuhardt would follow the recommendations of a Blue Ribbon report U.S. Rep. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, put together to better connect local business with the base.