(a) To be eligible, mentors and protégés must not be listed on the Excluded Parties List System, located at http://www.epls.gov. Mentors will provide appropriate developmental assistance to enhance the capabilities of protégés to perform as prime contractors and/or subcontractors.

(b) VA reserves the right to limit the number of participants in the program in order to ensure its effective management of the Mentor-Protégé Program.