Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E591-E592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING THE DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (DBE) PROGRAM
______
HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, recent events have underscored the
inequities that
[[Page E592]]
still exist in American society, and there is a cry for systemic
change. We must reaffirm our commitment to leveling the playing field
and doing what is fair to empower women- and minority-owned businesses
to reach parity.
The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program at the Department
of Transportation was established in 1980 under Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race and
gender. The intent of the program is to remedy past discrimination in
federal transportation contracts by setting goals for awarding
contracts to women- and minority-owned businesses.
The long record of discrimination this program seeks to remedy is
undeniable. During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt invested
extraordinary resources in infrastructure projects as part of the Works
Progress Administration. His federal investments came with a tag in the
South that said, ``No Blacks allowed.'' The same was true for women,
since the jobs were intended for men, who were assumed to be the
primary family breadwinner. As a result, many white American households
headed by men built themselves out of the depression, while most Blacks
and women-led households remained in abject poverty without the means
to recover.
Today, if we were to dismiss equity and fairness in our federal
transportation contracting, we would see the disparities in
unemployment and income grow.
There is indisputable and overwhelming evidence that discrimination
still exists in the federal transportation marketplace against women-
and minority-owned businesses. Data-driven disparity studies illustrate
the need for the DBE program to continue. One study revealed that Black
architecture and engineering businesses' receipts are 42 percent and 45
percent lower, respectively, than their white counterparts. Non-
minority women-owned architecture and engineering businesses earned 39
and 38 percent less than businesses owned by white men.
Underrepresented businesses achieve better outcomes on construction,
architecture, engineering, and other service contracts when goal-
oriented programs are implemented to encourage the participation of
these business groups in government contracts. Without these goals and
measures in place, many of these businesses report that they would be
completely shut out of government contracting opportunities.
In this time of reckoning over historic inequities in our country, we
must reaffirm our commitment to essential programs like DBE to continue
making progress toward a more perfect Union with liberty and justice
for all.
____________________