[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3375 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3375

 To establish a program so that business concerns owned and controlled 
  by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals may achieve 
     proficiency to compete, on an equal basis, for contracts and 
 subcontracts in Department of Transportation projects, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 30, 2023

  Mr. Padilla introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a program so that business concerns owned and controlled 
  by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals may achieve 
     proficiency to compete, on an equal basis, for contracts and 
 subcontracts in Department of Transportation projects, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Accelerating Small Business Growth 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCELERATING BUSINESS GROWTH PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.
            (2) Socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.--
        The term ``socially and economically disadvantaged 
        individuals'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        11101(e)(2) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (23 
        U.S.C. 101 note; Public Law 117-58).
    (b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a competitive 
grant program to provide financial assistance to eligible entities to 
establish and carry out innovative programs so that business concerns 
owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged 
individuals may achieve proficiency to compete, on an equal basis, for 
contracts and subcontracts in projects carried out with financial 
assistance from the Secretary.
    (c) Eligible Entities.--An entity eligible to receive financial 
assistance under this section is--
            (1) a State or territory;
            (2) a political subdivision of a State or local government;
            (3) a Tribal government;
            (4) a special purpose district or public authority with a 
        transportation function;
            (5) a port authority;
            (6) a metropolitan planning organization; or
            (7) a group of entities described in paragraphs (1) through 
        (6).
    (d) Applications.--To be eligible to participate in the program 
under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require.
    (e) Partnerships.--In carrying out activities with a grant under 
this section, an eligible entity may partner with--
            (1) 1 or more nonprofit organizations; or
            (2) 1 or more institutions of higher education.
    (f) Required Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after an eligible 
        entity is awarded a grant under this section, the eligible 
        entity shall submit to the Secretary a report that includes--
                    (A) a description of the activities carried out 
                with the grant; and
                    (B) an evaluation of the effectiveness of those 
                activities in meeting the objectives described in 
                subsection (b).
            (2) Public availability.--Each report submitted under 
        paragraph (1) shall be made available on a public internet 
        website managed by the Secretary.
    (g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
report that evaluates the program under this section.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2026.
                                 <all>