[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 30, 2020)]
[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.

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