Rep. García Introduces New Bold Legislation to Strengthen Opportunities for Latino and MWBE Businesses
Rep. García Introduces New Bold Legislation to Strengthen Opportunities for Latino and MWBE Businesses
CHICAGO, IL — Today, Congressman Jesús "Chuy" García (IL-04), a member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and co-founder of the Future of Transportation Caucus, was joined by the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA), and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC), to introduce the Giving Disadvantaged Businesses Opportunities for Success Act, federal legislation that would strengthen opportunities for Latino, Black and other Minority/Women businesses enterprises (MWBE).
The legislation proposes comprehensive reforms to the United States Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program and the Small Business Administration's 8(a) business development program to increase the opportunities for and capacity of women-and-minority owned businesses in the transportation and infrastructure and construction sectors.
"Latino, Black, and Women-owned businesses deserve an equitable portion of contracts in the transportation and construction industries and for too long they've been left out of the lion's share of work. This systemic discrimination not only shatters the hopes and dreams of many entrepreneurs and workers, but ends up leading to disinvestments in these same Latino and Black communities," said Congressman Jesús "Chuy" García. "My bill is the largest proposed reform to these programs in quite some time because it's long past time Congress level the playing field for minority-owned businesses in this sector."
"I applaud Congressman García for listening to the small business community and for taking a proactive approach to ensuring that small businesses in the construction industry are not left behind," said Jacqueline Gomez, Executive Director of HACIA. " This bill would allow more small businesses to remain in the DBE program and open doors for businesses looking to expand at a time when there is a real opportunity to grow with the new infrastructure bill."
"We commend Congressman García for his leadership on strengthening the DBE program, which is key to small business growth, and it serves as the basis for local government diversity efforts throughout the country," said Ivan Solis, Chair of HACIA Board and Chair of the Illinois International Port District.
"Representative García recognizes the importance of developing policies that support the continued growth of minority and women owned firms. The Giving Disadvantaged Businesses Opportunities for Success Act is a significant next step in helping smaller firms like ours succeed," said Brenda Garza Karhoff, president of Garza Karhoff Engineering, LLC.
"This legislation introduced today by Congressman García will help promote economic growth by empowering entrepreneurs like the members of our organization to participate in the transportation and infrastructure sector. The Giving Disadvantaged Businesses Opportunities for Success Act will open new opportunities for smaller firms to increase their revenue while investing in their own communities,said Jaime di Paulo, President and CEO of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Highlights of the Bill
The Giving Disadvantaged Businesses Opportunities for Success Act does the following:
- Increases the personal net worth-caps annually to account for inflation; the current net worth cap of $1.32 million has not been adjusted since 2011.
- Conforms the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) DBE Size Standard with the Small Business Administration Standards (SBA) for small businesses.
- Broadens the type of assets excluded from the personal net worth so as to not penalize business owners from making important investments in their communities.
- Creates universal recognition of DBE certifications. That means DBE certifications would be recognized across states instead of the current patchwork system. This means that DBE owners can grow their businesses in multiple states much more easily.
- Rewards those States and entities that have excellent DBE programs by giving them preferences in USDOT's discretionary grant programs. That will provide strong incentives for States and other federal funding recipients to actually care about having a good DBE program.
- Cracks down on misused exemptions and waivers granted to evade DBE requirements in federal transportation contracting.
A section-by-section outline of the legislation can be found here.
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