U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) led a coalition of 88 House Democrats in urging Transportation Secretary Duffy to preserve the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program.
The lawmakers said that proposed changes to the DBE program threaten the survival of more than 50,000 existing small businesses across all 50 states.
“An approach to implementation of the Department’s Interim Final Rule (IFR) that seeks to punish minority- and women-owned small businesses will add chaos, cost, and delay to transportation projects and will have ripple effects throughout the construction industry,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Duffy.
The lawmakers expressed their support for the program.
“As Members of Congress who provide the authority for the DBE program and the highway, transit, highway safety, and aviation dollars to which DBE goals apply, we caution you to tread carefully with the Department’s plans for the program,” the members wrote.
The Democratic lawmakers pointed out that discrimination affects minority and women entrepreneurs at every stage of the process, from access to investment dollars and credit to biased treatment from customers, suppliers and regulators.
“This statistical evidence has shown the disparities between the capacity of minority- and women-owned businesses to compete for federal dollars, and the utilization of that capacity by federal contractors,” they wrote.
They urged Duffy to implement changes in a way that promotes fairness and protects small businesses.
“We urge you to proceed carefully, provide ample guidance to stakeholders and project sponsors, and work with Congress on changes to this critical program,” they concluded.
Larsen is the ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure while Velazquez is the ranking member of the House Committee on Small Business.