Establishes for the Federal Railroad Administration a program for disadvantaged business enterprises, that is, small business concerns owned or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (including women).
Requires that at least 10% of federal funds for covered rail projects be expended on disadvantaged business enterprises.
Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to establish: (1) a unified certification program that lists disadvantaged business enterprises; (2) minimum uniform criteria for certifying small business concerns; and (3) minimum requirements for covered rail project federal funding recipients to report to the Secretary information on minority-owned and women-owned business awards, commitments, and achievements.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4439 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4439
To ensure that minority-owned and women-owned businesses have a full
and fair opportunity to compete in covered rail projects and contracts,
and that the Federal Government does not subsidize discrimination in
covered rail projects.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 9, 2014
Ms. Brown of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition
to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that minority-owned and women-owned businesses have a full
and fair opportunity to compete in covered rail projects and contracts,
and that the Federal Government does not subsidize discrimination in
covered rail projects.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) While significant progress has occurred due to the
enactment of a disadvantaged business enterprise program for
highways and mass transit, including commuter rail passenger
transportation, discrimination and related barriers continue to
pose significant obstacles for minority-owned and women-owned
businesses seeking to do business in federally assisted surface
transportation-related markets, including intercity rail
passenger transportation markets. This continuing
discrimination warrants the establishment of the disadvantaged
business enterprise program under this section.
(2) Discrimination poses serious barriers to the full and
fair participation of minority and women business owners,
including African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-
Americans, and Native Americans in federally assisted surface
transportation-related projects and contracts, including
intercity rail passenger transportation projects and contracts.
(3) Discrimination impacts minority and women business
owners in every geographic region of the United States and
throughout all of the surface transportation-related
industries, including intercity rail passenger transportation
industries.
(4) Congress has reviewed evidence of discrimination
against minority and women business owners throughout the
transportation sector, including--
(A) statistical analyses demonstrating significant
disparities in the utilization of minority-owned and
women-owned businesses in federally and locally funded
transportation contracting;
(B) statistical analyses of private sector
disparities in business success by minority-owned and
women-owned businesses in transportation industries;
(C) research compiling anecdotal reports of
discrimination against individual minority and women
business owners;
(D) individual reports of discrimination against
minority and women business owners and the
organizations and individuals who represent minority
and women business owners;
(E) analyses demonstrating significant reductions
in the participation of minority and women businesses
in jurisdictions that have reduced or eliminated their
minority-owned and women-owned business programs;
(F) statistical analyses showing significant
disparities in the credit available to minority-owned
and women-owned businesses;
(G) research and statistical analyses demonstrating
how discrimination negatively impacts firm formation,
growth, and success;
(H) experience of State departments of
transportation and localities demonstrating that race-
neutral and gender-neutral efforts alone are
insufficient to remedy discrimination; and
(I) other qualitative and quantitative evidence of
discrimination against minority-owned and women-owned
businesses in the transportation sector.
(5) Congress has received and reviewed compelling evidence
of discrimination from many different sources, including
congressional hearings and roundtables, studies, scientific
reports, reports issued by public and private agencies, news
stories, reports of discrimination by organizations and
individuals, and discrimination lawsuits.
(6) All of this evidence applies not only to highway and
mass transportation programs, but also to rail programs,
providing a compelling need for the establishment of the
disadvantaged business enterprise program under this section to
address race and gender discrimination in intercity rail
passenger transportation.
(b) Program.--There is established a disadvantaged business
enterprise program for the Federal Railroad Administration to ensure
that disadvantaged business enterprises have a full and fair
opportunity to compete in covered rail projects and to ensure that the
Federal Government does not subsidize discrimination in covered rail
projects.
(c) Amounts for Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.--Except to the
extent that the Secretary of Transportation determines otherwise, not
less than 10 percent of the amounts made available through a grant,
contract, loan, or other financing instrument for any covered rail
project shall be expended through disadvantaged business enterprises.
(d) Annual Listing of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.--The
unified certification program established under subsection (e) shall
annually survey and compile a list of disadvantaged business
enterprises and their location, and shall include an indication of the
percentage of such enterprises which are controlled by women, by
socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (other than women),
and by individuals who are women and are otherwise socially and
economically disadvantaged individuals.
(e) Uniform Certification.--For purposes of carrying out this
section, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish minimum
uniform criteria to use in certifying whether a concern qualifies as a
small business concern. The minimum uniform criteria shall include on-
site visits, personal interviews with personnel, issuance or inspection
of licenses, analyses of stock ownership, listing of equipment,
analyses of bonding capacity, listing of work completed, examination of
the resume of principal owners, analyses of financial capacity, and
analyses of the type of work preferred. Federal Railroad Administration
recipients of funds subject to this section must participate in unified
certification program approved by the Secretary.
(f) Reporting.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish
minimum requirements for covered rail project Federal funding
recipients to report to the Secretary--
(1) information concerning minority-owned and women-owned
business awards, commitments, and achievements; and
(2) such other information as the Secretary determines to
be appropriate for the proper monitoring of the disadvantaged
business enterprise program under this section.
(g) Compliance With Court Orders.--Nothing in this section limits
the eligibility of an entity or person to receive funds if the entity
or person is prevented, in whole or in part, from complying with
subsection (c) because a Federal court issues a final order in which
the court finds that a requirement or the implementation of subsection
(c) is unconstitutional.
(h) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Commuter rail passenger transportation and intercity
rail passenger transportation.--The terms ``commuter rail
passenger transportation'' and ``intercity rail passenger
transportation'' have the meaning given those terms in section
24102 of title 49, United States Code.
(2) Covered rail project.--The term ``covered rail
project'' means any railroad project that is carried out or is
planned to be carried out with the use of Federal funds
administered by the Federal Railroad Administration through a
grant, contract, loan, or other financing instrument.
(3) Disadvantaged business enterprise.--The term
``disadvantaged business enterprise'' means a small business
concern owned by socially and economically disadvantaged
individuals.
(4) Small business concern.--The term ``small business
concern'' has the meaning given that term under section 3 of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632), except that the term
shall not include any concern or group of concerns controlled
by the same socially and economically disadvantaged individual
or individuals that have average annual gross receipts over the
preceding 3 fiscal years in excess of $22,410,000, as adjusted
annually by the Secretary of Transportation for inflation.
(5) Socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.--
The term ``socially and economically disadvantaged
individuals'' has the meaning given that term under section
8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)) and relevant
subcontracting regulations issued pursuant to that Act, except
that women shall be presumed to be socially and economically
disadvantaged individuals for purposes of this section.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E554)
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line