Rep. Johnson, Sen. Ossoff Introduce Bill To Level Playing Field for Disadvantaged Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) introduced the Small Business Contracting Fairness Act, critical legislation to standardize treatment of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) within the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). 

Sen. Jon Ossoff (GA) introduced the Senate companion legislation. 

Unlike all other federal agencies, the USDOT, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) apply different standards to DBEs than the Small Business Administration (SBA), which has resulted in fewer DBEs qualifying for federal contracts originating from these agencies.  

This bill removes the lower limit for the purpose of determining a DBE’s eligibility and standardizes treatment of DBEs within the DOT. This is the same way the FAA currently determines eligibility for the program since the discriminatory treatment was removed in the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds $550 billion in new infrastructure investments and is anticipated to add 1.5 million jobs a year for the next five years. Changing the DBE size standard to reflect the SBA’s size standard will mean that small businesses owned and operated by minorities and women will be given equal access to federal contracting opportunities to execute these projects. 

“With America in the midst of a once-in-a-generation investment in our infrastructure and transportation sectors, we must pass this bill to ensure all DBEs are able to participate,” said Rep. Johnson, a senior member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.

“As we upgrade America’s infrastructure, Georgia’s small businesses have a vital role to play. My legislation with Congressman Hank Johnson will help ensure more women and minority-owned small businesses in Georgia have the opportunity to secure infrastructure contracts,” Sen. Ossoff said.

Congress set a goal that a portion of the dollars spent on building highways and other infrastructure projects should be extended to certain small businesses, known as DBEs -- businesses owned by African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific and Subcontinent Asian Americans, and women.  

Currently, a DBE firm must meet SBA size criteria and have average annual gross receipts for the last three years not to exceed $26.29 million. This cap on gross receipts is currently more than $13.3 million lower than the SBA size limit for construction.  As construction projects tend to have larger total project costs than in many other industries, the cap on gross receipts greatly reduces the pool of DBEs who can otherwise qualify for the program.

The Small Business Contracting Fairness Act removes the gross receipts cap for the purpose of determining a DBE’s eligibility. This is the same way in which the FAA currently determines eligibility for the DBE program after the cap on gross receipts was removed in the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act.

The removal of the gross receipts cap will standardize the treatment of DBEs throughout the USDOT, including the three major operating administrations of USDOT -- the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Federal Transit Administration.

To read the bill, click HERE. 

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