Media Contact: Patrick Wright -- Patrick.Wright@mail.house.gov
Washington, D.C. — Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr., Chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, hosted a roundtable today to discuss how to improve minority and women-owned business participation in federal transportation projects. Local minority business leaders and advocates talked about their experiences with federal contracting to a group that included U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg. Rep. Payne, Jr. has been fighting to improve the diversity of federal contractors during his time in Congress. As part of this commitment, he is working to establish a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program within the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). A DBE program sets participation goals for minority and women-owned businesses in federal projects.
“I hosted this roundtable because we need to level the playing field and allow all businesses to compete for federal contracts,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. “The new $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is going to create incredible opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses to help repair roads, bridges and passenger rail systems nationwide. In addition, it will help us build the Hudson River Tunnel for the Gateway Program. We must not let a lack of access to federal contracts deny them the right to participate in these infrastructure projects. As Chairman of the Rail Subcommittee, I will continue to work to make the process of awarding federal transportation contracts more equitable and transparent for all American businesses.”
“I’m grateful to Congressman Payne for organizing this conversation and to every participant who brought their incredible insights about the DBE program to the table,” said Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg. “The DBE program can create economic wealth and opportunity for minority- and women-owned businesses in New Jersey, New York, and the entire country—and Secretary Buttigieg and I are committed to ensuring the job-creating benefits of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reach everyone as projects such as Gateway get underway.”
Rep. Payne, Jr. is leading the effort to improve minority and women-owned business access to federal projects across the country and New Jersey. In November, he held a Rail Subcommittee hearing to learn about discrimination in federal passenger rail contracting. In addition, Rep. Payne, Jr. is working to get a Minority Business Development Agency in New Jersey. Thanks to his efforts, New Jersey is a finalist for the next round of agency expansion.
The roundtable included Bernard Shivers, president of Bees Construction Group; Julie Harris, co-founder and CEO of the Council of Black Architecture and Engineering Companies; Sadaya Morris, owner of Pink Transportation; Leon Baptiste, president and CEO of LB Electric Company, LLC of NY and NJ; Robert Thomas Cottingham, Jr., chairman and CEO of Sabre 88; Carl Evans, minority business advocate; Balpreet Grewal-Virk, New Jersey co-chair of the Gateway Development Corporation; Della Clark, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Region Small Business Transportation Resource Center; Steve Goodman, regional administrator for the Federal Transit Administration; John Metro, business administrator for Jersey City; and Keith Wright, Director of Business Diversity for The Port Authority of NY/NJ.
original source can be found here.
