Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services Expansion Act and the Accelerating Small Business Growth Act, which I introduced today.

The unprecedented investment in American infrastructure over the next decade provides a major opportunity to strengthen our most underserved businesses and communities. Providing resources to help develop women- owned, minority-owned, and disadvantaged businesses will uplift our entire economy, and it is how we truly build back better.

Last year, President Biden set a goal of increasing the share of Federal contracts going to small, disadvantaged businesses by 50 percent by 2025, which would translate to an additional $100 billion for these businesses.

To help accomplish this ambitious goal, we should empower Federal, State, and local agencies to deliver resources to underserved businesses to help them become self-sufficient and grow.

Established in 1970, the Federal Highway Administration's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services Program already provides training, assistance, and services to minority- and women- owned businesses to help them develop into self-sufficient organizations that viably compete for federally assisted highway project contracts. Unfortunately, Congress has not allowed this program to keep up with the needs of our underserved businesses.

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services Expansion Act would increase this program's annual funding cap for the first time in nearly 50 years from $10 million to $25 million. Additionally, the bill would create similar programs at the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

Local, regional, and State agencies have also been leaders in developing innovative programs to prioritize disadvantaged businesses, invest in efforts to create equitable competition, and promote diverse economic development initiatives.

The Accelerating Small Business Growth Act would create a new grant program to help transportation agencies across our Nation carry out these innovative programs to help underserved businesses grow and achieve proficiency to compete, on an equal basis, for contracts and subcontracts in federally funded transportation projects. Agencies that receive funding through this grant program would be required to submit reports to the Department of Transportation evaluating the effectiveness of their activities, which would help inform future Federal procurement policymaking.

I want to thank Representatives Pete Aguilar and Jimmy Gomez for co- leading these bills with me, and I hope colleagues will join us in support of this legislation to minority-owned, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses compete for contracts to develop and build Federal infrastructure projects funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law.

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