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[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>
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