Push for SDBs in DOT work

      Three federal agencies are banding together to help Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs) access contracts, loans, bonds and other support for orders resulting from President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

      The Small Business Administration (SBA), Transportation Dept.’s “DOT OSDBU” and the Commerce Dept.’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) announced the partnership for SDB support in a Sept. 20 news release.

      “USDOT is on target for 20% of our federal contracts to go to small and disadvantaged businesses – a major goal set by President Biden to help ensure the work to build America back better,” the SBA news release stated. DOT officials were not immediately available.

      The agreements seek to utilize SBA’s lending, investment and bonding to ensure success for SDB participation in DOT contracts. The agencies approved three memos spelling out the partnership agreements:

• Memo between USDOT and SBA will help small businesses obtain bonds or increase their bonding capacity to compete in DOT-funded projects;
• Second Memo between USDOT and SBA will make available to DOT vendors SBA’s network of Small Business Investment Companies and SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation to facilitate access to private capital; and
• Memo between USDOT and MBDA will help the two agencies coordinate data reporting and data sharing to better engage with, and develop, Minority Business Enterprises in transportation supply chains and related industries.

More information:
SBA news release: https://bit.ly/3UREQox

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