White House equity efforts

      President Joe Biden highlighted his administration’s efforts to tackle systemic racism and to advance racial equity and opportunities in a recent news release.

      Many of the new programs address small business and workforce needs in underserved communities.

      For example, Biden’s American Rescue Plan law included:

• A new $10 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative to fund small businesses in economically disadvantaged areas;
• $39 billion for child care expansion;
• $40 billion for a new Registered Apprenticeship program, including $121 million in grants for apprenticeships in underserved communities;
• Expanded tax credits resulted in black consumers increasing enrollment in health insurance plans by 49% from 2020 to 2022. The uninsured rate dropped to a historic low of 8% in 2022.

      The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law promoted by the White House included:

• $1 billion for the new Reconnecting Communities program to help areas cut off by transportation infrastructure;
• $2.9 billion for Lead Service Line Replacement in 2022; and
• Access to expanded eligibilities under the $11.7 billion Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

      The administration’s Inflation Reduction Act provided for:

• $3 billion for the Neighorhood Access and Equity Grant Program to fund transportation in underserved areas; and
• Permanently authorized the Minority Business Development Agency.

      Other Biden administration initiatives to assist small businesses and workers in disadvantaged communities include:

• Raising the government’s Small Disadvantaged Business procurement goal to 12% in 2022, and to 15% by 2025;
• Investing $1.5 billion to diversity the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps, and federal Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs;
• Providing $20,000 in student debt relief for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 relief for other students. However, a federal judge recently suspended the debt relief.

More information:
White House news release: https://bit.ly/3TBn8nn

(URLs in Set-Aside Alert have been shortened by the bit.ly URL shortener)

Midterm elections: Democrats hold Senate; GOP gaining House

No. of Cat Mgt small biz vendors has shrunk by 18% since 2018

Emissions disclosure rule

White House equity efforts

Buy American hikes eff. Oct 25

GSA Schedules update Dec. 7

Deviations on JVs, FAR updates

DOD pilot for worker-owned

More details on veteran certs

Protests drop in number

Column: Going to a Trade Show?
Put Yourself in a Reporter’s Shoes, First

Washington Insider:

Coronavirus Update

Correction: CR expires on Dec. 16