Biden’s $1.2T infrastructure bill approved with bipartisan votes
Small disadvantaged firms eligible for DBE set-asides
President Joe Biden achieved one of his main goals with the recent passage by Congress of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill with broad bipartisan support.
The five-year package will boost spending on highways, transit, bridges and rail systems, as well as electric vehicles, climate resilience, renewable energy and more.
Contracts for small businesses are likely to flow mostly through state government-run Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs, in which at least 10% of the funding for transportation projects is to be set aside for small disadvantaged firms (see related story).
That is traditionally how federal transportation funding is distributed. At the same time, since some of the spending is not traditional infrastructure, some contracts may be awarded directly by federal agencies...more....
