,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ddci ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #i1 #bjad ,ms4 ,brown of ,florida introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,small ,business1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 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 contracts1 and that the ,federal ,government does not subsidize discrimination in covered rail projects4 #a4 ,disadvantaged business enterprise program 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,while significant progress has occurred due to the enactment of a disadvantaged business enterprise program for highways and mass transit1 including commuter rail passenger transportation1 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 markets1 including intercity rail passenger transportation markets4 ,this continuing discrimination warrants the establishment of the disadvantaged business enterprise program under this section4 7#b7 ,discrimination poses serious barriers to the full and fair participation of minority and women business owners1 including ,african-,americans1 ,hispanic-,americans1 ,asian-,americans1 and ,native ,americans in federally assisted surface transportation-related projects and contracts1 including intercity rail passenger transportation projects and contracts4 7#c7 ,discrimination impacts minority and women business owners in every geographic region of the ,united ,states and throughout all of the surface transportation-related industries1 including intercity rail passenger transportation industries4 7#d7 ,congress has reviewed evidence of discrimination against minority and women business owners throughout the transportation sector1 including-- 7,a7 statistical analyses demonstrating significant disparities in the utilization of minority-owned and women-owned businesses in federally and locally funded transportation contracting2 7,b7 statistical analyses of private sector disparities in business success by minority-owned and women-owned businesses in transportation industries2 7,c7 research compiling anecdotal reports of discrimination against individual minority and women business owners2 7,d7 individual reports of discrimination against minority and women business owners and the organizations and individuals who represent minority and women business owners2 7,e7 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 programs2 7,f7 statistical analyses showing significant disparities in the credit available to minority-owned and women-owned businesses2 7,g7 research and statistical analyses demonstrating how discrimination negatively impacts firm formation1 growth1 and success2 7,h7 experience of ,state departments of transportation and localities demonstrating that race-neutral and gender-neutral efforts alone are insufficient to remedy discrimination2 and 7,i7 other qualitative and quantitative evidence of discrimination against minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the transportation sector4 7#e7 ,congress has received and reviewed compelling evidence of discrimination from many different sources1 including congressional hearings and roundtables1 studies1 scientific reports1 reports issued by public and private agencies1 news stories1 reports of discrimination by organizations and individuals1 and discrimination lawsuits4 7#f7 ,all of this evidence applies not only to highway and mass transportation programs1 but also to rail programs1 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 transportation4 7b7 ,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 projects4 7c7 ,amounts for disadvantaged business enterprises ,except to the extent that the ,secretary of ,transportation determines otherwise1 not less than #aj percent of the amounts made available through a grant1 contract1 loan1 or other financing instrument for any covered rail project shall be expended through disadvantaged business enterprises4 7d7 ,annual listing of disadvantaged business enterprises ,the unified certification program established under subsection 7e7 shall annually survey and compile a list of disadvantaged business enterprises and their location1 and shall include an indication of the percentage of such enterprises which are controlled by women1 by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals 7other than women71 and by individuals who are women and are otherwise socially and economically disadvantaged individuals4 7e7 ,uniform certification ,for purposes of carrying out this section1 the ,secretary of ,transportation shall establish minimum uniform criteria to use in certifying whether a concern qualifies as a small business concern4 ,the minimum uniform criteria shall include on-site visits1 personal interviews with personnel1 issuance or inspection of licenses1 analyses of stock ownership1 listing of equipment1 analyses of bonding capacity1 listing of work completed1 examination of the resume of principal owners1 analyses of financial capacity1 and analyses of the type of work preferred4 ,federal ,railroad ,administration recipients of funds subject to this section must participate in unified certification program approved by the ,secretary4 7f7 ,reporting ,the ,secretary of ,transportation shall establish minimum requirements for covered rail project ,federal funding recipients to report to the ,secretary-- 7#a7 information concerning minority-owned and women-owned business awards1 commitments1 and achievements2 and 7#b7 such other information as the ,secretary determines to be appropriate for the proper monitoring of the disadvantaged business enterprise program under this section4 7g7 ,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 prevented1 in whole or in part1 from complying with subsection 7c7 because a ,federal court issues a final order in which the court finds that a requirement or the implementation of subsection 7c7 is unconstitutional4 7h7 ,definitions ,in this section1 the following definitions apply3 7#a7 ,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 #bdajb of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,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 grant1 contract1 loan1 or other financing instrument4 7#c7 ,disadvantaged business enterprise ,the term disadvantaged business enterprise means a small business concern owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals4 7#d7 ,small business concern ,the term small business concern has the meaning given that term under section #c of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb71 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 #c fiscal years in excess of #bb1daj1jjj1 as adjusted annually by the ,secretary of ,transportation for inflation4 7#e7 ,socially and economically disadvantaged individuals ,the term socially and economically disadvantaged individuals has the meaning given that term under section #h7;d7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcg7;d77 and relevant subcontracting regulations issued pursuant to that ,act1 except that women shall be presumed to be socially and economically disadvantaged individuals for purposes of this section4