HTA gets $63K grant to help small biz compete for federal highway contracts
The Highways and Transportation Authority has received $63,941 in funds from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration from the Fiscal Year 2021 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise/Supportive Services (DBE/SS) program to help eligible small businesses compete for federal highway contracts.
The federal agency announced the allocation of $10 million in funding in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
Attempts to reach local agency officials for more details about how the money will be used were unsuccessful.
“With these funds, state transportation departments will help minority- and women-owned businesses across the country create jobs and better compete for resources for transportation projects nationwide,” said Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack in a statement.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues funding for the DBE/SS program for Fiscal Years 2022 through 2026. The funding is provided to state Departments of Transportation, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories to run programs that provide training and assistance to disadvantage business enterprises to improve their ability to compete on federally assisted contracts.
A DBE is a for-profit, small business owned and controlled by minorities, women or other socially and economically disadvantaged individuals or, in the case of a corporation, one in which 51% of the stock is owned by one or more such individuals, the federal agency stated.
The Federal Highway Administration distributes DBE/SS funds each year based on statements of work submitted by state Departments of Transportation, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US territories, and using an administrative formula to determine funding for each recipient.
This year, Federal Highway Administration received 48 submissions from 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and USVI. Eight states and territories declined funding, which was redistributed among the remaining recipients using the same administrative formula, the federal agency noted.
