To establish a program so that business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals may achieve proficiency to compete, on an equal basis, for contracts and subcontracts in Department of Transportation projects, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a competitive grant program within the Department of Transportation to help businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals become more competitive. The goal is to give these businesses the skills and resources they need to win federal transportation contracts and subcontracts on an equal footing with larger, established competitors.
Who Benefits and How
Small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals are the primary beneficiaries. They gain access to training, resources, and support programs that help them compete for lucrative federal transportation contracts. State and local governments, tribal nations, and metropolitan planning organizations can also benefit by receiving grants to run these assistance programs. Partner organizations like nonprofits and universities may benefit from collaboration opportunities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal taxpayers fund this program at $5 million per year for three years (2024-2026), totaling $15 million. The Department of Transportation takes on administrative responsibilities for running the grant program, reviewing applications, and overseeing compliance. Grant recipients must submit detailed reports within 2 years describing their activities and evaluating program effectiveness, creating a reporting burden. The Secretary must also submit a program evaluation to Congress within 3 years.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes $5 million annually for fiscal years 2024-2026 to fund the grant program
- Eligible grant applicants include states, territories, local governments, tribal governments, port authorities, and metropolitan planning organizations
- Grant recipients may partner with nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions to deliver services
- Requires grantees to submit public progress reports within 2 years of receiving funds
- Mandates a DOT evaluation report to Congress within 3 years of enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
This bill establishes a grant program to help business concerns owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals compete for Department of Transportation contracts.
Key Policy Areas
Transportation, Small Business
Primary Purpose
This bill establishes a grant program to help business concerns owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals compete for Department of Transportation contracts.
Policy Domains
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Padilla introduced the following bill; which was read twice …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Nonprofit organizations partnering with eligible entities
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Transportation
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
As defined in section 11101(e)(2) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology