Latest news with #DisadvantagedBusinessEnterpriseProgram
Black America Web
7 days ago
- Business
- Black America Web
Trump Admin To Settle Suit Claiming Program For ‘Disadvantaged' Businesses Only Serves ‘Women And Certain Minorities'
Source: The Washington Post / Getty The Trump administration has taken a new step in its quest to make white nationalism great again by taking an axe to any program designed to level an uneven playing field that has historically benefited white men — or what MAGA conservatives call DEI. According to the Independent, the White House, on Wednesday, filed a proposal for a settlement with the Department of Transportation, which was sued in 2023 by two white-owned construction companies, Mid-America Milling Company and Bagshaw Trucking Inc., over its 42-year-old Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, which the two companies claim is 'unconstitutional,' basically because it helps business owned by women and non-white people. The $37 billion program, which is funded by the federal government but administered by states, was first authorized by Congress in 1983. It reportedly serves some 49,000 businesses that qualify as disadvantaged, which the plaintiffs in the lawsuit apparently believe means non-white men by default, presumably because — oh, I don't know — white men have overwhelmingly dominated every major industry in America for the entirety of America's existence. From the Independent: The original complaint described the DBE as 'the largest, and perhaps oldest affirmative action program in U.S. history' and claimed that the program's 'goals' were in fact 'discriminatory barriers' targeting nondesignated racial groups including white Americans. 'The word 'disadvantaged' is simply code for women and certain minorities,' the complaint stated, adding that: 'Disfavored racial groups must compete with the preferred racial groups on an unequal footing. 'Because the DBE program violates the Constitution's 'promise of equal treatment,' it must be permanently dismantled.' If white conservatives had the critical thinking capacity that would allow them to discern irony, they'd understand how comically ironic it is that the plaintiffs are essentially suggesting that white people are among the 'disfavored racial groups' that must 'compete with the preferred racial groups.' They're basically describing white supremacy, but in reverse. White men represent the only 'preferred' demographic in the nation that has enjoyed unfettered access to the so-called American dream throughout American history. Every other 'disfavored' demographic has been 'competing' for second place, and Black people continue to struggle not to come in dead last in that race. The plaintiffs even appear to acknowledge that the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program doesn't specify race or gender; they just believe women and minorities are what the word 'disadvantaged' is 'code' for. But why even assume that? It's almost as if they know perfectly well that it only happens to shake out that way because 'women and certain minorities' represent the most disadvantaged, systemically discriminated against groups, historically and currently. Every decision the Trump administration makes is aimed at turning the clock back on diversity, racial progress, gender equality and any semblance of a playing field that is actually level. Sad. SEE ALSO: Op-Ed: Trump's New Nominee For Federal Judgeship Advocated For Literacy Tests For Voters Despite Racist History Ben Crump Rips Trump Administration Decision To End Police-Reform Agreement Reached In Wake Of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor SEE ALSO Trump Admin To Settle Suit Claiming Program For 'Disadvantaged' Businesses Only Serves 'Women And Certain Minorities' was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump team looks to end $37B program designed to help minority business saying it violates the Constitution
The Trump administration has joined with two white-owned construction companies looking to end a $37 billion program designed to help minority-owned businesses, saying it is 'unconstitutional.' The Indiana-based companies, Mid-America Milling Company and Bagshaw Trucking Inc., sued the Department of Transportation in 2023 over the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, arguing that it should be permanently dismantled. On Wednesday the Department of Justice filed a proposal for a settlement with the DOT to dismantle the program – which was first authorized by Congress in 1983, and serves roughly 49,000 businesses that have been deemed to be disadvantaged. The program is funded by the federal government but administered by states, and allocates at least 10 percent of government funding for transportation infrastructure to such contracting firms. The original complaint described the DBE as 'the largest, and perhaps oldest affirmative action program in U.S. history' and claimed that the program's 'goals' were in fact 'discriminatory barriers' targeting nondesignated racial groups including white Americans. 'The word 'disadvantaged' is simply code for women and certain minorities,' the complaint stated, adding that: 'Disfavored racial groups must compete with the preferred racial groups on an unequal footing. 'Because the DBE program violates the Constitution's 'promise of equal treatment,' it must be permanently dismantled.' Last January, under the Biden administration, the DOT hit back at the suit, saying that the plaintiffs had 'notably' not identified any current transport construction contracts that had 'race- or gender-based subcontracting goals due to the DOT DBE program.' However, in a new filing on Wednesday, the administration said it had 're-evaluated its position,' in light of a 2023 Supreme Court ruling which blocked race-conscious college admissions. 'Defendants, upon review of the DBE program and their position in this litigation, have determined that the program's use of race- and sex-based presumptions is unconstitutional,' the filing stated. 'Over the past five decades, the federal government imposed a policy of race discrimination in the roadbuilding industry,' Dan Lennington, deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, the conservative nonprofit representing the plaintiffs, told The Washington Post. 'Thousands of workers and small businesses have been victimized, and hundreds of billions have been spent, distorting the market and inflating construction costs for the taxpayers. That ends now.'
