Guidelines for Conducting a Disparity and Availability Study for the Federal DBE Program. National Cooperative Highway Research Program

摘要

The federal government apportions tens of billions of dollars each year from the National Highway Trust Fund to the fifty states and the District of Columbia to assist and support the construction and maintenance of the nations highway infrastructure. In the decade between FFYs28 1998 and 2007, more than $325 billion in federal highway transportation assistance (in 2007 dollars) was allocated to state DOTs. In FFY 2007 alone, the amount distributed was almost $32 billion. Table 1 shows the apportionment of federal highway funds among state DOTs in FFY 2007, as well as their 2007 rankings and their average rankings from FFYs 1998 through 2007. As a condition of receipt of these federal funds, the state DOTs must agree to abide by certain federal rules and regulations, including those governing the U.S.DOTs DBE Program. The DBE Program, as originally enacted and as revised, was established by Congress in response to widespread evidence of discrimination against businesses owned by minorities and women in the construction industries, and in particular the highway construction industries.