Thursday, February 16th in a White House Convening on Equity, USBC President & CEO Ron Busby Sr. discussed President Biden’s Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.
During this convening, Busby and other featured speakers discussed how to move forward with Biden’s new equity plan to create contracting opportunities for Black businesses that are fair and equitable. Busby’s focus was particularly on section seven of the executive order as well as his call to action to ensure that Black firms are going to directly benefit from the executive order and for more data transparency into federal contracting outcomes moving forward.
Sec. 7. Advancing Equitable Procurement. (a) The Government-wide goal for Federal procurement dollars awarded to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (SDBs) shall be 15 percent in Fiscal Year 2025. In furtherance of this goal, OMB shall set a Government-wide SDB goal for Fiscal Year 2024. The Small Business Administration shall, on an annual basis, work with each agency to establish an agency-specific goal that, in aggregate, supports the Government-wide goal. Further, agencies shall undertake efforts to increase contracting opportunities for all other small business concerns as described in the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. ch. 14A).
“The US Black Chambers (USBC) applauds the Biden-Harris Administration’s plans to reform the federal contracting space and increase racial equity in a way that benefits Black-owned businesses.” said Busby, USBC President & CEO. “We are pleased to see that the administration has taken steps to increase small Black firms’ share of the federal marketplace, but we need more transparency into how this is actually happening. We need to see the data on who is getting contracts and for what amounts, so we can be sure that these efforts are actually working.”
The executive order and the intentionality to increase federal contracting opportunities with Black businesses is a step in the right direction to help address the wealth gap in America.
Learn more about President Biden’s Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government.
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The U.S. Black Chambers (USBC) is the voice of Black business owners and a top advocate for resources and policies that impact Black business owners. To learn more visit: usblackchambers.org.