Thursday, March 19, 2009

Obama Administration Talks & Walks It According to NBCC

From Harry Alford, President, National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC):

This Administration Talks It - “The Executive Branch shall distribute Recovery Act funds in accordance with: All anti-discrimination and equal opportunity statutes, regulations, and Executive Orders that apply to the expenditure of funds under Federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, loans, and other forms of Federal assistance. Grant-making agencies shall ensure that their recipients comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and any program-specific statutes with anti-discrimination requirements. Generally applicable civil rights laws also continue to apply, including (but not limited to) the Fair Housing Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Uniform Relocation Act.” This is quoted from the guidelines for the Stimulus Bill, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget.

And Walks It - “The recent enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009…and the increase in transportation contracting opportunities it will bring has heightened the urgency for Caltrans to reconsider implementing the DBE program requirements…For this fiscal year, Caltrans has only achieved 2.2 percent DBE participation on its construction contracts through December 31, 2008. We cannot afford any further delay by Caltrans in implementing DBE contract goals…Failure to implement this overall goal and contract goals set out in this letter could result in the imposition of sanctions authorized at 23 CFR 1.36, which may include withholding federal funds, withholding approval of projects, or such other action FHWA deems appropriate under the circumstances.” This is a quote from the Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation to California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) about their racist and sexist ways which are about to change. How about that for muscles Gov. Arnold? Change we can believe in.

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