Black American Contractors Excluded from Federal Contracts with GSA are Sounding the Alarm
Black American Contractors Excluded from Federal Contracts with GSA are Sounding the Alarm
On September 20, 2021, three years ago, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985 to Advance Racial Equity Through Federal Contracting for historically, disadvantaged small businesses. And to date, there is no data that evidence the President’s appointed Administrators and Secretaries are strictly complying to remove systemic, racial procurement barriers.
The National Association of Black Women in Construction (NABWIC) and The American Association of Blacks In Energy (ABBE) are sounding the alarm before the next Presidential election. Ann McNeill, NABWIC Chair and Co-Founder and Ralph Cleveland, ABBE President and CEO co-authored a letter on March 18, 2024 requesting a meeting with President Biden’s appointed Administrator, Robin Carnahan that heads the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the largest federal procurer of goods and services. The meeting requested is to discuss the exclusion of Black American contractors in GSA’s federal procurement processes and to offer accelerated deliverable remedies.
GSA Administrator Carnahan is responsible for a 2024 fiscal budget of $801 million to procure 600,000 zero emission electric vehicles, electric vehicles chargers and solar powered systems for 300,000 federal buildings. The large expenditure is needed to meet President Biden’s 2032 zero greenhouse gas emissions mandate. GSA’s $801 million funding is from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Black Americans as federal taxpayers have also contributed to.
According to President Biden, “The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history.” Yet, according to NABWIC and ABBE there is no documented evidence of GSA Administrator Carnahan removing any systemic racial procurement barriers for Black Americans to create generational wealth as mandated by Executive Order 3985 to advance racial equity through federal contracting for historically disadvantaged small businesses.
Alarmingly, no disadvantaged small businesses defined as Black American will equitably benefit from GSA’s fiscal 2024 $801 M Congressional justification budget,” says the letter to GSA Administrator Carnahan. NABWIC Ann McNeill said, “It noteworthy, when Black American, shovel ready, disadvantaged small businesses are not afforded equitable procurement opportunities with GSA, they are also deprived of the liberty to grow their businesses in parity with non-disadvantaged businesses prospering from lucrative federal contract awards.”
“And the discriminatory exclusions also restrict them from sustainably growing and hiring and training disadvantaged citizens, who are unemployed and under-skilled in underserved communities for good paying green jobs, as mandated by President Biden’s Executive Order 14008 Justice40.”
Black American contractors held high hopes when President Biden signed on September 20, 2021 Executive Order 13985. However, “E.O. 13985 thus far has been a hollow media sound bite; according to Tina M White, CEO, TINA’S Green Energy Solutions, a shovel ready disadvantaged small business that sells and installs electric vehicles charging stations, solar powered and battery storage systems with extensive experience to contract with GSA to contribute to the federal government reaching their zero emissions goals.
Ms. White, who is also NABWIC’s Chief Government Affairs Liaison said, “Black American businesses have been blatantly ignored by President Biden’s appointed GSA Administrator Carnahan. And the fact that we are not afforded equitable contracting opportunities to generate wealth from GSA’s 2024 $801 million fiscal budget to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; is glaringly in direct opposition to public policy as delineated in President Biden’s E.O. 13985.”
"It is critically important that Black American contractors are participating in the procurement and deployment of zero emissions electric vehicles and charging infrastructure on all levels of federal contracting. And we will not and shall not be relegated to being spectators during the largest investment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States of America’s history; which is Black Americans’ history too."
As of this week, GSA Administrator Carnahan has ignored the March 18, 2024 request for the meeting to discuss accelerated deliverables to remedy the continuous discrimination against Black American contractors in federal contracting; as mandated by President Biden when he signed Executive Order 13985 on September 20, 2021.
It is important to note that National Association of Black Women in Construction and American Association of Blacks In Energy’s letter to GSA Administrator Carnahan were also supported by the signatures of Ron Busby, President and CEO, U.S. Black Chambers Inc., Antoine Thompson, CEO and Executive Director, Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition, Terry Travis, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, EVNoire and Natalie King, Chair and Co-Founder, Blacks in Electric Vehicles Infrastructure.
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