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Show Double Trouble? Should the Federal government govern-ment try to get the best price it can or use our tax dollars to help minority businesses? That's the problem the government gov-ernment will soon be facing. Some companies that provide pro-vide services for our highways have been forced out of business busi-ness because of a provision of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1 982. Known as Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, the provision di-' di-' recta that ten percent of government gov-ernment funds allocated to specific projects must be awarded to Bmall businesses operated and controlled by minorities. A recommendation by the American Traffic Safety Services Serv-ices Association, whose members mem-bers include 300 companies of all kinds that manufacture, install, and service the majority major-ity of signs, pavement markings mark-ings and construction zone traffic control devices used on our highways, may be a better idea. The Association recommends recom-mends that no more than 15 percent of the work done by a particular segment of the industry in-dustry be counted toward the DBE goal. That would mean every job could be bid on by every interested . company. Currently, many companies are excluded from the bidding 1 Expert have coma up with a new way to keep our road safe, protect taxpayers' tax-payers' money and encour-age encour-age minority business. process so that minority-owned minority-owned businesses can be assured as-sured consideration. This would necessarily involve in-volve more minorities in the total scope of the work. It would also mean minority contractors would be able to compete for portions of the work from which they are now excluded. Many people concerned about how the government is favoring minority businesses in highway construction contracts con-tracts are writing to Congress to express their views. Anyone Any-one can write to Congress on either side of this or any issue. The addresses are: The Senate, Sen-ate, Washington, DC 20510 and House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. No street address is necessary. |