Reply #8: Minority firms get few contracts

[struggle4progress]

Two lawmakers are asking whether small and minority-owned businesses have been given a fair chance to compete for contracts.

BY HOPE YEN

Associated Press


WASHINGTON - Minority-owned businesses say they're paying the price for the decision by Congress and the Bush administration to waive certain rules for Hurricane Katrina recovery contracts.

About 1.5 percent of the $1.6 billion awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency has gone to minority businesses, less than a third of the 5 percent normally required.

On Tuesday, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, and Rep. Donald A. Manzullo, R-Ill., asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether small and minority-owned businesses have been given a fair opportunity to compete for Katrina contracts. <snip>

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/12824815.htm