The president's commitment to rebuilding back better in a post-COVID future – whenever that might be – has been reinforced by the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal that made the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) permanent, a cabinet secretary said.
The agency mandates services to rural areas, provides authorities for a new MBDA grant program and creates partnerships with historically black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions. The MBDA falls under the U.S. Department of Commerce. President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan deal on Nov. 15.
"President Biden has made clear his commitment to not just rebuilding to how things were before COVID-19, but to building back better and more equitably," U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo said in a department statement issued three days later. "The Minority Business Development Agency is ready to step into this historic moment and build on its success – because we recognize that America’s road to recovery runs through our minority business community. Making MBDA a statutory Agency provides MBDA with the authorities, workforce and resources needed to help level the playing field on behalf of minority businesses and minority entrepreneurs."
While permanent authorization means MBDA isn't going anywhere any time soon, it has been around for decades. MBDA was created by Executive Order in 1969 and is the only federal agency that works toward growth and global competitiveness of minority business enterprises. The MBDA's mandate also was reinforced by the Minority Business Development Act of 2021.
The infrastructure deal expands MBDA's geographic reach by authorizing creation of regional MBDA offices and rural business centers, in addition to increasing the number and scope of existing programs. Among other things, the act created a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed Under Secretary of Commerce to lead the agency, increased the MBDA's grant-making capacity and creates the Parren J. Mitchel Entrepreneurship Education Grants Program for minority entrepreneurs.
The infrastructure deal also directs the Commerce Department to increase efforts to help the more than 9 million minority-owned businesses in the U.S.
"The Department of Commerce and MBDA play a pivotal role in promoting the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses," U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves said in the department's statement. "This legislation is transformative and signifies a new era in minority business development and progress toward addressing the long-standing racial disparities in access to capital, contracts and business ecosystems."
Meanwhile, reports of a new coronavirus variant, Omicron, suggest that the post-pandemic future may still be a ways off.
