American Civil Rights Institute Blog

Federal Circuit: Discrimination? Prove It.

A Washington Post columnist recently wrote about a ruling we blogged about last month. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit voided a law that established a five percent quota to award defense contracts to so-called disadvantaged small business owners. The decision may invalidate 8(a) of the Small Business Act contracting programs. (Source)

“The impact of the decision is unclear; the court’s focus on an old Pentagon rule to decide the case created uncertainty about whether the set-aside remains,” writes Joe Davidson. “But if the panel’s ruling stands, the implications for minority-owned companies that received almost $15 billion in fiscal year 2006 in Defense Department contracts could alter a long-standing program that allowed under-represented groups access to lucrative government contracts.”

Strike another blow for racial spoils.

So-called minority-owned businesses will have to get by on quality of service and reputation. Davidson believes businesses owned by racial minorities should get preferential treatment to “right a long series of wrongs that have accumulated over generations.” The problem is the people who receive government set-asides don’t have any legal claims to reparations-type of compensation, nor do the people penalized for being white bear any legal responsibility for discriminatory actions of the past.

But that’s my contention, not the Federal Circuit’s. (If I were queen of the world!) Davidson notes that Congress didn’t present strong evidence to show that the Department of Defense was a “passive participant in pervasive, nationwide racial discrimination” to justify preferential treatment to right racial wrongs of the past.

I would be eager — eager — to see evidence that minority-owned businesses didn’t receive certain contracts because the businesses are owned by blacks or women, and not because they’re not competitive. Good luck with all that.

Thursday, December 4th, 2008, by La Shawn Barber and is filed under "Judiciary, Quotas ". Both comments and pings are currently closed.