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Congressman Hank Johnson [photograph courtesy Office of Congressman Hank Johnson]

Rep. Hank Johnson Leads Letter of the alphabet With Reps. Holmes Norton, Barbara Lee and Val Demings to Administration To Accost: Major Failings of Federal Departments & Agencies to Exercise Concern With Blackness-owned Media & Advertizing Firms.

Pointing out that a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study in 2016 constitute over a 5-twelvemonth period, the federal government spent more than than $five billion on advertising but Black-owned businesses received merely $51 million, or i.02 percent of those funds, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) sent a letter to the Biden Assistants today seeking answers to this decades-old trouble.

The letter was co-led with Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Barbara Lee (CA-thirteen) and Val Demings (FL-10). 34 members signed the letter, including the entire Georgia Democratic delegation.

Peculiarly during the heightened need to get accurate and factual information on COVID-nineteen protocols and vaccines, the members highlighted that increased spending with trusted news sources could help underserved communities understand and follow health guidelines and get more shots in arms.

"As yous know, there has been a great deal of reluctance and business concern within the Black community almost getting the COVID-19 vaccinations," the letter states. "Educating our communities should have been a very high priority of that ad program. Unfortunately, the failure of the federal authorities to spend COVID-19 advertizement dollars with Black-owned media and advertising firms is simply the continuation of a problem that has existed for decades."

The members requested the Administration investigate and written report back hard data on "the process by which they grant advertising contracts, and how they oversee those contracts afterward they are granted."

"The federal government spends billions of dollars a year in paid advertisement. Notwithstanding, the federal government'due south process for allocating advertizing dollars fails to recognize and value the unique relationship that Black-owned media have with their audiences," they said.

The alphabetic character was too signed past: Reps. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., Dwight Evans, Bennie G. Thompson, Gwen Moore, Juan Vargas, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Karen Bass, Steven Horsford, Frederica Southward. Wilson, Donald M. Payne, Jr., David Scott, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nikema Williams, Marilyn Strickland, Bobby 50. Rush, Troy A. Carter, Sr., Robin L. Kelly, Lucy McBath, Anthony Brown, Shontel Dark-brown, Al Dark-green, Alma S. Adams, Ph.D, Brenda L. Lawrence, Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D., Carolyn Bourdeaux, A. Donald McEachin, Emanuel Cleaver II, Grand.G. Butterfield, Tony Cárdenas, Ayanna Pressley, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Sheila Jackson Lee, Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, André Carson.

Read the alphabetic character beneath

Dear President Biden:

We write to bring to your attention the major failings of many federal departments and agencies to practise business with Blackness-owned media and advertising firms. An article in "Blackness Enterprise" highlighted this problem with respect to the failure of the federal regime to spend a pregnant amount of the COVID-19 advertising program funds with Black-endemic media and advertizement firms. Equally y'all know, in that location has been a groovy deal of reluctance and concern within the Black community about getting the COVID-19 vaccinations. Educating our communities should have been a very loftier priority of that advertising program. Unfortunately, the failure of the federal regime to spend COVID-nineteen ad dollars with Black-owned media and advertising firms is simply the continuation of a problem that has existed for years. We appreciate that your administration met with leaders in Blackness-endemic media to discuss this topic in early 2021, however we are non enlightened of any activity that resulted from this meeting and the problem continues to undermine Blackness-owned businesses. Therefore, we are requesting that you reinstate President Clinton'south Executive Order 13170 and conduct an audit of contracts funded by COVID-19 response legislation.

The federal regime spends billions of dollars a year in paid advertising. Yet, the federal government's process for allocating advertising dollars fails to recognize and value the unique relationship that Blackness-owned media have with their audiences. The standard process for spending federal ad dollars consists of giving a prime contract to a big White-owned advertising agency with the stipulation that the agency include a multicultural agency every bit a subcontractor. Nonetheless, the prime contractor controls how much money goes to the subcontractor and how that subcontractor spends that coin. This routinely results in a smaller fraction of federal dollars going to the subcontractors. And, when the subcontractor does get to spend money, it is usually directed to spend that money with Black-targeted media and not with Black-owned media. Successful Blackness businesses hire and promote Black Americans at a much higher charge per unit than other businesses. They are, consequently, the key to building successful Black communities.

Therefore, nosotros ask that you straight all federal agencies to investigate the process by which they grant advertisement contracts, and how they oversee those contracts after they are granted. While nosotros capeesh your dedication to embedding equity principles across the authorities, we believe you should go farther. By reinstating President Clinton's Executive Society 13170 which ensured "non-discrimination in Federal procurement opportunities for businesses in the Small Disadvantaged Business Programme (SDBs), businesses in the Business organisation Development program of the Pocket-size Business organization Administration and Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs)," and took "affirmative action to ensure inclusion of these businesses in federal contracting," diversity in federal contracts could be achieved. This executive lodge was revoked under President Bush, then reinstated nether President Obama, and revoked again under President Trump. Reinstating this executive lodge would be a step toward truthful economical equality for Black-owned media and advertising businesses.

Additionally, we request the numbers and values of contracts funded by COVID-19 response legislation, including the American Rescue Plan and CARES Deed, that were awarded to white-endemic media and advertising firms, that were awarded to Black-owned firms directly, that were awarded to white-endemic firms that were to be subcontracted to Black-owned firms, and that were in fact subcontracted to Blackness-owned firms.

In 2016, Congress requested the Regime Accountability Office to do a study equally to how much Black-owned media was receiving in federal advertisement. The GAO establish that, over a five-year period, the federal government spent more than $5 billion on advertising, and Black-owned businesses received only $51 million, or ane.02 pct.

Black-owned media companies – touching the lives of millions of African Americans everyday – are pillars of their communities. Coast to coast, they are the nearly trusted sources for news and information in Black communities. For those media companies to successfully provide service to their communities, they must receive a fair share of the federal advertising dollars used to educate and inform our communities.

It is imperative that the persons with ultimate authority over the expenditure of federal advertising funds be made enlightened of the of import and valuable human relationship that Black-owned media have with the Blackness customs, and to utilize that human relationship to the maximum extent possible in all federal advertising programs.

We look forward to your timely response. Give thanks you.

Sincerely, Congressman Hank Johnson & Members of Congress