Norton Introduces Bill to Require Federal Agencies to Report on Advertising with Minority and Women-owned Media

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a bill that requires federal agencies to include in their annual budget justifications the amount they spent on advertising contracts with small, disadvantaged businesses and businesses owned by women and minorities in the previous fiscal year, as well as projections of their spending for the upcoming fiscal year. Earlier this month Norton co-led a letter to President Biden with Reps. Hank Johnson (D-GA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Val Demings (D-FL) seeking answers about the inequity in federal advertising contracts awarded to media and advertising agencies owned by women and minorities as compared to the rest of the industry. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study found that over a five-year period, the federal government spent more than $5 billion on advertising but Black-owned businesses received only $51 million, or 1.02 percent of those funds.

"As the largest advertiser in the United States, the federal government has an obligation to ensure fair access for minority and women-owned media companies," Norton said. "My bill would ensure that federal agencies are striving to reach minorities and women, who often get their news from outlets that serve more specific communities."

In 2016, Norton led Members of Congress in requesting a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on their advertising contracts. The GAO report, released in July 2018, showed that in fiscal year 2017, only 16 percent of the federal government's advertising contract obligations went to businesses owned by minorities and women. The bill is cosponsored by Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Gwen Moore (D-WI).

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