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. 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 Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Henry C. "Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA) and Barbara Lee (D-CA).
Norton’s introductory statement for the bill follows.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the Introduction of the Federal Government Advertising Equity Accountability Act
November 21, 2023
Today, I introduce the Federal Government Advertising Equity Accountability Act, which would require all federal agencies to include in their annual budget requests to Congress the amount they spend on advertising contracts with small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) and businesses owned by minorities and women. Federal agencies would be required to provide prior and projected total expenditures for such contracts. At my request, the Committee on Appropriations has been requiring such information from many agencies for the last several years, but this bill would codify this requirement and apply it to all federal agencies.
In 2007, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined spending on advertising contracts with minority-owned businesses by five agencies—the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration—and found that only five percent of the $4.3 billion available for advertising contracts went to minority businesses. In light of these concerning findings, several Members of Congress and I sent letters to GAO in April 2016 and June 2022 requesting updated information on the amount of federal advertising dollars spent with SDBs and businesses owned by minorities and women. A 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 SDBs and businesses owned by minorities and women. GAO agreed last year to issue an updated report.
The federal government is the largest advertiser in the United States, and it has an obligation to ensure equitable access to its contracts for SDBs and businesses owned by minorities and women. The GAO’s findings demonstrate that there is still much progress to be made.
The regular collection of information on federal advertising contracts with SDBs and businesses owned by women and minorities is essential to bridging the gap between what current statistics show and a more inclusive advertising landscape. This bill would help achieve this goal while also promoting transparency and encouraging federal agencies to strive to reach minorities, who often receive the news from smaller media outlets that serve communities of color. The requirement that agencies submit prior and projected information on the amount of advertising dollars spent with SDBs and businesses owned by minorities and women would allow federal agencies to evaluate their progress. The regular collection of this information would also demonstrate that the promotion of equity in advertising, and in all areas of government, is a continuous effort and is important to the mission of every agency.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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