Hispanic Construction Council Releases Second National Study: Federal DBE Program Suspension Has Blocked $40 Billion in Annual Contracts for 53,500 Certified Firms

The study finds that the IFR, which eliminated the group-based presumptive eligibility standard for all six covered groups in the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, has effectively suspended a federal contracting pipeline that channeled approximately $40 billion annually to approximately 53,500 certified firms. Every certified firm is required to complete individual reevaluation before any DBE goal can be set or counted on a new federal transportation contract. No national completion deadline has been established. On March 31, 2026, the court case that catalyzed the administrative action was declared moot, closing the litigation reversal pathway and confirming that only Congress can restore access.

“Hispanic workers are 34 percent of the U.S. construction labor force. The construction sector has the highest concentration of Hispanic-owned businesses of any industry in America. Those firms were already navigating documented structural barriers before October 2025. The DBE program did not solve those barriers, but it created a partial access path to federal transportation contracts. That path has been suspended with no timeline and now no judicial remedy. The contractors, workforces, and families depending on those contracts do not have years to wait for a legislative solution. They need one now.”

— George Carrillo, CEO, Hispanic Construction Council

Key Findings

Policy Recommendations

The Shut Outstudy identifies three specific actions that would restore access without reversing the IFR's core requirements:

1. 1

   Establish a statutory reevaluation deadline and interim relief.

   Congress should require state UCPs to complete reevaluation within 12 months of the rule's effective date. For firms with ten or more years of DBE certification and no fraud findings, Congress should authorize interim participation at reduced goal levels pending completion.

2. 2

   Activate race-neutral small business participation programs.

   Federal highway and transit agencies should issue guidance directing state recipients to deploy available race-neutral small business participation mechanisms during the reevaluation period. Many states suspended all small business participation goals in October 2025; race-neutral tools were not activated as alternatives.

3. 3

   Require monthly public reporting on reevaluation progress.

   No federal data source currently tracks reevaluation completion rates by state, by owner demographics, or by firm revenue band. The DOT should establish and publish this data monthly, providing public accountability for a process that currently has no external check on its pace.

About the Study

Shut Outis the second report in HCC's annual national research series, which publishes six studies per year on the state of Hispanic contractors and the construction workforce. The study draws on federal regulatory documents, independent legal analysis, state DOT records, and HCC primary research, including cross-reference data from HCC's first national study, The Capacity Gap (April 2026).

About the Hispanic Construction Council

The Hispanic Construction Council is a national research and policy organization representing Hispanic contractors, construction workers, and the communities they build. HCC publishes primary research on the Hispanic construction workforce, tracks federal and state contracting policy, and advocates for the policy conditions that allow Hispanic-owned construction firms to participate fully in public works. HCC is headquartered in Chicago.