Rep. Payne, Jr. Tours New Jersey Minority and Women-Owned Rail Facility         

Washington, D.C. — Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr., Chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, toured a rail facility recently to promote his actions to create more opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses.  Strategic Rail Solutions, a certified minority and women-owned business, is a rail transloading company located in North Bergen, NJ with an exclusive transload agreement with the with the New York Susquehanna & Western Railway Corporation that operates over 400 miles of track in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.   Rep. Payne, Jr. visited the facility as part of his work as Chairman of the Rail Subcommittee to establish a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program within the Federal Railroad Administration.  A DBE program sets participation goals for minority and women-owned businesses in federal projects.

“I wanted to tour this facility to show that minority and women-owned businesses deserve to be allowed to compete for federal contracts fairly,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr.  “The new $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is going to create incredible projects to repair roads, bridges and passenger rail systems nationwide.  In addition, it will help us build the Hudson River Tunnel for the Gateway Program.  We must not let a lack of access to federal contracts deny minority and women-owned businesses the right to participate in these infrastructure projects.  As Chairman of the Rail Subcommittee, I will continue to work to make the process of awarding federal transportation contracts more equitable and transparent for all American businesses.”