Ernst leads Republican effort to scrap DEI rules as Sept 30 deadline looms

Republicans on the Small Business Committees face a deadline to scrap Biden-era rules requiring 10% of federal contract resources go to DEI, even as the USDOT warns Maryland over its handling of Francis Scott Key Bridge contracts.

In Congress, the SBIR and STTR programs – dubbed “America’s seed fund(s)” – help small businesses apply for grants across federal agencies, in commercial and technology sectors, respectively.

Ahead of the September 30th reauthorization deadline for both key programs, Sen. Joni Ernst, chair of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, expressed urgency to cut out DEI requirements.

Ernst, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital her INNOVATE Act – for which Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, also drafted a version earlier this summer – would replace any reauthorization legislation, and remove requirements for DEI considerations and direct grants based on merit, not politics.

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Ernst also highlighted some of what she considered the more wasteful grants awarded under the current rubric – including a $1.4 million NIH appropriation for what was entitled a “Mobile App Promoting Sexual Health for Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men.”

Another health care-related grant she lambasted offered $283,526 for Evidence-Based Parent Training for Diverse Families – citing LGBTQ+ people whose “relationships do not fit within heterosexual…norms [and] are increasingly having children or considering” so. The Pentagon and other agencies had similar such grants approved under previous administrations, according to a source familiar.

With less than a week before the program sunsets unless Congress acts, a source familiar with the talks said many Republicans back Ernst’s push to block such spending and grant rules but acknowledge the math is against them with Democrats united in opposition.

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Williams has favored a one-year extension of the current SBIR/STTR program with the clock winding down – giving time to focus on promptly reforming it without being under the gun — but offered a ringing endorsement of both chambers’ similar legislation.

“I want to thank Senator Ernst for her partnership when introducing the House version of her INNOVATE Act in July, and remain in lockstep with her on ensuring contracts are awarded based on merit, not DEI,” Williams told Fox News Digital.

“We must ensure there is no lapse in funding for current, deserving SBIR/STTR participants before the September 30th deadline.”

Meanwhile, across the Anacostia River from the Capitol, Maryland lawmakers got an earful from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy after he learned of that state’s own rubric for similar contracts.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore faces the daunting task of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge on the Baltimore Beltway after a freighter struck and destroyed it in 2024 – but the Trump administration cried foul at the way Annapolis purportedly is considering who will do the job.

Duffy wrote to Moore on Thursday thanking him for working with USDOT on the project but expressed concern that Annapolis may “intend to award contracts for the FSK Bridge project in a manner that relies on race and sex of contractors.”

He warned the governor of the potential legal ramifications of doing so, citing the Civil Rights Act.

On the day it collapsed, then-President Joe Biden separately promised the federal government would cover the entire estimated $1.8 billion cost to make Interstate 695 a full circle oncemore, while Duffy instead referenced the state – as the MDTA controlled the FSK Bridge when it collapsed.

When asked about the letter, Moore provided Fox News Digital with a public response to Duffy:

“We will continue to work with the Trump Administration to find ways to reduce costs and rebuild faster,” Moore said, in part. “We anticipate the price estimation process to be finalized in the coming months, and we will provide regular updates from the Maryland Department of Transportation about the project’s status.”

Moore has repeatedly highlighted progress MDTA has made on the bridge, telling President Donald Trump in an exchange captured by Fox Nation at the U.S. Naval Academy – just down the street from the State House — that “we will have it done in [20]28.”

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“In the meantime, we will continue to pursue litigation and make substantial financial contributions by way of advance construction costs and insurance settlement dollars to keep the project moving.”

Moore – who announced last week he would seek re-election instead of a potential 2028 Democratic bid – added the safety of the new FSK Bridge and “sound stewardship” of Marylanders’ tax dollars are paramount to both the Port of Baltimore and people across the country.