End racial discrimination in the federal government

OPINION:

The promise of America was declared on July 4, 1776, with these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We have been on the path toward a more perfect nation for nearly 250 years.

Eventually, the states ratified a Constitution for the new United States of America. Though imperfect, it set the framework for our republic and established a process, albeit difficult, to amend the document.

Over the years, several important improvements were made, including the abolition of slavery and the granting of the right to vote to women. Each of these amendments was a further step toward meeting the promise made in the Declaration of Independence.

It is incumbent on our free society to protect fundamental rights and ensure equal opportunity for all Americans. Equality, however, is different from equity. The founding document of our republic says we are all equal.

With that in mind, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and the Center for Individual Rights are filing a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of Young America’s Foundation and Revier Technologies Inc., to ensure that all Americans are treated equally. This legal action targets the regulation that gives federal government officials jurisdiction over race-based and unconstitutional diversity, equity and inclusion practices in many government programs.

Over the years, numerous governmental agencies have employed the term “socially disadvantaged individuals” to identify which Americans are eligible for federal programs, including taxpayer-funded grants, fellowships, loans and employment opportunities. The lawsuit contends that these actions are unconstitutional.

The complaint spells out how the Small Business Act “directs the Small Business Administration to fulfill government contracts using small businesses owned and controlled by ‘socially disadvantaged individuals.’ To implement this statute, the SBA issued a rule creating a presumption that members of certain races are ‘socially disadvantaged.’ For example, the SBA Regulation presumes that all ‘Asian Pacific Americans,’ ‘Subcontinent Asian Americans,’ ‘Hispanic Americans,’ and ‘Black Americans,’ among other categories, are socially disadvantaged, merely because of their race or ethnicity.”

We believe that all American citizens should be treated equally under the law.

The complaint further notes that the DEI language used by the SBA has also been used by other federal agencies, “imposing racial discrimination on small business owners, college students, and, indeed, countless Americans, in their dealings with an array of federally administered programs.”

The negative impact of the race-based discrimination is spelled out in the lawsuit: “Plaintiff Young America’s Foundation is a nationwide conservative student organization with members at more than 1,000 colleges. A number of those students are eligible for a competitive cybersecurity fellowship offered by the Department of Homeland Security, but because their race is not presumed ‘socially disadvantaged,’ as defined by the SBA Regulation, they cannot apply for the fellowship on an equal footing.”

It is time to end racial discrimination in the federal government. Our lawsuit further notes: “The federal government’s pervasive use of race as a proxy for determining who is ‘socially disadvantaged’ — and therefore who receives contracts, grants, loans, investment capital, opportunities, and other benefits — is unconstitutional and it must be stopped.”

Earlier this year, the solicitor general of the United States notified Congress that the Justice Department “will no longer defend the constitutionality of” the Department of Transportation’s nearly identical disadvantaged business enterprise program regulation creating “race- and sex-based presumptions” of disadvantage because it “has determined that the USDOT DBE program is unconstitutional to the extent that it creates a presumption of social or economic disadvantage based on race or sex.”

The Department of Transportation’s language even references the SBA in its implementing regulation. This is a strong sign that our lawsuit will be successful.

The bottom line is that there should be no discrimination based on race or sex. For too long, liberals have tried to divide Americans based on race or sex. These divisive policies are unconstitutional.

We are grateful to the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and the Center for Individual Rights for filing this lawsuit on behalf of Young America’s Foundation and Revier Technologies Inc. We must continue to fight on behalf of all students to ensure their God-given, constitutionally protected right to equal treatment under the law. Now is the right time to act as we near the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

• Scott Walker is president of Young America’s Foundation. He served as the 45th governor of Wisconsin.