Federal officials who oversee economic stimulus spendingwill review how the state transportation department is spending it.
The review comes as a response to a complaint filed by TheMissouri Chapter of the NAACP against MoDOT. The NAACP claims MoDOThasn’t awarded enough contracts to minority firms, a violation offederal guidelines.
MoDOT denies the charge. Lester Woods, Director ofExternal Civil Rights Division for MoDOT, says the department welcomesthe scrutiny.
He says St. Louis Congressman Lacy Clay, who is black, haspraised MoDOT’s use of stimulus funds as a model for the rest of thenation. And he says Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Ray LaHood, has also praised MoDOT for its use of stimulus funds for disadvantaged business enterprise programs. DBEs comprise business owned and run by minorities, women and the disabled.