The following is an excerpt from the Corruption Chronicles.
A year after launching an extensive Equity Action Plan that gave around $2 billion to “small disadvantaged businesses,” the nation’s space agency wants to do more to advance racial equity and support underserved communities with the billions of dollars in grants and contracts it distributes annually.
To complete this important mission the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking input from the public on the barriers and challenges that prevent members of underserved communities from receiving funds.
The agency is explicitly “seeking for the public to provide specific feedback on the procurement, grant and cooperative agreement regulations, policies, practices, and processes that deter entities from pursuing opportunities for NASA procurements, grants, and cooperative agreements,” according to a recently published Federal Register announcement.
NASA will review the input and use the information to evaluate, implement, modify, expand, and streamline how it doles out money to “remove systemic inequitable barriers and challenges facing members of underserved communities,” the new Request for Information (RFI) document states.
NASA’s fiscal year 2023 budget is $32.35 billion and it plans to spend a big chunk, about one-third or $10.42 billion, on the type of awards it wants to give more minorities via thousands of grants and contracts.
As for the new public input venture, NASA provides a list of questions as guidance. The agency asks for additional Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) suggestions (besides its minority contract quota) to ensure grants include members of underserved communities.
It also wants ideas to investigate and ensure contractors are “diligently working to include members of underserved communities” and specifics on regulations, policies and practices that have prevented minorities from receiving awards.
To clarify certain terms, the space agency offers definitions in the new announcement. It describes equity as the consistent and systematic treatment of all individuals in a fair, just, and impartial manner, including individuals who belong to communities that often have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, Indigenous, Native American, other persons of color and LGBTQI+ persons.
Underserved communities are defined as populations and geographic communities that have been systematically denied the opportunity to participate fully in aspects of economic, social, and civic life.
Read more here.
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Another NASA Smoke Screen…
On the subject of Equity Action Plans – Why is the Camp LeJune Marine Base Poisoned Water Case being given so much attention, when the US Government’s exposure regarding mk/ultra victims exceeds all the poisoned water cases put together? Once again, the government is force feeding a bunch of BS, while legitimate torts and crimes are ignored. What a hopeless place this earth has become.
The two comments above-ditto that; and I might add: disenfranchising and marginalizing artists, creative thinkers, philosophers, and outliers have been a matter of the greatest global discrimination for many centuries. “Equity” is just a political money-laundering tool of the deep state. Next!
I thought that NASA was supposed to be in the space industry business NOT the community welfare business. Just remember that the monies that they want to spread around doesn’t belong to them, but to us. It is our tax dollars put to other uses.
NASA, stick to your charter and stay in the aerospace domain. Otherwise, Elon Musk will keep kicking your butt.
If NASA is so concerned with diversity, why are all of the mission commanders white males?