The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) DBE Program seeks to ensure nondiscrimination in the award and administration of DOT-assisted contracts in the Department’s highway, transit, and airport financial assistance programs and to create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete fairly for DOT-assisted contracts. The FTA Office of Civil Rights is responsible for monitoring FTA recipients’ DBE programs and ensuring their compliance with DOT’s DBE regulations found at 49 CFR Part 26.
The following video provides a good overview of the program.