{"id":2577841,"date":"2026-03-09T16:23:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-passes-bill-requiring-state-agencies-to-discriminate-against-white-men\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:27:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:27:45","slug":"virginia-passes-bill-requiring-state-agencies-to-discriminate-against-white-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-passes-bill-requiring-state-agencies-to-discriminate-against-white-men\/","title":{"rendered":"VA Passes Bill Requiring State To Discriminate Against White Men"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvirginia-passes-bill-requiring-state-agencies-to-discriminate-against-white-men%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2577841&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democrats in Virginia advanced a bill that would create a Small swam Procurement Enhancement Program, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alabama-governor-orders-state-agencies-to-defy-vaccine-mandates\/\" title=\"Alabama Governor Orders State ... To Defy Vaccine Mandates\">directing state agencies<\/a> to increase contracting opportunities for small women-owned, small minority-owned, and small service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. The measure sets a target that 42 percent of discretionary spending on procurement orders,prime contracts,and subcontracts go to small SWaM firms,with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-say-overhaul-needed-to-protect-fed-agencies-from-foreign-hacks\/\" title=\"Lawmakers Say Overhaul Needed to Protect Fed ... from Foreign Hacks\">executive branch agencies<\/a> required to raise thier SWaM utilization by 3 percent annually until the target is met or until achievable goals are in place. Purchases between $10,000 and $200,000 would be set aside for award to small SWaM businesses,with the threshold raised from $100,000 in the original bill. A prior provision allowing white men to compete if few SWaMs were available was removed. Critics say the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >policy coudl effectively exclude white male-owned businesses<\/a> given the large share of procurements at or below $100,000, while proponents argue the DEI-focused approach is needed. The bill also permits up to 5 percent more spending on contracts to support DEI objectives and calls for a disparity study every five years to evaluate the availability and utilization of women-owned and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/small-business-owners-slam-mlb-commish-for-moving-all-star-game\/\" title=\"Small-Business Owners Slam MLB Commish for Moving All-Star Game\">minority-owned businesses<\/a>.Despite boilerplate non-discrimination language, proponents view the measure as a step toward increasing diversity, and the bill passed the Senate and House largely along party lines and awaits the governor\u2019s signature.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ziFB2vRFlZc\">ABC News \/ YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/09\/virginia-passes-bill-requiring-state-agencies-to-discriminate-against-white-men\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Virginia%20Passes%20Bill%20Requiring%20State%20Agencies%20To%20Discriminate%20Against%20White%20Men&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/09\/virginia-passes-bill-requiring-state-agencies-to-discriminate-against-white-men\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Virginia%20Passes%20Bill%20Requiring%20State%20Agencies%20To%20Discriminate%20Against%20White%20Men&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/09\/virginia-passes-bill-requiring-state-agencies-to-discriminate-against-white-men\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/09\/virginia-passes-bill-requiring-state-agencies-to-discriminate-against-white-men\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Virginia%20Passes%20Bill%20Requiring%20State%20Agencies%20To%20Discriminate%20Against%20White%20Men&amp;body=The%20bill%20passed%20the%20Senate%2021-19%20and%20the%20House%2062-36,%20almost%20entirely%20along%20party%20lines.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/09\/virginia-passes-bill-requiring-state-agencies-to-discriminate-against-white-men\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Democrats in Virginia passed a bill Friday that directs state agencies to discriminate against businesses owned by white men when considering which companies receive discretionary government contracts under $200,000.<\/p>\n<p>The bill, introduced by Democrat Del. Jeion Ward, establishes the &ldquo;Small SWaM Business Procurement Enhancement Program.&rdquo; (SWaM stands for &ldquo;small women-owned, small minority-owned, or small service disabled veteran-owned&rdquo;). The measure sets a race or sex quota for such businesses to receive 42 percent of the state&rsquo;s discretionary spending on &ldquo;procurement orders, prime contracts, and subcontracts.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1914200599\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;The bill provides that executive branch agencies and covered institutions are required to increase their small SWaM business utilization rates by three percent per year until reaching the 42-percent target or, if unable to do so, to implement achievable goals to increase their utilization rates,&rdquo; a summary <a href=\"https:\/\/lis.virginia.gov\/bill-details\/20261\/HB61\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">states<\/a>. The legislative text dictates that &ldquo;purchases between $10,000 and $200,000 shall be set aside for award to small SWaM businesses.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>According to the bill, if agencies are unable to increase their use of such businesses by 3 percent per year, they will need to develop an improvement plan in order to get it to start phasing out businesses owned by able-bodied white males from their current discretionary contracting.<\/p>\n<p>The $200,000 price point is actually an increase from the bill&rsquo;s original threshold, which was set at $100,000. The original bill was also marginally less radical, as it included a clause allowing white men to compete in the contract bids, so long as &ldquo;fewer than two certified small SWaM businesses are available for competition&rdquo; or &ldquo;where bids or offers do not result in a fair and reasonable price.&rdquo; But that clause was removed in the final version of the bill.<\/p>\n<p>Whether the threshold is $100,000 or $200,000, the purchases may appear small relative to the size of the government budget. As of November 2015, however, <a href=\"https:\/\/facilities.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/eVA-Benefits-Savings.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">about 80 percent<\/a> of all Virginia government procurement purchases were at or below the $100,000 threshold, meaning increasing it to $200,000 and requiring that those purchases not be made from white males could effectively shut out huge swaths of business for white male-owned enterprises.<\/p>\n<p>Government agencies are also allowed to spend up to 5 percent more on contracts for adhering to the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideology behind the bill. In other words, even if white male-owned businesses can give a more competitive offer, they can still get shut out based on their race and sex alone.<\/p>\n<p>In order to get a grasp on how much racial rigging state agencies need to participate in, the bill orders the director of the &ldquo;Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity&rdquo; &mdash; someone named Willis Morris &mdash; to conduct a &ldquo;disparity study&rdquo; every five years.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The study shall evaluate the need for enhancement and remedial measures to address the disparity between the availability and the utilization of women-owned and minority-owned businesses,&rdquo; the bill states. The department will then evidently use the study to make recommendations on how to reduce the number of white males getting government contracts.<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, the bill has a Disclaimer at the bottom stating, &ldquo;In the solicitation or awarding of contracts, no public body shall discriminate against a bidder or offeror because of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, status as a service disabled veteran, status as a military family, or any other basis prohibited by state law relating to discrimination in employment,&rdquo; which directly contradicts the rest of the bill.<\/p>\n<p>It is possible, however, that boilerplate language was put in so as to throw off a legal challenge, which is sure to arise as a result of the bill&rsquo;s discriminatory policies.<\/p>\n<p>The bill passed the Senate 21-19 and the House 62-36, almost entirely along <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/VA\/rollcall\/HB61\/id\/1656301\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">party<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/VA\/rollcall\/HB61\/id\/1654180\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lines<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It will now head to the desk of Gov. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., who has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/abigail-spanberger\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">continued<\/a> to prove herself a far-left radical, despite running as a moderate.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/abigail-spanberger\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Abigail Spanberger<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/anti-white\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Anti-White<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dei\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">DEI<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/discrimination\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">discrimination<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/government-contractors\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">government contractors<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/government-contracts\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">government contracts<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/government-spending\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Government Spending<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/racial-animosity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">racial animosity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/racism\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">racism<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/small-business\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">small business<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/virginia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Virginia<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Va. bill targets white-male firms for small contracts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2577842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-135207.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[73160,5102,4762,74145],"class_list":["post-2577841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-civil-rights-2","tag-discrimination","tag-legislation","tag-virginia-politics-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-135207.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2577841"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2577845,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577841\/revisions\/2577845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2577842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2577841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2577841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2577841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}