WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he’ll reinstate an Obama-era pilot program that aims to aid minority and disadvantaged groups by ensuring local hiring for public works construction projects. Buttigieg made the announcement Wednesday at Washington’s Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. He reverses a 2017 decision by the Trump administration to halt the program. The Transportation Department’s four-year pilot initiative will let state and local agencies receiving federal transit or highway money impose local hiring preferences, like those favoring veterans, minorities and low-income workers. Supporters say it’ll revitalize regional economies by giving local residents new ways to access well-paying jobs. The Associated General Contractors of America opposes the program.
