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Biden-Harris Administration Releases Annual Agency Equity Action Plans to Further Advance Racial Equity
The Biden-Harris Administration released a new White House Progress Report on Equity, which highlights examples of the more than 650 actions agencies have undertaken since the release of their 2022 Equity Action Plans.
“Since day one of our Administration, President Biden and I have been fully committed to ensuring that every person in America has equitable access to opportunity and the ability to thrive,” said Vice President Kamala Harris. “As we mark the one-year anniversary of the second equity Executive Order, we celebrate the hundreds of government-wide equity accomplishments and recommit to addressing the barriers that remain.
Addressing Inequity in Economic Opportunity
Improving Financial Health of Underserved Businesses and Communities. Families build wealth by starting small businesses, yet many entrepreneurs who are veterans, women, or people of color still face discrimination by U.S. banks, are charged higher interest costs, and experience difficulties when trying to obtain the fair and affordable financing options needed to grow their businesses.
Ending Gender-based Workforce Discrimination.
The Department of Labor (DOL) will implement Good Jobs Principles aimed at improving wages in female dominated sectors and administer the Fostering Access, Rights, and Equity grant program for women impacted by gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace.
Addressing Inequity in Housing and Community Investment
Ending Discrimination in Home Appraisals. To combat property appraisal bias, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the PAVE Initiative.
Expanding Safe, Accessible, Affordable Transportation. The Department of Transportation (DOT) estimates that at least 1 million people and businesses were displaced by decades of harmful urban renewal projects and legacy policy decisions in the buildout of the Federal highway system.
Addressing Inequity in Health
Making Childbirth and the Postpartum Period Safer. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will improve maternal health outcomes to combat the maternal health crisis which disproportionally impacts Black women, Native women, and women in rural communities by addressing gaps in insurance coverage and disparities in the birthing care infrastructure.
Combatting Child Food Insecurity.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) will help close the summer hunger gap for children eligible for free and reduced-price school meals by implementing new summer nutrition options, including to-go or home-delivered summer meals in certain rural communities and a summer grocery benefit for children known as Summer EBT.
Addressing Inequity through Environmental and Climate Justice
Tackling Environmental Injustice. For far too long, communities across our country – including many communities of color, Tribal communities, low-income communities, and people experiencing persistent poverty – have faced environmental injustices, such as bearing the brunt of toxic pollution, enduring underinvestment in infrastructure and critical services, and suffering disproportionate impacts from climate change.
Delivering on the Justice40 Initiative and Reducing Pollution.
President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative set a goal to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean air, clean water, and other federal investments to disadvantaged communities that have historically been left behind or overlooked.
Reforming Disaster Assistance Program to Help Survivors Recover Faster.
To improve the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individual Assistance program to advance equity, FEMA will simplify processes, remove barriers, and increase eligibility to reach more disaster survivors.
Ensuring Contracting Opportunities for Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs). The Department of Treasury awarded $1.2 billion in FY 2023 to SDBs, representing almost 12% of Treasury’s contract dollars. In addition, Treasury awarded over $2 billion to Women-Owned Businesses and Minority-Owned Businesses of all sizes. These steps further President Biden’s goal of ensuring 15% of federal contracts go to SDBs by 2025.
Expanding Mental Health Support Services for Students. The Department of Education funded 264 grants with $1 billion in Bipartisan Safer Communities Act funds to more than 40 states to increase the supply of school-based mental health professionals under the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant and the Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration (MHSPD) Grant Program.
Expanding Care for Women Veterans.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has expanded breast cancer screenings and mammograms for veterans with potential toxic exposures and supported access to reproductive health services for veterans and VA beneficiaries.
Expanding Language Access.
In May 2022, the Department of Justice hired its first-ever Language Access Coordinator and has reestablished the Language Access Working Group, which is comprised of representatives from various DOJ components, and meets regularly to provide a platform to support, guide, and oversee components’ efforts to increase meaningful access so that communities can better access DOJ programs, communicate public safety concerns, and vindicate their rights.
. Additionally, the General Services Administration also worked to expand access to voter registration information in communities that face voter participation difficulties due to language barriers. Vote.gov added several Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander languages including: Bengali, Khmer, Korean, Hindi, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, with Chinese (both simplified and traditional) and its first Alaska Native language, Yup’ik-Akuzipik. Vote.gov is also accessible in Arabic, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Navajo, Portuguese, and Russian languages.
Fostering Community Development in Rural and Tribal Communities. The Department of the Interior’s (DOI) made $725 million in FY 2023 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Abandoned Mine Land grants available to eligible states and the Navajo Nation. The funding will provide good-paying jobs to coal communities and, at the same time, return legacy coal sites to productive uses, fostering community and economic development.
Using Rental Payment History to Advance Home Ownership.
HUD has taken additional steps through the Office of Single-Family Housing (SFH) to support wealth-generation activities for prospective and current homeowners. Specifically, SFH expanded access to credit by incorporating a borrower’s positive rental payment history into the mortgage underwriting process.
