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https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/02/16/executive-order-on-further-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Executive Order
on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities
Through The Federal Government
By the
authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. On my first day in office, I signed Executive Order
13985 of January 20, 2021 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for
Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government), which charged the
Federal Government with advancing equity for all, including communities that
have long been underserved, and addressing systemic racism in our Nation’s
policies and programs.By advancing equity, the Federal Government can support
and empower all Americans, including the many communities in America that
have been underserved, discriminated against, and adversely affected by
persistent poverty and inequality. We can also deliver resources and
benefits equitably to the people of the United States and rebuild trust in
Government.
Over the past 2 years,
through landmark legislation — including the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
(Public Law 117‑2); the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act (Public Law 117-58) (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law); division A of Public
Law 117-167, known as the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce
Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act of 2022; Public Law 117-169, commonly referred to
as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; and the Bipartisan Safer Communities
Act (Public Law 117-159) — as well as executive action, my Administration
has vigorously championed racial equity and has advanced equal opportunity
for underserved communities. Executive departments and agencies
(agencies) have engaged in historic work assessing how their policies and
programs perpetuate barriers for underserved communities and developing
strategies for removing those barriers. They have made important
progress incorporating an evidence-based approach to equitable policymaking
and implementation, and they have crafted new action plans to advance equity.
In short, my Administration has embedded a focus on equity into the
fabric of Federal policymaking and service delivery. Our work to
transform the way the Federal Government serves the American people has been
complemented by Executive Order 14035 of June 25, 2021 (Diversity, Equity,
Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce), which continues to
help ensure that my Administration — the most diverse in our Nation’s history
— reflects the growing diversity of the communities we serve.
My Administration’s
commitment to equity has produced better decision-making and more equitable
outcomes. We have delivered the most equitable economic recovery in
memory, and, driven by the expanded Child Tax Credit, we cut child poverty to
its lowest rate on record in 2021, including record low Black, Latino, Native
American, and rural child poverty. Under my Administration, the economy
has created nearly 11 million jobs, and we have brought down unemployment
nationwide — in particular for Black and Latino workers, for whom
unemployment rates are near 50-year lows. My Administration has
provided emergency rental assistance to help millions of families stay in
their homes, and we have prohibited Federal contractors from paying people
with disabilities subminimum wages. We are rebuilding roads and
bridges, replacing the Nation’s lead pipes to provide clean drinking water
for all, delivering access to affordable high-speed internet to Americans in
both rural and urban communities, investing in public transit, and reconnecting
communities previously cut off from economic opportunity by highways, rail
lines, or disinvestment. My Administration has provided funding to
improve accessibility for passengers with disabilities on rail systems and in
airports, expanded health coverage for millions of Americans, and expanded
home- and community-based services so more people with disabilities and older
adults can live independently. We have secured billions of dollars in
direct new investments for Tribal Nations and Native American communities and
have directed an increase in the share of Federal Government contract
spending awarded to small disadvantaged businesses. My Administration
has taken action to strengthen public safety, advance criminal justice
reform, correct our country’s failed approach to marijuana, protect civil
rights, and stand up against rising extremism and hate-fueled violence that
threaten the fabric of our democracy. We have taken historic steps to
advance full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and
intersex (LGBTQI+) Americans, including by ending the ban on transgender
service members in our military; prohibiting discrimination based on sexual
orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics across Federal
programs; and signing into law the Respect for Marriage Act (Public Law
117-228) to preserve protections for the rights of same-sex and interracial
couples. My Administration is also implementing the first-ever National
Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality to ensure that all people, regardless
of gender, have the opportunity to realize their full potential.
These transformative
achievements have advanced the work of building a more equitable Nation.
Yet, members of underserved communities — many of whom have endured generations
of discrimination and disinvestment — still confront significant barriers to
realizing the full promise of our great Nation, and the Federal Government
has a responsibility to remove these barriers. It is imperative to
reject the narrow, cramped view of American opportunity as a zero-sum game.
When any person or community is denied freedom, dignity, and
prosperity, our entire Nation is held back. But when we lift each other
up, we are all lifted up. Therefore, my Administration must take additional
action across the Federal Government — in collaboration with civil society,
the private sector, and State and local government — to continue the work
begun with Executive Order 13985 to combat discrimination and advance equal
opportunity, including by redressing unfair disparities and removing barriers
to Government programs and services. Achieving racial equity and
support for underserved communities is not a one-time project. It must
be a multi-generational commitment, and it must remain the responsibility of
agencies across the Federal Government. It therefore continues to be
the policy of my Administration to advance an ambitious, whole-of-government
approach to racial equity and support for underserved communities and to
continuously embed equity into all aspects of Federal decision-making.
This order builds upon
my previous equity-related Executive Orders by extending and strengthening
equity-advancing requirements for agencies, and it positions agencies to
deliver better outcomes for the American people. In doing so, the
Federal Government shall continue to pursue ambitious goals to build a
strong, fair, and inclusive workforce and economy; invest in communities
where Federal policies have historically impeded equal opportunity —
both rural and urban — in ways that mitigate economic displacement, expand
access to capital, preserve housing and neighborhood affordability, root out
discrimination in the housing market, and build community wealth; advance
equity in health, including mental and behavioral health and well-being;
deliver an equitable response to the COVID-19 pandemic; deliver environmental
justice and implement the Justice40 Initiative; build prosperity in rural
communities; ensure equitable procurement practices, including through small
disadvantaged businesses contracting and the Buy Indian Act (25 U.S.C.
47); pursue educational equity so that our Nation’s schools put every student
on a path to success; improve our Nation’s criminal justice system to end
unjust disparities, strengthen public safety, and ensure equal justice under
law; promote equity in science and root out bias in the design and use of new
technologies, such as artificial intelligence; protect the right to vote and
realize the promise of our Nation’s civil rights laws; and promote equity and
human rights around the world through our foreign policy and foreign
assistance. By redoubling our efforts, the Federal Government can help
bridge the gap between the world we see and the future we seek.
Sec. 2. Establishing
Equity-Focused Leadership Across the Federal Government. (a) Establishment of Agency Equity Teams.
The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of
Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,
the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of
Education, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the
Commissioner of Social Security, the Administrator of General Services, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of the
National Science Foundation, and the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management (agency heads) shall, within 30 days of the date of this order,
ensure that they have in place an Agency Equity Team within their respective
agencies to coordinate the implementation of equity initiatives and ensure
that their respective agencies are delivering equitable outcomes for the
American people.
READ MORE AT…………………https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/02/16/executive-order-on-further-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/
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