President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The executive order is aimed at rooting out systemic racism from the federal government and doing more to achieve racial equity.
The order, made in the middle of Black History month, extends an order Biden made on his first day in office requiring federal agencies to investigate inequities within their departments and to address shortcomings proactively. That is now an annual requirement.
The aim is to deliver “equitable outcomes” for all Americans, including underserved communities, through government policies, programs, and services.
The order also requires federal agencies to establish “equity teams,” with a designated senior leader charged with implementing the administration’s equity goals and “delivering equitable outcomes, to the extent consistent with applicable law.” And it requires the establishment of a new White House steering committee on equity to “coordinate Government-wide efforts to advance equity.”
In a recent White House Convening on Equity, U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. President & CEO Ron Busby Sr. discussed President Biden’s Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.
During this convening, Busby and other featured speakers discussed how to move forward with Biden’s new equity plan to create contracting opportunities for Black businesses that are fair and equitable. Busby’s focus was particularly on section seven of the executive order as well as his call to action to ensure that Black firms are going to directly benefit from the executive order and for more data transparency into federal contracting outcomes moving forward.
Section 7. Executive Order # 14091
Sec. 7. Advancing Equitable Procurement. (a) The Government-wide goal for Federal procurement dollars awarded to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (SDBs) shall be 15 percent in Fiscal Year 2025. In furtherance of this goal, OMB shall set a Government-wide SDB goal for Fiscal Year 2024. The Small Business Administration shall, on an annual basis, work with each agency to establish an agency-specific goal that, in aggregate, supports the Government-wide goal. Further, agencies shall undertake efforts to increase contracting opportunities for all other small business concerns as described in the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. ch. 14A)
“The US Black Chambers (USBC) applauds the Biden-Harris Administration’s plans to reform the federal contracting space and increase racial equity in a way that benefits Black-owned businesses.” said Busby, USBC President & CEO. “We are pleased to see that the administration has taken steps to increase small Black firms’ share of the federal marketplace, but we need more transparency into how this is actually happening. We need to see the data on who is getting contracts and for what amounts, so we can be sure that these efforts are actually working.”
The executive order and the intentionality to increase federal contracting opportunities with Black businesses is a step in the right direction to help address the wealth gap in America.
The executive order also requires federal agencies to be mindful of the impact of “emerging threats, ” including “algorithmic discrimination in automated technology.”
The goal is “to put equity at the center of how this government operates,” Chiraag Bains, Biden’s deputy assistant for racial justice and equity, told the Associated Press.
In announcing the order, Biden wrote that his administration has vigorously championed racial equity and “embedded a focus on equity into the fabric” of federal policymaking and services, leading to “better decision-making and more equitable outcomes.” But, he added, members of underserved communities still face significant barriers “to realizing the full promise of our great Nation, and the Federal Government has a responsibility to remove these barriers.”
“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,” Biden wrote in the order.
Click Here: 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/
Derrick Johnson, head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, applauded the announcement as well.
“President Biden today is taking yet another step to advance racial equity, by signing a new executive order which will invest in underserved communities, address emerging civil rights risks, and improve economic opportunities in rural and urban communities. This is a big deal,” said Johnson.
*ABOUT U.S. BLACK CHAMBERS, INC.
The U.S. Black Chambers (USBC) is the voice of Black business owners and a top advocate for resources and policies that impact Black business owners. To learn more visit: usblackchambers.org.
