Biden executive order seeks to strengthen federal racial equity, anti-poverty efforts

Feb. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. President Joe Biden Thursday signed a new executive order to strengthen racial equity and support for underserved communities.

The White House said the order will build on a similar measure implemented by Biden when he came into office to further efforts to ensure that federal programs and agencies "are serving the American people in an equitable and just manner and supporting communities that have been locked out of opportunity."

"Advancing equity is not a one-year project," the White House noted Biden has said. "It's a generational commitment."

The order directs government federal agencies to produce an annual "public Equity Action Plan" that aims to assess the barriers that prevent underserved communities from benefiting from each agency's "policies, programs and activities."

It also builds on the original order by strengthening requirements for agencies to build and provide resources for "Agency Equity Teams" that aim to ensure equity for those "wo face overlapping discrimination and bias."

The order directs the Office of Management and Budget to support the company's equity plans through Biden's Congressional budget requests and formalizes his goal to award 50% of federal contracting dollars to small disadvantaged businesses as well as directing agencies to "spur economic growth in rural areas and advance more equitable urban development."

Further, the order directs agencies to place a focus on emerging civil rights risks like algorithmic discrimination in automated technology while improving accessibility for people with disabilities; improve language access services; and consider opportunities to bolster the capacity of their civil rights offices, in better collecting analyzing and using demographic data to advance equity.