Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled the Biden administration's plans to increase economic equity through a new loan program designed to help minority-owned businesses on Tuesday.
Harris spoke at the Freedman's Bank Forum on Tuesday, praises the progress of the U.S. economy since President Joe Biden took office, but said that the administration is seeking the help of the private sector in promoting more equitable and inclusive growth.
The U.S. Treasury will be making a $8.7 billion injection into the Emergency Capital Investment Program ECIP, which was established under the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill passed earlier this year.
Harris said at the forum that we must be intentional. When we unlock the economic power of every community in America, there is nothing we can't achieve in America. The ECIP program allows the agency to make direct investments in banks and other financial institutions that will serve these businesses in their communities, according to a statement by the Treasury Department. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that this investment was important in order to promote equitable growth after the COVID -- 19 epidemic.
The communities hurt most by COVID 19 have often been communities of color, and the Treasury has implemented relief legislation with equity in mind, said Yellen.
Today, we are seeing a result of that effort: the Treasury, through the Emergency Capital Investment Program, is injecting nearly $9 billion into Community Development Financial Institutions and Minority Depository Institutions. The Treasury Department said that the states with the highest number of institutions that will be offered ECIP investments are concentrated in Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, California and Texas, but apply to 36 states in total. The funds will be allocated in amounts smaller than $100,000 to over $200 million for eligible recipients.
The Biden administration has made building a more equitable economy a priority as part of his Build Back Better agenda. From his first day in office, Biden has put in place executive orders to advance the cause and target racial inequalities in healthcare, housing and access to credit.