Today, Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo met virtually with racial and economic justice leaders to discuss the Treasury Department’s commitment to equitable implementation of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and ways to leverage Treasury programs to address systemic inequality. In his first outreach meeting since being confirmed last week, Deputy Secretary Adeyemo made clear that racial equity, both with respect to personnel and policies, is a priority of his and Secretary Yellen’s, and reiterated his commitment to an open dialogue with groups embedded in communities where the need for assistance is most acute. The group also discussed the wide range of programs Treasury is implementing through the ARP, including the delivery of Economic Impact Payments to more than 100 million Americans, housing assistance, state and local and Tribal assistance, and best practices to ensure delivery of resources makes it to those struggling because of the health and economic crises. Deputy Secretary Adeyemo was joined by Jacob Leibenluft, Counselor to the Secretary, and Mark Mazur, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, who solicited input from the meeting participants on all ARP programs and listened to ideas on how to implement public information campaigns to improve delivery of services and awareness of resources.
The groups represented at today’s meeting were:
- Black Economic Alliance
- Black Futures Lab
- Color of Change
- UnidosUS
- National Council of Asian Pacific Americans
- Native American Finance Officers Association
- Center for Community Change and Community Change Action
- Roosevelt Institute
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