White House Equity Action Plan Progress Report

T HE W HITE H OUSE A LTERNATIVES AND R EENTRY C OMMITTEE

S TRATEGIC PLAN

THE WHITE HOUSE

EQUITY ACTION PLAN

PROGRESS REPORT

CY 2022 – 2023

ISSUED FEBRUARY 2024

PREPARED BY THE DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL

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Executive Summary

Since President Biden’s first day in office, the Biden-Harris Administration has championed

racial equity and the full and fair participation of underserved communities in American life—

including through historic investments in clean energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure as part

of the President’s Investing in America agenda and executive action begun with Executive Order

(E.O.) 13985 and furthered by E.O. 14091.

Advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities—including rural

communities, communities of color, Tribal communities, LGBTQI+ individuals, people with

disabilities, women and girls, and communities impacted by persistent poverty—is not a one-

time project. It is a generational commitment that will require sustained leadership and

responsibility from the entire Federal Government. Over the last three years, federal agencies—

in collaboration with communities, civil society, the private sector, and state and local

government—have worked vigorously to engage in the historic work of transforming the way the

Federal Government serves the American people by removing barriers to government programs

and services and embedding a focus on equity into the fabric of federal policymaking and service

delivery.

Since the release of their Equity Action Plans in April 2022, federal agencies continue to take

ambitious actions to expand federal investment in and support for underserved communities.

This White House Equity Action Plan Progress Report includes just some of the recent actions

among the more than 650 accomplishments in the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to

advance equity. Agencies have taken steps such as:

• The Department of Commerce allocated over $42 billion to deploy or upgrade

broadband networks to ensure everyone in America, including rural and Tribal

communities, has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.

• The Department of Health and Human Services approved 43 states, DC, and the

Virgin Islands to provide 12 months of continuous postpartum coverage through

Medicaid and CHIP, helping to improve maternal health, particularly in underserved

communities.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development lowered costs for borrowers by

reducing annual mortgage insurance premium rates to support making homeownership

more accessible and affordable for all working families, particularly households of color.

• The Department of the Interior made grants available through the Abandoned Mine

Land Economic Revitalization Program to six Appalachian states and three Tribal

communities; and provided $46 million in funding to Tribal communities to address the

unique impacts of climate change in Indigenous communities.

• The Department of Transportation announced $800 million in grants to help

communities improve roadway safety, especially for the most vulnerable roadway users,

benefitting underserved communities disproportionately impacted by fatalities.

• The Department of Energy launched the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit

Program to expand access to cost-saving clean energy projects in underserved

communities through a groundbreaking tax incentive.

Agencies will continue to build on these accomplishments and take new actions to advance and

embed equity through their 2023 Equity Action Plan Updates, Agency Strategic Plans, budget

formulation, and other organization-wide efforts.

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Advancing Equity Through Historic Legislation and Investments in America

Landmark legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden such as the

American Rescue Plan (ARP), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), CHIPS and Science Act

(CHIPS), and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is transforming our Nation for the better by

reaching communities in every corner of the United States (U.S.)—including those that have for

too often and too long been left behind. President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is

mobilizing historic levels of private sector investments in the U.S., bolstering the industrial base

through manufacturing and innovation, and creating new, good-paying local jobs that expand

pathways to the middle class. The equitable use and implementation of these historic investments

are reflected across the Equity Action Plans.

Continuing to Address Systemic Barriers to Equity and Equal Opportunity

Yet, even with this historic progress there are significant barriers to equity that remain due to

longstanding racial discrimination, bias, and inequality, which impede equal opportunity for

countless Americans. Agencies have identified several barriers to equity as reported in their

Equity Action Plans. For example:

• The Department of Education identified that despite gains over the last 15 years,

postsecondary attainment rates are still not high enough to meet the need for skilled

workers to power our economy. Considerable gaps remain by race and income—with

fewer than one-third of Black and only about one-fourth of Hispanic and Native

American adults holding postsecondary credentials, compared to over 50% of white

adults. Only 15% of students from the lowest-income families earn bachelor’s degrees by

age 24.

• The Department of Transportation indicated that people experiencing lower incomes

spend a far greater percent of their income on transportation than households with middle

or higher incomes. Reliable, safe, high-quality accessible multimodal transportation

systems can help address these disparities and increase residents’ upward economic

mobility. Additionally, there are significant disparities in transportation and pedestrian

safety impacting Black, Tribal, rural communities, and persons with disabilities.

• The Department of Health and Human Services recognized that certain populations

continue to face barriers to quality, affordable health services, including those with low-

incomes, rural communities, households with a primary language other than English,

immigrants, Tribes/Native Americans, racial and/or ethnic minority communities,

LGBTQI+ populations, and persons with disabilities. Certain populations also experience

biased treatment and limited access to care.

• The Department of Treasury identified that historical exclusion from and lack of access

to capital has led to poor outcomes for individuals and communities of color, women,

rural areas, and counties with persistent poverty, resulting in economic disparities.

Beyond un- and under-banked rates, there are disparities among different groups in

access to and use of financial products and services including tax-advantaged retirement

accounts, stock market investments, insurance, and small business loans.

• The Department of Agriculture seeks to address the complex web of factors that causes

food insecurity and contributes to diet-related diseases and health disparities. A key

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barrier to healthy eating is lack of access to nutritious food. Poverty, or limited income or

financial resources; education and job opportunities; access to health care, safe housing,

and transportation; and neighborhood design—including legacy segregation—all affect

the ability to obtain food, make healthy choices, and remain physically active.

To address these barriers and others, agencies have taken historic steps to advance racial equity

and support for underserved communities under the umbrella of the following eight whole-of-

government equity objectives:

Economic Justice: Build a strong, fair, and inclusive workforce and economy. Ensure equitable

procurement practices, including through small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) contracting

and the Buy Indian Act (25 U.S.C. 47). Build prosperity in rural communities.

Educational Equity: Pursue educational equity so that our Nation’s schools put every student on

a path to success without barriers by providing access to the tools and resources students need.

Environmental Justice: Secure environmental justice and spur economic opportunity by

addressing disproportionate and adverse health and environmental impacts, including from

climate change and cumulative impacts, on marginalized and overburdened communities.

Implement the Justice40 Initiative to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain

federal investments, e.g., in clean energy, climate, pollution reduction, and critical infrastructure,

flow to disadvantaged communities across rural, urban, and Tribal areas.

Civil Rights: Protect the civil and constitutional rights of all persons, including the right to vote,

language access, and prohibitions on discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion,

and other bases. Provide safeguards and root out bias in the design and use of evolving

technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

Health Equity: Advance equity in health, including mental and behavioral health and well-

being, nutrition, and ensuring an equitable recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Criminal Justice and Public Safety: Improve our Nation’s criminal justice system to end unjust

disparities in sentencing; strengthen public safety; counter domestic violent extremism, racism,

and hate-fueled violence; and ensure equal justice under law.

Housing Justice and Community Investment: 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.

Global Equality: Promote equity and human rights around the world through our foreign policy

and foreign assistance.

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Further Advancing Equity Through the Everyday Business of Government

Pursuant to E.O. 14091, federal agencies are implementing innovative new strategies to embed

equity in day-to-day governing, including:

• Expanding access to critical government benefits and services by reducing the time and

paperwork burdens faced by the public in order to access these resources;

• Advancing equity in federal grantmaking, including by increasing access to underserved

communities through equitably delivering federal financial assistance while also reducing

administrative burdens on applicants and recipients;

• Advancing equity in federal contracting and procurement, including by diversifying the

federal supplier base;

• Engaging with stakeholders and communities that have been historically excluded from

policy-making processes;

• Furthering equitable data initiatives to better understand and improve the impact of

federal policies on equity outcomes;

• Centering equity in strategic and performance planning as well as evidence-building;

• Providing excellent, equitable, and secure customer experience; and

• Improving service delivery through a human-centered approach to government that puts

people first.

For more details on the Biden-Harris Administration’s progress to advance equity and justice for

underserved communities, visit www.whitehouse.gov/equity. Read full agency Equity Action

Plans at www.performance.gov/equity.

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Table of Contents

ECONOMIC JUSTICE ................................................................................................................ 8

Advancing Equity in Federal Procurement ............................................................................. 8

Supporting Small Business Owners and New Entrepreneurs ................................................ 10

Increasing Access to Capital.................................................................................................. 12

Improving Worker Rights and Fair Pay ................................................................................ 14

Supporting Military Families and Veterans ........................................................................... 18

Addressing Barriers to Equity for Underserved Farmers ...................................................... 21

Expanding Access to Grants .................................................................................................. 22

EDUCATIONAL EQUITY ........................................................................................................ 25

Improving and Expanding Education Access for K-12 Students .......................................... 25

Expanding Procurement, Grant Opportunities, and Pathway Programs at HBCUs, TCUs, and

MSIs....................................................................................................................................... 26

Supporting College Access and Completion ......................................................................... 30

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ................................................................................................ 32

Protecting Overburdened Communities from Pollution and Environmental Harms ............. 32

Promoting the Latest Science, Data, and Research to Better Address Environmental Justice

Concerns ................................................................................................................................ 34

Strengthening Engagement with Communities and Supporting Capacity Building ............. 35

CIVIL RIGHTS .......................................................................................................................... 37

Advancing Civil Rights ......................................................................................................... 37

Improving Language Access ................................................................................................. 40

Leveraging Equitable Data .................................................................................................... 43

HEALTH EQUITY ..................................................................................................................... 45

Expanding Equitable Access to Food and Nutrition for Children and Families ................... 45

Improving Maternal and Reproductive Healthcare ............................................................... 46

Addressing Community Health Needs .................................................................................. 47

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY ..................................................................... 49

Countering Domestic Violent Extremism, Racism, and Hate-Fueled Violence ................... 49

Supporting Victims and Survivors of Gender-Based Violence ............................................. 50

Improving Transit Safety and Accessibility in Urban and Rural Communities .................... 52

HOUSING JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT ................................................. 54

Advancing Housing Justice ................................................................................................... 54

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Achieving Equitable Outcomes for Disaster Survivors ......................................................... 55

Tackling the Digital Divide ................................................................................................... 57

Improving Equity in Infrastructure ........................................................................................ 58

Strengthening Community Engagement and Public Participation ........................................ 59

GLOBAL EQUALITY ............................................................................................................... 61

Removing Barriers to Naturalization and Humanitarian Processing ..................................... 61

Supporting Global Equality and Engagement ....................................................................... 62

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ECONOMIC JUSTICE

Advancing Equity in Federal Procurement

• The Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency has increased

investments in its national network of programs to include an expansion from 35

Business Centers to 41 and provided 28 Federal Procurement Supplemental Awards to

support the President’s Investing in America Agenda to expand contracting opportunities

to minority business enterprises. MBDA also launched the Capital Readiness Program

(CRP) on December 17, 2022. With $125 million, CRP will fund business incubators or

accelerators designed to prepare underserved entrepreneurs and business owners to

secure capital from the $10 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) and

other capital sources. MBDA announced the 43 competition winners in the late summer

of 2023.

• The Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency provided

$5.7 million in 31 supplemental awards to the Business Center Network for technical

assistance to minority business enterprises more than 50 miles from a Business Center in

a rural area.

• To close gaps in participation by small businesses and other underserved communities

and improve workforce equity through an ambitious equitable procurement and

contracting agenda, the Department of Defense developed and executed the DoD Small

Business Strategy and Implementation Plan, highlighting the Department’s commitment

to fostering a robust and equitable defense industrial base and discussing Department

policies on working with small businesses. The agency achieved a 10.25% SDB goal in

Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, exceeding the year-end goal by 0.75%.

• In FY 2022, the Department of Defense procured more than $2.5 billion of products and

services from the AbilityOne Program, an increase of $125 million from FY 2021. DoD

contracts with the AbilityOne Program to employ approximately 35,000 individuals who

are blind or have significant disabilities.

• The Department of Energy implemented a strategy with contractors and major site and

facility contractors designed to increase subcontracting opportunities from contractors

who employ people who are blind or have significant disabilities through the AbilityOne

Program. DOE-wide AbilityOne Program obligations increased from $27.5 million in FY

2022 to $31.2 million in FY 2023, an increase of 13%.

• The Department of Energy used market research tools such as the National Aeronautics

and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement Provider

Lookup Tool, Small Business Administration (SBA) Dynamic Small Business Search,

and General Services Administration (GSA) Market Research as a Service Request for

Information (RFI) Tool to increase procurement awards to small business and other

disadvantaged socioeconomic categories. In FY 2023 to date, these robust market

research techniques resulted in awards valued at approximately $70.5 million for

Women-Owned Small Businesses; $55.6 million for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses;

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$38.5 million for Tribal-Owned and Native American-Owned Small Businesses; and $3.8

million for Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Businesses.

• The Department of Homeland Security strengthened efforts to engage small

businesses, including those owned by members of underserved communities such as

women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities, through various outreach activities.

In FY 2022, DHS exceeded all small business prime and socioeconomic goals as

negotiated with the SBA, equating to $9 billion awarded to small businesses, including

$4 billion to SDBs. DHS is the largest spending agency to have this level of goal

achievement.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $456 million (39% of

all HUD contract awards) in prime contracts to small businesses. HUD received an “A+”

in FY 2022 on its Small Business Procurement Scorecard, ensuring that small businesses

had a maximum practicable opportunity to participate in government contracting, and

prioritized small business outreach to host events for underrepresented groups.

• The Department of the Interior and Health and Human Services held the first

HHS/DOI Buy Indian Industry Day, attended by more than 152 non-federal attendees

and facilitated more than 663 meetings between vendors and Federal buyers; engaged

with more than 700+ contracting staff across the agency increasing awareness of the Buy

Indian Act and contracting authority; created a Buy Indian Act Course, which has been

completed by over 2,000 Interior employees in 2023; increased the amount of money

obligated to Indian owned small businesses from $210.5 million in 2020 to $636.2

million in 2023.

• In October, 2023, the Department of the Interior’s Indian Affairs was awarded the

2023 Chief Acquisition Officer’s Council Small Business and Procurement Equity

Excellence Award by OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy. The recognition was

for Indian Affair’s advancement of the breadth and depth of diversity in the supplier base

while advancing sound contracting stewardship principles that support increased

participation in competitions and awards to socioeconomic disadvantaged small

businesses and engagement with other underserved groups.

• In January 2022, the Department of Transportation launched a DOT-wide procurement

dashboard to raise awareness of contracting opportunities and drive accountability for

advancing SDB goals.

• To address the hurdles small and minority-owned businesses can face in obtaining federal

contracts, the Department of Transportation launched the Master Capacity Building

Series. The initial session hosted more than 500 participants, and the program has

reached over 6,400 SDB owners as of June 2023. Technical assistance has contributed to

an increase in SDB utilization, from 18.2% of DOT direct contract dollars in FY 2021 to

21.25% in FY 2022.

• The Department of Treasury awarded $1.2 billion in FY 2023 to SDBs, representing

almost 12% of eligible small business dollars available for Treasury contracts. In

addition, Treasury awarded Women-owned businesses $989 million and minority-owned

businesses $1.1 billion (regardless of business size).

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• In FY 2022, $2.8 billion of the General Services Administration contracting

obligations went to small businesses, including 21.4% to SDBs. In FY 2023, GSA

increased its small business contracting obligations to $3.3 billion, representing over 50%

of the agency’s eligible spending.

• The General Services Administration awarded 1,111 SDB 8(a) STARS III contracts

and 290 “rising stars” their first awards, exceeding $925 million in obligations. These

awards stemmed from GSA’s establishment of new contracting pools in the growing

federal marketplace of Information Technology services and solutions to bolster

participation of Women-Owned Small Businesses, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned

Small Businesses, and small businesses located in HUBZones.

• The General Services Administration launched a new Supplier Base Dashboard to

provide more transparency and public reporting on federal efforts to increase the number

of new entrants to the federal marketplace and reverse the general decline in the small

business supplier base.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration obligated $1.9 billion in

contracts from FY 2021 through FY 2022 under the product service line set-asides for

small business categories and AbilityOne programs.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Small Business

Programs increased outreach events in FY 2022 by 80% from FY 2021, surpassing its

goal of 50% by 2029, and saw an increase in participation from businesses in

underserved communities by 10%.

• The Small Business Administration negotiated contracting goals with all 24 Chief

Financial Officers Act agencies to drive more federal dollars to SDB owners. Dollars

earned by SDBs increased from $62.4 billion in FY 2021 to a record $69.9 billion in FY

2022, while the number of federal government procurement and contracting opportunities

went from from $89.5 billion in FY 2021 to $99.5 billion in FY 2022.

Supporting Small Business Owners and New Entrepreneurs

• The Department of Commerce International Trade Administration (ITA) formulated an

Agency Priority Goal (APG) to accelerate its digital transformation and enhance its U.S.

Commercial Service arm through the Global Diversity Export Initiative (GDEI) to double

the annual number of clients assisted, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized

enterprises and businesses in the Nation’s underserved communities. ITA successfully

served approximately 6,500 clients in underserved communities in FY 2022 and remains

on track to meet its two-year target of 11,500 for FY 2023.

• To make services, data, and science accessible, the Department of Commerce U.S.

Patent and Trademark Office launched the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot

Program focused on first-time patent filers who are individuals or small businesses

qualifying as a “micro entity,” including those from underrepresented and/or under-

resourced groups. Commerce also launched the Community Resilience Estimates

program that helps measure the abilities of communities to absorb the external stresses of

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a disaster or shock and provides users with a dashboard and data to understand the social

vulnerability of their communities.

• To increase entrepreneurship and access to quality jobs for women, the Department of

Commerce ITA’s Women Accessing Global E-Commerce Initiative (WAGE) is

dedicated to building the capacity of Women-Owned Businesses and entrepreneurs to

engage in cross-border e-commerce to scale and create more jobs. To date, ITA has

established seven strategic partnerships with organizations that provide training programs

and counseling. Commerce Economic Development Administration’s Good Jobs

Challenge (GJC) encouraged applicants to reach underserved communities, including

women, through their awards, and nearly 90% of GJC grantees have investments that

focus on uplifting women's access to good-paying jobs in America's workforce.

Additionally, wraparound services are a key provision for all GJC awardees. Such

support is essential for ensuring participants can access training and job opportunities.

While childcare is not exclusively accessed by women, all 32 grantees have included

childcare as a key area for supportive services in their projects.

• The Department of Defense launched the Military Spouse Employment Program Small

Business training program, which brought in over 30 new small business employer

partners.

• The Department of Health and Human Services successfully launched the Small

Business Customer Experience (SBCX) procurement forecasting tool and increased small

business procurement opportunities. HHS established the SBCX system as the

department-wide procurement forecasting tool for small businesses. It is designed to

reduce barriers to entry for small businesses and increase competition. Use of this tool

has generated over 5,000 procurement opportunities for FY 2023, which is double from

the previous year.

• The Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Startup Studio (HSSS)

pairs the next generation of entrepreneurs with federally-funded, cutting-edge homeland

security technologies to help move them from the lab to the market. In the 2023 cycle,

HSSS received applications from 185 entrepreneurs, with 66% coming from those

identifying as Black, Indigenous, or persons of color, and 29% coming from those

identifying as women. Of the 30 entrepreneurs selected for the 2023 HSSS cohort, 30%

identified as female and 57% identified as Black, Indigenous, or persons of color.

• The Department of the Interior collaborated with the Department of Health and

Human Services to hold the first-ever joint industry day event focused on outreach to

Indian-owned businesses. The event provided a learning opportunity for Indian-owned

businesses to grow their understanding of the government contracting process and to hear

from top executives from both agencies about upcoming business opportunities.

• In July 2022, the Department of Transportation issued a Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking to modernize the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport

Concession DBE (ACDBE) program regulations to help further level the playing field for

SDBs.

• In November 2023, the Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Administration (FMCSA) held the sixth meeting of the Women of Trucking Advisory

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Board, whose work supports women pursuing careers in trucking, expands scholarship

opportunities for women in the trucking industry, and enhance trucking training,

mentorship, education, and outreach programs for women.

• In April 2023, the Department of Transportation in partnership with the Great Lakes

St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and the St. Lawrence Seaway

Management Corporation convened the first ever Green Shipping Corridor Network

Collaborative Forum with a variety of stakeholders to promote green shipping and

environmental justice for the Great Lakes region.

• The General Services Administration debuted a new feature to foster more Native

American business participation in the federal marketplace. GSA issued a Guide to Using

GSA Solutions and debuted a new search feature that enables buyers to search for Native

American business categories in the GSA Advantage!®, GSA eBuy, and GSA eLibrary

e-tools to find commercial products and services. This will foster greater Native

American business participation in the federal marketplace, help customers more easily

meet Buy Indian Act needs, and strengthen the ability for Tribes to pursue intertribal

commerce efforts.

• The General Services Administration published the first-ever Supplier Diversity and

Equity Action Plan to support federal marketplace participation of SDBs.

• The Small Business Administration used its regulatory authority to create a new type of

Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) called a Community Advantage Small

Business Lending Company (CA SBLC), which provided for the conversion of

Community Advantage (CA) Pilot lenders to fully licensed CA SBLCs with permanent

7(a) lending authority. Borrower data became integrated automatically and a high-quality

customer service support system was made available. From FY 2022 to FY 2023, CA

lending to underserved borrowers increased by 11% by total loan count and 23% by total

loan dollars.

• The Small Business Administration partnered with the General Services

Administration to create greater opportunities for 8(a) program participants. The launch

of the 8(a) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Pool increases 8(a) program participants’

opportunities within the GSA’s MAS Program.

• In 2023, the Small Business Administration and the Office of Management and

Budget Office of Federal Policy Procurement (OFPP) rolled out new electronic tools to

identify qualified businesses and measure the health of the industrial base, including the

Small Business Data HUB and GSA’s Resources and Tools to Advance Equity in

Procurement.

Increasing Access to Capital

• The Department of Treasury and the Community Development Financial Institutions

Fund (CDFI Fund) have deployed historic amounts of capital to Community

Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions

(MDIs)—institutions that have a demonstrated track record of reaching financially

underserved borrowers. In addition, through the Emergency Capital Investment Program

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(ECIP), Treasury has made more than $8.5 billion in investments in 175 community

financial institutions, in addition to over $1.73 billion in grants through the CDFI

Equitable Recovery Program and a historic $226 million investment in 68 Puerto Rican

cooperativas, or cooperative community financial institutions. New ECIP reporting data

made available in October 2023, reflecting lending in the final six months of 2022,

showed that ECIP lenders originated a total of approximately $26 billion in loans, of

which approximately 75% went to low- and moderate-income borrowers, borrowers in

rural communities, and other categories of qualified lending. Approximately one third of

their total originations, $8.6 billion, were “deep impact” loans made to the hardest-to-

serve borrowers, including those that are low-income, residents on Tribal lands and in

U.S. Territories, and owners of very small businesses.

• As of December 2023, the Department of Treasury has announced the approval of more

than $159 million in funding allocated to 63 Tribal governments under the State Small

Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI).

• In October 2023, the Department of Treasury announced the availability of an

additional $75 million in competitive grant funding through the Investing in America

Small Business Opportunity Program, available to SSBCI jurisdictions with a more

specific focus on reaching very small and underserved businesses aligned with federal

legislation such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and clean energy. Of the nearly $10

billion program, $2.5 billion in Capital Program funds is reserved to support underserved

businesses and incentivize jurisdictions to reach underserved businesses. SSBCI

investments are a key part of the Administration’s efforts to fuel the small business boom

by providing small businesses and entrepreneurs the resources they need to succeed.

• The Small Business Administration advanced significant reforms to lending programs

to improve equity in capital access. SBA opened a window from June 1 through July 31,

2023, for new applications for SBLC licenses for SBLCs, which have historically lent to

businesses that have less access to capital, including Black, Latino, Native American, and

rural entrepreneurs, at higher rates, and published simplified program rules to increase

access and participation.

• The Small Business Administration improved access to business counseling, training,

and services, strengthening the lines of communication with and support to underserved

communities. SBA created the Tribal College Small Business Achievement grant to

support Native American economic development; expanded Veteran Business Outreach

Centers (VBOCs) Program from 22 to 28 locations, fully servicing all 50 states, the

District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

The agency also promoted SBA programs and services to Black entrepreneurs and with

Operation HOPE to provide financial literacy and resources for their efforts to create one

million Black businesses; hosted outreach events with various federal agencies, including

the new Path to Prosperity workshop series which served over 3,300 attendees from

mostly rural areas; and signed Strategic Alliance Memorandums with: the American

Jewish Committee to combat antisemitism; the National Pan-Hellenic Council to promote

SBA programs and services to Black entrepreneurs; and Operation HOPE to provide

financial literacy and resources for their efforts to create one million Black businesses.

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• The Small Business Administration increased the number of community financial

institutions enrolled in Lender Match to 236 in FY 2022. The agency exceeded its APG

of enrolling 240 lenders by the end of FY 2023 by enrolling 254 vendors.

• On August 17, 2023, the Small Business Administration finalized a rule to encourage

expanded participation by a more diverse range of fund managers across the nation by

establishing a new fund-of-funds license, aligning terms to fit with patient and growth

strategies, enabling smaller-sized funds to receive support; and by simplifying and

streamlining licensing rules. Greater diversity in funds is proven to increase the diversity

of underlying investments. In FY 2022, SBA’s efforts led to a 29% increase in SBIC

financing to Women-Owned, Minority-Owned, and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

from FY 2021.

Improving Worker Rights and Fair Pay

• To enforce wage and hour laws, in FY 2022, the Department of Labor Wage and Hour

Division (WHD) developed a prototype equity index, a tool to identify underserved

communities by geography. In FY 2023, the agency piloted application of the index as

part of identifying where to strategically use its limited enforcement resources for

maximum impact for the protection of low-wage vulnerable workers. In addition, the

Department continues to develop and implement Memoranda of Understanding with

federal, state, and local governments with a focus on maximizing the worker protections

available by geography, data sharing, cross-training, referrals, coordinated enforcement,

joint outreach, and compliance assistance.

• To prevent and address worker retaliation, in FY 2022, the Department of Labor WHD

issued extensive internal guidance to its enforcement staff on processes and protocols

when conducting retaliation investigations. In partnership with the DOL Solicitor,

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission, and National Labor Relations Board, the Department

developed a list of best practices for employers to prevent and address retaliation relating

to the laws that WHD enforces, and against workers who exercise their rights under the

law. Since January 2021, WHD has concluded over 95 investigations focused on

protecting workers from retaliation and working with the Solicitor’s office to prosecute

employers that retaliate in violation of the laws that WHD enforces. These 95 cases

resulted in $415,991 in back wages for 128 workers and remedies other than back wages,

such as job reinstatement and the removal of negative points from personnel records, for

83 additional workers.

• To ensure equity in federal-state unemployment insurance (UI) systems, the Department

of Labor announced awards of more than $216.2 million in funds to 44 states and the

District of Columbia to fund projects such as technology enhancements, claimant

communications and outreach, translation services, data analysis to understand equity

disparities, plain language initiatives, staff and backlog reductions, and

workflow/customer journey analysis.

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• The Department of Labor worked to increase technical assistance to improve its UI

programs by providing Tiger Team consultative assessments to 30 states through FY

2023; through assessment of findings, ETA has delivered more than 100 equity-based

recommendations to enhance access and improve economic security across state UI

programs, and has developed a Unemployment Insurance Equitable Access Toolkit,

which is available to state UI agencies and publicly to all UI stakeholders.

• The Department of Labor Job Corps launched a pre-apprenticeship initiative to expand

career opportunities and pathways for graduates to participate in registered apprenticeship

programs in infrastructure, including clean energy and renewable energy manufacturing.

There are currently 143 Corps instructors nationwide providing training towards

renewable resources and energy.

• Pursuant to the implementation of the government-wide National Strategy on Gender

Equity and Equality, the Department of Labor has developed an agency-specific plan

outlining over 50 action items to reduce occupational segregation for women workers,

increase equity in pay and hiring, increase access to benefits and knowledge of worker

rights, and increase older women’s employment and economic security. To date, DOL

has accomplished or is well underway to accomplishing all action items identified.

• The Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has

implemented the Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP), connecting federal and private

sector employees with students and recent graduates with disabilities from over 400

colleges and universities for internships and permanent positions. ODEP will continue to

support student and recent graduate participation in WRP, including outreach to

underserved communities, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and Veterans Services

offices, and leveraging federal and alliance partnerships.

• The General Services Administration established federal partnerships to advance equal

opportunity in the construction trade workforce in partnerships with the Department of

Labor on the Mega Construction Project Program and Good Jobs Initiative (GJI) to

advance equal opportunity in the construction trade workforce and expand the use of

Project Labor Agreements on federal projects by over $35 million.

• In alignment with the Good Jobs Principles, equity provisions have been embedded in all

aspects of the Department of Labor GJI.

• The Department of Labor has entered into Memoranda of Understanding with the

Departments of Transportation, Energy, Commerce, and the Interior; the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and the General Services Administration

to engage in “cooperative efforts to build sustainable career pathways to meet industry’s

need for talent and workers’ need for quality jobs,” and “to address barriers to

opportunity and build an economy that empowers all people, including individuals from

underserved communities.” Through these inter-agency partnerships, over $181 billion in

BIL funds include provisions that require, preference, or encourage job quality, worker

empowerment, and equity in the use of these federal funds; and those incentives have

been included in 91 Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs). As part of the

Department’s strategy to advance equity, GJI will continue to provide technical

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assistance on federal funding opportunities across the Investing in America Agenda to

embed job quality, equity, and worker empowerment.

• Through the General Services Administration, Login.gov partnered with federal

agencies and state governments to provide secure, accessible identity verification services

for benefits and emergency assistance programs. As an example, the Department of

Labor pilot in Arkansas helped more than 19,000 citizens of the state verify their

identities while applying for unemployment benefits.

• The Office of Personnel Management launched a new reporting capability (Power BI)

to understand barriers in the hiring process, which includes reporting capabilities and

dashboards, to expand federal agency access to and use of Post-Audit Applicant Flow

Data (AFD). The use of Power BI expands beyond improved access to AFD and includes

broad access to talent acquisition data for agencies and the public, as well as other OPM

data products. OPM has established connectivity between most agencies and OPM’s

Power BI environment.

• The Office of Personnel Management is supporting Benefits Officers across

government to advance financial security initiatives that seek to improve retirement

readiness and financial literacy for members of underserved communities within the

federal government. This effort is targeted at examining disparities in financial security

outcomes across the federal government. OPM has collected data on existing financial

literacy programs from relevant agencies across government and has conducted a

rigorous literature review that focuses on summarizing evaluations of employer-based

retirement and readiness for financial security. OPM is using this information to develop

a financial literacy curriculum.

• The Office of Personnel Management issued employee wellness guidance in May 2023,

that is designed to foster the mental, emotional, and physical prosperity of federal

employees through workplace wellness tools and resources which can optimize both

employee and organizational success, and launched a new Mindful FED governmentwide

program. By reframing Employee Assistance Programs as wellness programs, OPM is

striving to de-stigmatize the use of mental health services. OPM also has continued

efforts to achieve mental health parity through access to mental health services offered by

Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB), by working with Carriers to ensure mental

health services are reimbursed similarly to physical health services.

• On April 19, 2023, the Office of Personnel Management hosted a virtual Diversity,

Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) National Engagement for federal and non-

federal employees. The focus of the national virtual event was to share publicly available

documents as exemplars to both the private and public sectors that promote promising

practices and DEIA in the workforce, as well as highlight the 2023 Gender Identity

Guidance, the DEIA Annual Report, and the Government-wide Strategic Plan for DEIA

in the federal workforce.

• In December 2022, the Office of Personnel Management convened a three-day national

event, “DEIA Summit 2022: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Disability

Employment,” to discuss promising practices and strategies to improve employment for

people with disabilities in the federal workforce.

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• Since July 2021, the Office of Personnel Management has led a DEIA Learning

Community to support all federal agencies with implementing promising practices, and

worked with agencies as they self-assessed the strengths and challenges related to DEIA

practices within their own organizations. Learning community offerings are open to all

federal employees and include webinars, newsletters, office hours, and 24-hour access to

online resources, videos, and templates.

• In September 2022, the Office of Personnel Management established the Chief

Diversity Officers Executive Council as a coordinated effort to embed DEIA principles

across the federal government.

• In February 2023, the Office of Personnel Management released Government-wide

DEIA: Our Progress and Path Forward to Building a Better Workforce for the American

People, the inaugural annual report providing a government-wide perspective of DEIA

progress.

• The Office of Personnel Management published Gender Identity Guidance to all

agencies on Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, 2023.

• In January 2023, the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance on internships

and similar programs, including guidance to increase the availability of paid internships

and reduce the practice of hiring interns, fellows, and apprentices who are unpaid.

• In January 2024, the Office of Personnel Management released a final regulation that

prohibits the use of previous non-federal salary history when setting pay for federal

jobs—an important step to help address gender and racial pay gaps, as well as attract and

retain a qualified, effective workforce. And the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR)

Council issued a proposal to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from seeking

and considering information about job applicants’ compensation history when hiring or

setting pay for personnel working on or in connection with a government contract. In

addition, the proposal would require federal contractors and subcontractors to disclose

expected salary ranges in job postings, a policy that has been shown to reduce pay

secrecy, help workers negotiate, and reduce pay gaps.

• On August 31, 2023, the Office of Personnel Management published final regulations

implementing the Fair Chance to Compete For Jobs Act, pertaining to when, during the

hiring process, a hiring agency can request information typically collected during a

background investigation from an applicant for federal employment. The regulations

expand the positions covered by the “ban the box” policy, which delays inquiries into an

applicant’s criminal history until a conditional offer has been made.

• The ARP funded the Department of Commerce Economic Development

Administration’s (EDA’s) $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC)

and $500 million GJC program. For both programs, EDA has made geographic diversity

a top priority, and for the first time in history, the Department has its own grant program

that invests in industry-led workforce training and registered apprenticeships—focusing

on underserved communities, including women and people of color.

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Supporting Military Families and Veterans

• The Department of Defense worked to advance equity for military families who are

members of underserved communities, including through increased investments and

expanded programming in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools,

improving economic security and opportunities for military spouses, advancing health

equity, and combating economic challenges experienced by military families related to

housing and food insecurity.

• The Department of Defense also:

o Hosted Teacher Leadership Academies with more than 150 participants across the

DoDEA Europe, Americas, and Pacific regions.

o Expanded the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN)-PLUS initiative

to cover seven additional states, bringing the total number of states covered to 10.

o Implemented the Basic Needs Allowance to provide an additional allowance to

eligible families whose income was less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines

(FPG).

o Published DoD’s Food Security Strategy and Roadmap and completed 21 of its 30

actions.

o Launched a self-guided financial well-being assessment tool to help Service members

and their families assess their financial well-being and be referred to appropriate

resources.

• The Department of Agriculture’s six-item measure for food security was added in its

Status of Forces Surveys and Spouse Surveys for both the Active and Reserve

Components to be able to measure and track food security challenges among all Service

members and families.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded care for women veterans: Over the

past two years, VA has expanded breast cancer screenings and mammograms for

Veterans with potential toxic exposures; supported access to reproductive health

services, including contraception, abortion counseling and—in certain cases—abortion

care for Veterans and VA beneficiaries; dramatically expanded one-on-one maternity

care coordination for women Veterans—the fastest growing cohort of Veterans at VA.

Women Veterans are also enrolling in VA health care at higher rates under the PACT

Act, and VA recently hosted its first Women Veterans Experience Action Center, helping

more than 340 women Veterans apply for the care and benefits they deserve.

● The Department of Veterans Affairs has reached a new, historic agreement with the

National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to improve

quality of life for Black Veterans. Under this partnership, VA and the NAACP are

working to increase the number of Black Veterans enrolled in VA health care, increase

awareness of VA benefits and services among Black Veterans, and increase recruitment

of culturally-competent providers at VA. VA and the NAACP also meet regularly, share

expertise and knowledge, and coordinate on outreach to minority Veteran communities.

● The Department of Veterans Affairs has removed barriers to benefits for LGBTQ+

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veterans. VA closed a gap in benefits for survivors of LGBTQ Veterans, righting a wrong

that was a legacy of the discriminatory federal ban on same-sex marriages. Previously,

VA also increased access to benefits for Veterans who were given “Other Than

Honorable” discharges due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and more.

● The Department of Veterans Affairs increased access to care and benefits for Native

American and Alaska Native Veterans. In April 2023, VA announced that eligible

American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans are no longer required to make copayments

for health care and urgent care received through VA—making VA health care more

accessible and affordable. VA also lowered the interest rate for VA Native American

Direct Loans from 6% to 2.5%, making access to housing loans more affordable for

Native American Veterans.

● The Department of Veterans Affairs updated its mission statement to include all

Veterans. In March 2023, VA updated its 1959 mission statement to be inclusive of all

those who have served in our nation’s military—including women veterans—and veteran

families, caregivers, and survivors. The new mission statement is: “To fulfill President

Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their

families, caregivers, and survivors.”

● The Department of Veterans Affairs increased service delivery to Veterans with Other

Than Honorable discharges. Over the past 10 years, VA’s eligibility determination rate

for Veterans with Other Than Honorable discharges has been 74%—meaning that 74% of

those Veterans were granted benefits and/or healthcare. VA has also conducted extensive

outreach to Veterans who received Other Than Honorable discharges, increasing the

number of Veterans s with Other Than Honorable discharges who applied for VA care or

benefits from approximately 1,700 in 2012 to more than 10,000 in 2023.

● The Department of Veterans Affairs released new data showing that the PACT Act is

helping eliminate disparities at VA. In September 2023, VA released its first quarterly

demographic supplement to the PACT Act dashboard, with data showing that the PACT

Act is helping VA reach and serve all Veterans, including those in historically

underserved communities. For example, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black

Veterans are submitting PACT Act related claims at higher rates. Additionally, Asian,

Black, Hispanic Veterans, Women Veterans, and the youngest Veterans are all enrolling

in VA care at higher proportions than a comparable baseline.

● The Department of Veterans Affairs created a VBA Equity Assurance Office and

Equity Assurance Plan to eliminate disparities in Veteran Benefits. In June 2023, VA

announced that it has created a new Equity Assurance Office within VBA to eliminate

any disparities in the delivery of earned benefits to Veterans—including disability

benefits, housing benefits, GI Bill benefits, and much more. This office released an

Equity Assurance Plan, which includes actions like requiring all VBA employees to take

unconscious bias and implicit bias training and increasing recruiting from minority-

serving institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges

and Universities, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs published an RFI on June 20, 2023, for the public

to provide data and information on minority and historically underserved Veterans. VA’s

Center for Minority Veterans will use this input to improve outreach, education,

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engagement, enrollment, advocacy, and access programs for minority and historically

underserved veterans.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs provided $718,000 to 20 medical centers to

implement and/or advance equity, quality improvement, and performance monitoring

projects and initiatives. These efforts focus on a range of health equity-related topics

including diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension management, as well as social

determinants of health and Veteran perceptions of care and preventive services.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs implemented the PACT Act, the largest health

care and benefit expansion in VA history. This law helps provide generations of Veterans

with benefits and health care for exposure to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic

substances. To help ensure that implementation of the law leads to equitable outcomes for

all Veterans, among other actions, VA has: translated the PACT Act fact sheets into 13

languages, with additional languages in process; launched VA.gov/PACT, a

comprehensive public-facing resource for Veterans and their families, caregivers, and

survivors; trained employees on the new law to better reach more Veterans; and used

PACT Act authorities to hire and retain more staff, resulting in nearly a 12,000 net

increase of employees who helped provide services to nearly 122,000 new enrollees and

process over 900,000 claims.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs conducted Veterans Experience Action Center

(VEAC) events in Michigan, Texas, Montana, Colorado, California, Kentucky, Hawaii,

American Samoa, and Guam that address and solve issues concerning access to VA care

and benefits enrollment for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. VEAC

events provide peer-to peer connections, resources and immediate help for Veterans at-

risk for homelessness. In FY 2023, served 4,583 Veterans, their family members,

caregivers, and survivors, including 837 women and 582 Veterans at-risk of

homelessness. Of the 2,145 VEAC exit survey responses in FY 2023, 873 respondents

identified as either American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American,

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and/or Hispanic or Latino—an increase of

41% over FY 2022. VA launched its first Pacific Region VEAC with a special emphasis

on women Veterans, resulting in almost 30% increase in women Veteran engagement

when compared to previous participation rates.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs enhanced the quarterly VA-Wide Trust Survey in

October 2021, to capture voluntary, self-reported expanded demographic options for race,

ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation to identify trust scores for underserved

populations. These metrics are reported each quarter as part of VA's I*DEA APG for the

FY 2022-2023 cycle; from the first quarter of FY 2022 through the third quarter of FY

2023, statistically significant increases in trust occurred across 10 of the 26 enhanced

demographic domains. When comparing the third quarter of FY 2022 trust scores with

the third quarter of FY 2023 trust scores, VA saw statistically significant increases across

19 of the 26 domains.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs hosted the Here for H.E.R. (Hope. Education.

Resources.) symposium in partnership with HUD, HHS, and the National Coalition for

Homeless Veterans. The symposium shared information about Women’s Health

Transition Training, an overview of women’s health, Vet Center services for women

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Veterans, fraud prevention, how to apply for benefits, an update on the Sergeant First

Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of

2022 (PACT Act), and information on benefits and support unique to the Women Veteran

Special Emphasis Program.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs VA I*DEA Council was charted on June 22, 2023,

by the VA Operations Board, which is chaired by the Deputy Secretary. The I*DEA

Council serves as the Agency Equity Team, to enable enterprise action and accountability

through planning, advising, and monitoring, and will review and lead implementation

activities to guarantee alignment with the VA FY 2022-2028 Strategic Plan, the VA

Secretary's strategic priorities, and other equity-related objectives.

Addressing Barriers to Equity for Underserved Farmers

• The Department of Agriculture launched the USDA’s Rural Partners Network (RPN) in

April 2022, and expanded it in November 2022, to include 36 community networks

across 10 states and Puerto Rico. The RPN is an all-of-government place-based program

that brings together 20 federal agencies and regional commissions to help rural

communities access resources and funding to create jobs, build infrastructure, and

support long-term economic stability on their own terms. In May 2023, $394 million in

awards were announced to provide loans and grants to support 52 projects to support

long-term visions for strong local economies.

• The Department of Agriculture has helped more than 30,000 farmers and ranchers who

were in financial distress stay on their farms and farming, thanks to resources provided

through IRA Section 22006. The IRA allocated $3.1 billion for USDA to provide relief

for distressed borrowers with certain direct and guaranteed loans, and to expedite

assistance for those whose agricultural operations are at financial risk due to factors

outside their control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the law was signed in

August 2022, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) has provided over $1.9 billion and

counting in immediate assistance (as of December 31, 2023).

• The Department of Agriculture expanded its Equity Commission by adding a Rural

Community Economic Development Subcommittee, and moved towards implementing

the Commission’s recommendations. USDA's Equity Commission is an independent

body, now with 41 Commission and Subcommittee members charged with evaluating

USDA programs and services and developing recommendations on how the Department

can reduce barriers. The Department’s implementation will ensure everyone has a fair

shot at resources, begin closing the racial wealth gap, and address longstanding inequities

in agriculture. In February 2023, the Commission issued 32 interim recommendations,

and in October 2023, finalized its work by voting on a total of 66 recommendations that

will be included in the final report to be published in 2024.

• The Department of Agriculture increased land, capital, and market access for

underserved producers. In June 2023, the Department announced the investment of

approximately $300 million to fund 50 innovative projects with non-profit, academic, and

other partners to help improve access to land, capital, and markets for underserved

farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. The Increasing Land, Capital, and Market

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Access (Increasing Land Access) Program, funded by the IRA, works to increase access

to farm ownership opportunities; improve results for those with heirs’ property or

fractionated land; increase access to markets and capital that affect the ability to access

land; and improve land ownership, land succession, and agricultural business planning.

• The Department of Agriculture simplified the direct farm loan application process.

Approximately 26,000 producers submit direct loan applications to FSA annually, but

there is a high rate of incomplete or withdrawn applications, due in part to a challenging

and lengthy paper-based application process. In response, FSA implemented a simplified

direct farm loan application process in February 2023, drastically reducing the burden

and time spent on its forms, which shrank from 10 different forms with 29 pages of

paperwork to a single 13-page document (including a cover page and checklist for the

applicant’s information). The new form is estimated to save nearly half the time needed

for completion. FSA has also rolled out a loan assistance tool that helps farmers and

ranchers better navigate the farm loan application process.

• In FY 2022, the Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service

(NRCS) invested $50 million in Racial Justice and Equity Conservation Cooperative

Agreements. 118 partners were selected for two-year projects that support underserved

farmers and ranchers with climate-smart agriculture and forestry by expanding the

delivery of conservation assistance. In February 2023, NRCS opened up a second round

of cooperative agreement funding, of up to $70 million, seeking applications for two-year

projects that encourage participation in NRCS programs, especially in underserved

communities and among urban and small-scale producers.

Expanding Access to Grants

• To promote equity in the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), which provides

funding for physical security enhancements to nonprofit organizations, including houses

of worship, that are at high risk of terrorist attack, in FY 2023, the Department of

Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency advanced considerations

of equity in awarding NSGP funding by adding up to 15 additional points to the scores of

organizations that demonstrate how they serve an underserved community or population

or that are located within an underserved community. Additionally, applicants who had

never received NSGP funding had 15 points added to their project score (a scoring metric

continued from FY 2022).

• In the 2022 Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program (HVRP) FOA, the Veterans

Employment and Training Services (VETS) under the Department of Labor required

applicants to propose strategies to achieve economic opportunity and address historical

inequities. A full 10% of applicants' scores were based on ability to serve historically

underserved communities and how they will serve communities not currently being

served by an HVRP grant. VETS also conducted an HVRP FOA Service Delivery Area

Analysis and developed a strategy to conduct a pre-FOA release outreach and education

campaign for stakeholders; conducted personal outreach to specific areas identified in the

Service Delivery Area analysis as underserved or underrepresented; and provided a

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technical assistance seminar for applicants. VETS has conducted a similar review in FY

2023 and will continue this process in FY 2024.

• In October 2022, the Department of Transportation released a guide on Promising

Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making to help

funding recipients meaningfully involve the public in various stages of transportation

decision-making and build their organizational capacities to do so.

• In FY 2022, applicants representing disadvantaged communities accounted for about a

quarter of new applicants to the Department of Transportation programs. This sets the

baseline for increasing the number of new applicants from disadvantaged communities by

5% by FY 2025.

• In March 2022, the Department of Transportation piloted a new approach of releasing

combined Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) to streamline the process for

applicants applying for multiple discretionary grant programs.

• In April 2022, the Department of Transportation launched federal partnerships with

key agencies making place-based technical assistance investments.

• In June 2022, the Department of Transportation released the DOT Navigator, a new

one-stop shop for communities to access DOT technical assistance and capacity building

resources, and to get more information to help them apply for DOT funding.

• In October 2022, the Department of Transportation launched the Thriving

Communities Program and awarded $21 million to four Thriving Communities capacity

builders in April 2023, which will support 64 communities in 42 states, including six

Tribal Nations and Puerto Rico. These awards will provide hands-on technical assistance

to underserved and overburdened communities and support place-based initiatives that

are co-designed with communities most impacted by poor access and climate change.

• In May 2023, the Department of Transportation launched an online DOT Discretionary

Grants Dashboard to make it easier for communities to search the full set of federal

transportation grant programs and find those that may align with local needs.

• In July 2023, the Department of Transportation announced a first-of-its-kind

philanthropic collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to leverage and

expand technical assistance opportunities for DOT grantees and potential applicants to

deepen community engagement, resource community-based organizations, and build

local capacity.

• To build the capacity of communities with environmental justice concerns, the

Environmental Protection Agency established an Environmental Justice Thriving

Communities Technical Assistance Centers program (EJ TCTACs) that will provide -

free of charge and without the need for any application - tens of thousands of

communities and other environmental justice stakeholders with technical assistance such

as for grant proposal writing, grant management, effective implementation of projects

and grant resources, reporting, etc.

• The Environmental Protection Agency established and operationalized the National

Network of EJ Thriving Community Grantmakers (EJ TCGM). The EJ TCGM program

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will build a nation-wide network of Grantmakers that will provide subgrants to

communities in their regional coverage areas in amounts between $100, 000 to $350,000.

These subgrants will essentially replace EPA’s traditional grant programs such as the EJ

Small Grants, which would provide such small levels of support directly to communities

through a traditional government grant competition and award process. EPA plans to

make at least eleven Grantmaker awards across the United States with $50 million each,

of which at least $40 million must be directly sub-awarded to capacity-constrained

communities. EPA anticipates that over the next three years the Grantmakers will make

approximately 2,000 subawards in the amounts cited. EPA has announced the eleven

(11) recipients of the EJ TCGM awards totaling $600 million.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration reduced administrative burden on

grant applicants and ensured consistency and compliance with federal regulations by

standardizing NASA’s NOFO template.

• The National Science Foundation and the Asian American Foundation collaborated to

support the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific

Islanders by introducing the "Demystifying Federal Grants" webinar series. This series

was created to provide valuable knowledge and practical advice to assist community-

based organizations in successfully applying for federal grants and accessing resources.

• Under the $50 billion CHIPS Act, the Department of Commerce will strengthen and

revitalize the U.S. position in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing

and create hundreds of thousands of good jobs that can change lives, offer family-

sustaining benefits, and lead to long-term careers. For example, with $500 million, the

Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) program will drive regional

technology-centric growth by leveraging existing innovation capacity to catalyze the

creation of good jobs in the industries of the future for American workers at all skill

levels, equitably and inclusively. With $200 million, the Recompete Pilot program will

provide grants to eligible communities to alleviate persistent economic distress,

supporting long-term comprehensive economic development and job creation.

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EDUCATIONAL EQUITY

Improving and Expanding Education Access for K-12 Students

• The Department of Education implemented Maintenance of Equity ARP Elementary

and Secondary School Relief (ESSER) requirements to ensure historically underserved

students have the state and local resources necessary for continued recovery.

• The Department of Education continues to work with states to provide technical

assistance using the $19 billion in Title I funding to sustain key activities funded by ARP,

such as increasing academic achievement, supporting students' mental health, expanding

access to preschool, and strengthening teacher recruitment and retention.

• The Department of Education invested in resources to help advance civil rights to

identify inequities in educational opportunities:

o The Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has remained committed to

advancing equity for underrepresented and disadvantaged student groups and

ensuring compliance with civil rights laws within its authority. OCR released fact

sheets addressing migratory children, unaccompanied children, students who are

English learners, diversity and inclusion activities under Title VI of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), and Title VI protection from discrimination based

on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.

o OCR also released a Press Release reminding schools of their legal obligations to

address discrimination, a Resource Document on confronting racial

discrimination in student discipline, and Guiding Principles for creating safe,

inclusive, supportive, and fair school climates. Additionally, the Department

released a Toolkit for creating inclusive and nondiscriminatory school

environments for LGBTQI+ students.

• The Department of Education funded 264 grants with $1 billion in Bipartisan Safer

Communities Act (BSCA) funds to more than 40 states to increase the supply of school-

based mental health professionals under the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant

and the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program (MHSPD) . At

least 40 states used “high poverty” in their definition of high-needs school. The

Department estimates these five-year grants will result in an increase of 14,000 mental

health professionals. In FY 2023, nearly 50% of the MHSPD grants include a partnership

with MSIs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), or Tribal Colleges. In

a letter to state education agencies (SEAs) the department encouraged states prioritize

funding for districts with high rates of poverty and one of the following: a high student-

to-mental health professional ratio; high rates of chronic absenteeism, exclusionary

discipline, and/or referrals to the juvenile justice system, bullying/harassment,

community and school violence, or substance abuse; or students who recently

experienced a natural disaster or traumatic event.

• The Department of Education designated the $1 billion from the BSCA as the Stronger

Connections Grant Program. This enables SEAs to competitively award subgrants to

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high-need local education agencies (LEAs) for activities to support safe and healthy

students under Elementary and Secondary Education Act Section 4108.

Expanding Procurement, Grant Opportunities, and Pathway Programs at

HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs

• The Department of Agriculture announced a $262.5 million investment to support 33

projects across U.S. institutions of higher education designed to train the next generation

of diverse agricultural professionals. Through the USDA NextGen program, the projects

are led by 1890 land-grant institutions (historically Black land-grant universities), 1994

land-grant institutions (Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)), Alaska Native-Serving

Institutions and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, Hispanic-Serving Institutions

(HSIs), and institutions of higher education located in the Insular Areas. This historic

investment will provide training and support to more than 20,000 future food and

agricultural leaders through 33 projects executed by more than 60 institutions across 24

U.S. states and Insular Areas.

• To address harmful biases throughout the Artificial Intelligence (AI) system lifecycle, in

May 2023, the Department of Commerce through the National Institute of Standards

and Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation launched the Institute for

Trustworthy AI in Law and Society (TRAILS), a partnership between the University of

Maryland, George Washington University, and Morgan State University. NIST and NSF

will invest $20 million over five years for TRAILS to focus on how ethics and human

rights can drive AI development and governance. Importantly, a key pillar of TRAILS

will be input and feedback from marginalized communities.

• The Department of Defense established the first HBCU-led University Affiliated

Research Center at Howard University in Tactical Autonomy in January 2023.

• The Department of Defense awarded 82 grants to HBCUs/MSIs researchers totaling $61.7

million, which represents a record amount of research grants given to HBCUs and MSIs.

• The Department of Defense placed 114 interns at 13 defense laboratories and Office of

the Secretary of Defense (OSD) organizations through the DoD HBCU/MSI Summer

Research Internship program in Summer 2023.

• The Department of Defense sponsored six town halls in collaboration with the National

Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to facilitate discussions on equitable

research and the educational partnerships necessary to advance HBCUs/MSIs

involvement in defense research activities.

• The Department of Defense conducted an Opportunities Workshop and Intern Seminar

for over 400 participants to expand awareness of DoD opportunities, provide a platform

for collaboration, and encourage greater participation in the Department’s initiatives to

support national security functions and the defense mission.

• The Department of Defense hosted three successful Taking the Pentagon to the People

educational outreach events during FY 2023 at the University of California at Riverside,

a joint event at Tuskegee and Alabama State Universities, and Arizona State University.

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• The Department of Defense announced the establishment of four new research centers

of excellence at MSIs of higher education, as part of its Historically Black Colleges and

Universities and Minority-serving Institutions Research and Education Program. The

awards total $40 million and will enhance research programs and capabilities in critical

scientific and engineering disciplines, while expanding the capacity of HBCUs and MSIs

to participate in DoD research programs and activities. These awards will also increase

the number of graduates in Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics (STEM)

fields, including those from under-represented minorities, which is critically important to

the Department's mission.

• The Department of Education worked to secure a significant increase in appropriations

for programs to strengthen HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in the FY 2023 budget. The

Department issued Notices Inviting Applications for and awarded a number of Title III/V

grant programs to strengthen HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, including Asian American and

Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) and HSIs over the

last year, and published the Notices Inviting Applications for the new $50 million HBCU,

TCU, and MSI Research Funding grant this summer, which aims to provide funds to

implement transformational investments in research infrastructure, including research

productivity, faculty expertise, graduate programs, physical infrastructure, human capital

development, and partnerships leading to increases in external funding.

• To increase participation in the Department of Energy research and development and

financial assistance programs, in FY 2022, the agency awarded $30 million in financial

assistance to MSIs in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. These grants help to

develop highly qualified STEM students and foster a well-trained, technically skilled, and

inclusive workforce.

• In FY 2022, the Department of Energy Office of Science (SC) launched the Reaching a

New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) initiative to establish a more targeted and

intentional approach to building foundations to support undergraduate and graduate

student training opportunities and support institutions historically underrepresented in the

SC research portfolio. In FY 2022, SC announced 41 RENEW awards totaling $32

million to 37 institutions, including 24 MSIs. In FY 2023, SC issued seven RENEW

solicitations and awarded $70 million in funding to 65 institutions, including 40 MSIs.

• In FY 2023, the Department of Energy SC launched the Funding for Accelerated,

Inclusive Research (FAIR) initiative to build research capacity, infrastructure, and

expertise at non-R1 institutions and support mutually beneficial relationships between

MSIs and emerging research institutions and partner institutions. SC has announced $37

million in funding for 52 projects to 44 institutions to perform basic research in applied

mathematics, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geoscience, isotope

research, materials science, and physics.

• As a result of the increased outreach and engagement with MSI communities and support

for funding mechanisms aimed at increasing MSI participation, the Department of

Energy SC significantly increased the participation of MSIs as lead institutions in the

Department’s funding opportunities in FY 2022 over FY 2021 levels. For example, SC

more than doubled the number of research grants to HBCUs as the lead institution in FY

2022 (from 15 awards in FY 2021 to 35 awards in FY 2022). SC nearly doubled the level

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of funding support for research awards to HSIs from FY 2021 levels (from $58 million in

FY 2021 to $109 million in FY 2022). SC nearly doubled the number of new awards to

HSIs in FY 2022 (from 171 awards in in FY 2021 to 136 awards in FY 2022).

• In FY 2023, the Department of Energy SC established a requirement that all research

proposals submitted to SC include a plan for Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research

(PIER). PIER Plans describe the strategies and activities the applicants will incorporate

into their research projects to promote opportunity, inclusion, and access to STEM

research and training for individuals from all backgrounds. PIER Plans are evaluated as

part of the merit review process.

• To support university training and research programs, in June 2023, the Department of

Energy announced up to $17.7 million in available funding for five different areas of

interest, including establishing multi-institution collaborations for student exchanges

from MSIs, new academic curricula related to geosciences, and supporting

interdisciplinary training in humanities-driven STEM fields.

• In April 2023, the Department of Energy announced its awards for the University

Nuclear Leadership Program (UNLP) scholarship and fellowship opportunities, which

provided 17 undergraduate scholarships to eight MSIs, totaling $170,000, and awarded

three graduate fellowships to two MSIs, totaling $507,000.

• The Department of Energy initiated a STEM pilot program (Faculty Applied Clean

Energy Science) to offer a unique opportunity to foster the growth of STEM faculty from

MSIs through exposure to the National Lab systems. By providing valuable on-site

experiences, fostering collaboration, and developing scalable educational modules, the

program aims to expand DOE funding opportunities for MSI faculty.

• The Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration MSI Internship

program successfully supported 96 student interns to build sustainable STEM pipelines

that prepare a diverse workforce of world class talent through strategic partnerships

between MSIs, including TCUs, and the nuclear security enterprise.

• The Department of Energy Apprenticeships for Complete and Committed Employment

for Specialized Skills (ACCESS) program, which focuses on skills development to meet

ongoing and emerging technician and skilled craft trades needs at National Laboratories

and covered facilities, awarded two five-year grants totaling $2.17 million to Hardinge

Inc. and the Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting

Local 412. Hardinge, located in Elmira, NY, will receive $978,053 for the project Level

Up @ Hardinge, which will recruit and train apprentices in advanced manufacturing for

workforces at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Lawrence Livermore

National Laboratory, as well as the Kansas City National Security Campus and the Y-12

National Security Complex. The Albuquerque, NM–based Journeyman and Apprentices

Association will receive $1,194,460 for the project New Mexico National Labs

Apprenticeship Partnership. The partnership will train HVAC/R (heating, ventilation, air

conditioning, and refrigeration) technicians for Sandia National Laboratories and

pipefitters for LANL.

• The Department of Energy in partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban

Development launched a Weatherization Workforce Development Pilot in February

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2023 to enhance impact in four communities: Lowell, MA; Roanoke, VA; Chicago, IL;

and Warner Robins, GA. The program connects HUD residents to weatherization jobs

within Community Action Agencies, and sets up residents for careers in green

construction.

• The Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory manage the NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program

(NGFP) and partner with MSIs to recruit highly qualified and diverse students for this

program. In 2021, 28% of applicants hired through this program were from

underrepresented minority groups. In 2023, that number increased to 45%, an increase of

17%. The diversity of the applicant pool increased, and, as a result, the number of diverse

fellows has meaningfully increased over the past two years. NGFP developed a diverse

team of University Relationship Managers to assist with outreach at MSIs. This approach

resulted in 20% of all applications being submitted from an MSI.

• In May 2023, the Department of Energy released its HBCU Clean Energy Education

Prize. This competition, with $7.75 million in cash prizes, will help HBCU institutions

develop programming to strengthen the participation of K-12 and community college

students in STEM and other associated fields that can lead to potential careers in clean

energy industries. It will also give HBCUs the opportunity to create enhanced curricula

and programs that will provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and

establish partnerships that lead to career opportunities in clean energy.

• The Department of Health and Human Services established HBCU-Connect, a new

initiative with HBCUs. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, an

Institute within HHS National Institutes of Health (NIH), developed the initiative to

inspire the development of environmental health science leaders from diverse

backgrounds. HBCU-Connect is a multifaceted effort to strengthen ties between the

institute and faculty and students at academic institutions that are often underrepresented

in the sciences.

• The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T’s)

MSI Program serves to foster and cultivate diverse, university-based research capacity

building and workforce development opportunities. These opportunities prepare

motivated students and faculty at MSIs to grow and develop through research

contributions to the homeland security enterprise. In 2023, S&T awarded approximately

$9.7 million dollars to 20 MSIs to support these goals.

• The Department of Homeland Security S&T’s Coastal Resilience Center (CRC), a

DHS Center of Excellence led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, leads

projects to advance equity in resilience, emergency planning, and response and recovery.

CRC has created and institutionalized successful and expanding educational programs at

several MSIs, including Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, Johnson C. Smith

University, and the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. These educational programs

serve to train the next generation of coastal resilience professionals in coastal

infrastructure resilience, disaster studies, and coastal studies.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched the Bridge Program to

increase diversity in NASA’s STEM workforce and build capacity at HBCUs and MSIs.

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• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration increased the grant award

amount to HBCUs between FY 2021 and FY 2022 by 39.9%, or $1.36 million.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded eight proposals totaling

$11 million over three years to HBCUs to build data science networks with Earth science

data, as part of NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP).

Supporting College Access and Completion

• In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling this summer limiting the ability of colleges to

consider an applicant’s race in and of itself as a factor in deciding whether to admit an

applicant, the Department of Education provided colleges and universities with

resources on what admissions practices and programs remain lawful to promote diversity,

convened a National Summit on Educational Opportunity, and released a report on

strategies for increasing diversity and educational opportunity. The Department also

awarded over $40 million in GEAR UP and TRIO Upward Bound grants in FY 2023 for

programs focused on helping low-income students, first-generation students, and students

with disabilities gain access to college.

• The Department of Education worked to secure a $500 increase in the maximum Pell

Grant award, the largest increase in 10 years, in the FY 2023 Omnibus Appropriations

bill and awarded $22 million in grants to colleges to address students’ basic needs,

including food, housing, transportation, and childcare earlier this fiscal year.

• The Department of Education has implemented a number of efforts over the last year to

ease repayment and reduce debt burden for student loan borrowers, which

disproportionately impacts low-income students and students of color, including recently

approving an additional $9 billion in debt relief through fixes to income-driven

repayment (IDR) plan and Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) programs and

granting automatic relief for borrowers with total and permanent disabilities, bringing the

total approved debt cancellation to $132 billion for over 3.6 million Americans. The

Department also rolled out initial implementation of the SAVE plan this fall, which is the

most affordable repayment plan ever created, and has already enrolled more than 4

million borrowers.

• The Department of Education re-launched the Raise the Bar: Attaining College

Excellence & Equity initiative with a summit this spring focused on data-driven

improvement efforts to equitably increase completion rates for students of color and low-

income students, published the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for the Postsecondary

Student Success Grants this summer, which the Department worked to increase from its

initial appropriation of $5 million to $45 million this year, and renewed Project Success,

which provides funding to HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs through Federal Student Aid in

partnership with Guaranty Agencies to increase completion rates and decrease default

rates.

• The Department of Education reinstated the Financial Student Aid Office of

Enforcement, which was closed under the previous Administration, to better protect

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student loan borrowers by ensuring that schools are adhering to the federal student aid

program rules and delivering quality education to students.

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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Protecting Overburdened Communities from Pollution and Environmental

Harms

• In September 2023, the Department of Agriculture Forest Service announced up to $1

billion in direct federal support, under the IRA, to local communities for urban tree-

planting and maintenance through the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry

(UCF) program. 100% of the awards will go to disadvantaged communities across the

country. This historic funding will support projects throughout the U.S. to improve public

health, increase access to nature, build climate resilience, and deliver tangible economic

and ecological benefits. This funding supplements $250 million previously awarded to

state and territory forestry agencies in April 2023.

• The IRA provided the Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) with $3.3 billion to build on its commitment to help

Americans—including Tribes and other underserved communities—prepare, adapt, and

build resilience to weather and climate events; improve supercomputing capacity and

research; strengthen NOAA’s hurricane hunter aircraft and fleet; and upgrade NOAA

facilities.

• To advance equity for communities around military installations and bases, the

Department of Defense closed 13 FY 2021 Cooperative Agreements in the fourth

quarter of 2023. At the beginning of the second quarter of 2023, the OSD finalized and

approved the FY 2023 Short List of Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation

Program (NALEMP) projects and budgets for 14 Federally Recognized Tribes. The Short

List is a list of Tribes with eligible sites that have been approved for NALEMP funding to

address past DoD environmental impacts on Indian lands and other locations where DoD,

an Indian tribe, and the current landowner agree that such mitigation is appropriate.

• The Department of Defense completed over half of the Preliminary Assessments/Site

Inspections (PAs/SIs) at 707 installations where DoD may have used or potentially

released per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). DoD obligated $2 billion through

FY 2022 to conduct PFAS-related drinking water mitigation, investigations, and cleanup

on its installations, as well as in nearby communities.

• The Department of Defense awarded three non-construction planning and organization

assistance grants to Guam in FY 2022 totaling $2.3 million to address cumulative DoD

socioeconomic and environmental impacts in Guam.

• The Department of Defense provided approximately $218 million in appropriated

funding for outside-the-fence investments in Guam, including a cultural repository ($12

million), a public health lab ($32 million), upgrades to the Northern District Wastewater

Treatment Plant ($139.3 million), Interceptor Sewer Refurbishment ($30.6 million), the

Northern Guam Lens Aquifer Monitoring System ($3.7 million), and surface

transportation network improvements ($212 million). All projects are estimated to be

completed by 2025.

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• The Department of Energy announced on July 6, 2023, nine states and three Tribal

communities as the third cohort to receive a combined total of $207.6 million in Grid

Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants including the Metlakatla Indian Community

(Annette Island Reserve), the Native Village of Eagle, and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of

North and South Dakota.

• Since FY 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency issued over 133 orders to

address drinking water violations in communities, particularly in communities with

environmental justice concerns, such as Cahokia Heights, Illinois; Clarksburg, West

Virginia; and Jackson, Mississippi; and in Tribal areas.

• In March 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency reached a settlement with

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company to install and operate air pollution controls at three

petrochemical manufacturing facilities in Texas located in areas of environmental justice

concern. Monitoring results will be publicly posted, and corrective actions are required if

emissions exceed certain thresholds.

• In August 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency, following negotiations that

considered concerns voiced by the local community, secured a preliminary injunction for

the Toa Alta Municipal Solid Waste Landfill to take immediate action to address urgent

human health and environmental concerns.

• The Environmental Protection Agency issued two Clean Air Act emergency orders to

shut down the Limetree Refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands (June 2021) where residents

were sickened by excess sulfur and hydrogen sulfide emissions, and to cut hydrogen

sulfide emissions from the New Indy plant in South Carolina (May 2021).

• The Environmental Protection Agency, in developing the final nitrogen oxides (NOx)

emission standards for trucks, conducted analyses of the number and demographics of the

populations living within close proximity to truck freight routes. The final rule will likely

result in widespread air quality improvements across the U.S., especially in areas already

overburdened by air pollution and diesel emissions, beginning with model year 2027.

• In July 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency issued proposed rules to strengthen

lead paint standards to protect against childhood lead exposure.

• The Environmental Protection Agency awarded $900 million in funding for Clean

School Buses to support replacing existing school buses with zero-emission or low-

emission buses that reduce exhaust, which is linked to asthma.

• The Environmental Protection Agency announced the allotment of $2.865 billion in FY

2023 funds from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for identification and

replacement of lead service lines (LSLs). As part of the Lead Service Line Replacement

Accelerators, EPA and four state partners are working with 40 communities to address

existing barriers and accelerate progress towards LSL identification and replacement.

• In December 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency deployed more than $1

billion from the BIL for cleanup activities at more than 100 Superfund National Priorities

List sites across the country. EPA started 81 new cleanup projects in 2022, including

projects at 44 sites previously on the backlog. By starting four times as many

construction projects as the year before, EPA is aggressively bringing more sites across

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the country closer to finishing cleanup. In February 2023, EPA announced the second

wave of approximately $1 billion in funding from the BIL to start new cleanup projects at

22 Superfund sites and expedite other ongoing cleanups across the country.

• The Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency

Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Direct Technical Assistance (BRIC

DTA) initiative, integrates climate change adaptation and disaster loss reduction into

broader community and economic development initiatives in selected underserved

communities through partnerships. In FY 2022, FEMA awarded $23 million federal cost

share with the Village of DePue, Illinois Wastewater Treatment Plant Rebuild to build a

new plant on village property outside of the floodway and floodplain. In FY 2022, FEMA

awarded $2.51 million federal cost share with Danville School District Safe Room,

located in an economically disadvantaged rural community in Arkansas because it had no

protection for its students during severe wind and tornado events. Through BRIC DTA,

Danville will build an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, multi-purpose safe

room next to the elementary school, with space for 1,126 students and staff, including six

wheelchair spaces, during dangerous storms. The project should also help improve

stormwater management and reduce future risk of flash flooding by including nature-

based solutions, such as permeable pavement.

Promoting the Latest Science, Data, and Research to Better Address

Environmental Justice Concerns

• The Department of Transportation through the Federal Highway Administration

(FHWA) began tracking the number of residential and non-residential displacements

to ensure displacements, especially in communities with environmental justice

concerns, are reduced across all projects and that mitigation measures are in place to

minimize impacts of relocation.

• The Environmental Protection Agency developed and operationalized a Cumulative

Impacts Framework in EPA’s programs and activities. The agency issued Cumulative

Impacts Research: Recommendations for EPA’s Office of Research and Development,

which provides recommendations for EPA Office of Research and Development

(ORD) cumulative impacts research to improve scientific methods and tools, and EPA

Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice: Cumulative Impacts Addendum, an

assessment of EPA’s legal authorities to consider and address cumulative impacts.

• The Environmental Protection Agency awarded $21.4 million in research grant funding

to 16 institutions for community-based research on how climate change may compound

adverse environmental conditions and health stressors in communities with

environmental justice concerns.

• The Environmental Protection Agency issued STAR grant awards to establish Centers

for Early Lifestage Vulnerabilities to Environmental Stressors—Cumulative Health

Impacts to investigate cumulative health impacts for children in rural agricultural

communities with environmental justice concerns.

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• The Environmental Protection Agency has integrated participatory (community)

science in its released Using Participatory Science at EPA: Vision and Principles, a

strategic approach to using participatory science (also known as citizen science,

community science, volunteer monitoring, and public participation in scientific research)

to strengthen environmental protection, and produced resource materials (Quality

Assurance Toolkit) to support the use of participatory science, such as through $53

million in funding for 132 air monitoring projects in 37 states and seven approximately

$75,000 Environmental Justice Small Grant awards to help communities to engage in

collaborative efforts to reduce diesel pollution at ports and railyards.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded 39 environmental

justice proposals totaling $6.9 million for up to three years. These proposals included

topics of air quality, climate hazards, and extreme heat.

Strengthening Engagement with Communities and Supporting Capacity

Building

• The Department of Commerce made available nearly $535 million in Justice40

Initiative funding for technical assistance and capacity building to support communities.

Through the Urban Heat Island Mapping, Community Climate Studies Program, and the

Climate Adaptation Partnerships Program, funds will help center environmental justice in

the Department’s decision-making. NOAA conducted two technical assistance outreach

events, five Tribal Consultations, and addressed 50 related RFIs and listening sessions.

• The Department of the Interior’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization

(AMLER) Program made FY 2022 grants available to the six Appalachian states and

three Tribal communities with Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Programs to return legacy

coal mining sites to productive use and foster economic and community development.

Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia each received $26.63 million; Alabama,

Ohio, and Virginia were each allocated $10.652 million; while the Navajo Nation, Hopi

Tribe, and Crow Tribe were each allocated $3.551 million.

• The Department of Treasury is implementing a variety of tax incentives and provisions

in the IRA to build a clean energy economy. The IRA increases the amount of the

Investment Tax Credit available for solar and wind facilities built in low-income

communities, on Indian Land, or directly serving low-income households, as well as

additional place-based incentives such as the energy community bonus for eligible

investments in legacy coal and energy communities.

• The Environmental Protection Agency announced $128 million for environmental

justice projects across the country through the Thriving Communities EJ Collaborative

Problem Solving and Government to Government grant programs launched in FY 2023;

the programs support communities and their governmental partners in establishing strong

collaborative efforts to identify solutions to priority equity and justice challenges facing

the community.

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• The Department of Commerce NOAA has co-produced seven regional pilot projects

with communities across the country to address local environmental challenges, including

flooding, heat, coastal inundation, and other climate change issues. Each regional pilot

responds directly to feedback received from partners during climate and equity

roundtable discussions. Pilots will take a unique, place-based approach to helping

vulnerable communities better understand, prepare for, and respond to climate change.

All pilot programs will wrap up by the end of 2025.

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CIVIL RIGHTS

Advancing Civil Rights

• The Department of Agriculture transformed the Department’s civil rights complaint

process by building capacity and improving timeliness. The Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Civil Rights has drastically improved the timeliness of its processing of civil

rights complaints by customers, including investigations, decision making, and appeals,

and has built the capacity to further reduce processing time for new USDA customer

discrimination complaints from three years to 225 days, going forward.

• The Department of Justice is strengthening efforts to ensure compliance and enforcement

of non-discrimination laws. Following review of implementation and administrative

enforcement of the non-discrimination provisions set forth in Title VI of the Civil Rights

Act and the Safe Streets Act in connection with federal financial assistance, the Department

is taking affirmative steps to improve this work. For example, the Civil Rights Division

(and the Office of Justice Programs (OJP)) created and co-chair a Compliance Working

Group to coordinate the implementation and enforcement of these statutes, issue public

guidance, revise internal standards, update tools and resources, and conduct public

outreach.

• To reform law enforcement practices, pursuant to E.O. 14074, the Department of Justice

is executing on more than 90 E.O. deliverables to advance effective, fair, and constitutional

policing; improve conditions of confinement and reentry; promote officer safety and

wellness; and improve data collection and analysis. This work includes prohibiting the

transfer or purchase of military-style weapons and equipment to State, Tribal, Local and

Territorial (STLT) law enforcement agencies (LEAs), administering grants in a manner that

is consistent with the adoption of E.O. 14074’s policies, creating accreditation standards to

help encourage STLT LEAs to adopt policies consistent with the E.O., and working to

establish the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database. DOJ also released a

Strategic Plan for supporting the goals of the Federal Interagency Alternatives and Reentry

Committee, which seeks to safely reduce criminal justice system interactions, support

rehabilitation during incarceration, and facilitate successful reentry. Lastly, DOJ has

invested in state- and local-level correctional services, including by supporting correctional

and educational institutions as they enhance post-secondary educational opportunities in

prisons following the reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students in July

2023. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is also expanding access to Pell Grants within federal

correctional facilities to help incarcerated students earn college credits and/or a college

degree.

• To improve access to Department of Justice programs and services, in 2022 and 2023, the

Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR), a collaboration of 28 federal agencies, co-

chaired by the Attorney General and White House Counsel’s Office and led and staffed by

DOJ’s Office for Access to Justice (ATJ), engaged with legal aid and other stakeholders to

inform its activities. The purpose of the engagement was to better understand the barriers

and opportunities to make Federal Government programs and services more accessible and

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equitable and increase all people’s ability to obtain just outcomes. In 2022, ATJ collected

feedback from over 70 legal aid and advocacy organizations across the country who

regularly help people access government programs and benefits for which they are eligible.

Informed by this review, the 2022 Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Report developed a

roadmap to simplify Federal Government forms, processes, and language, utilizing a

people-centered approach. In 2023, ATJ, in collaboration with other agencies, held a

listening session with 15 legal aid and other advocates to hear on-the-ground experiences

of individuals interacting with federal administrative proceedings to inform agency efforts,

such as providing assistance through lawyers and nonlawyers, streamlining processes and

language, and leveraging digital technologies while providing support to those without

access to such technologies.

• The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice issued a

joint guidance document on the protections in federal nondiscrimination laws, including the

Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VI of

the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable

Care Act, regarding access to telehealth for people with disabilities and limited English

proficient (LEP) persons. This document reminded healthcare providers that while

telehealth expands healthcare opportunities for individuals who would otherwise be unable

to receive healthcare in person, it must be provided in a manner that is accessible to

individuals with disabilities.

• In September 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed

rule to strengthen prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of a disability in health

care and human services programs by making updates to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation

Act to advance equity and bolster protections for people with disabilities.

• In accordance with Section 9I of E.O. 14074, Advancing Effective Accountable Policing

and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety, the Department

of Homeland Security LEAs will continue to ensure that effective procedures are in place

for receiving, investigating, and responding meaningfully to complaints alleging improper

profiling or bias by law enforcement officers and agents. DHS agencies will be reviewing

and adopting new, or updating as necessary, procedures that, at a minimum, address the

intake, investigation, and response to complaints.

• To improve airport screening and reduce the possibility of bias against travelers and

increase safety, the Department of Homeland Security Transportation Safety

Administration (TSA) has enhanced and standardized training for its screening officers and

has improved its screening technology capabilities. TSA deployed new Advanced Imaging

Technology (AIT) software for screening systems at airports across the country. This

update eliminates the need for Transportation Security Officers to determine a passenger’s

gender prior to AIT screening and is projected to reduce the instances of enhanced

screening for transgender persons and members of other underserved communities.

• The Department of Homeland Security has taken steps to advance equity in its Trusted

Traveler Programs. TSA updated the PreCheck® application process by allowing

individuals to select their gender marker based on self-attestation, regardless of sex

assigned at birth. The application was updated to include additional gender marker options

to better serve non-binary and gender non-conforming travelers.

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• The Department of Homeland Security S&T developed two complementary

technological approaches to facilitate safe, no touch TSA screening of passengers with

disabilities who use assistive devices. The goal is to improve convenience and efficiency at

TSA checkpoints for passengers with limited mobility, while maintaining their dignity

during security and threat detection procedures. Working prototypes of a handheld

screening tool and AI-enabled algorithms for AIT systems are expected to be evaluated by

the Transportation Security Laboratory in FY 2023-2024.

• The Department of Transportation issued a fact sheet on Title VI and discrimination on

the basis of shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, which protects individuals who are or

are perceived to be Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, or of another

religious group.

• The Department of Transportation reestablished the Advisory Committee on

Transportation Equity (ACTE) in May 2022, to provide independent advice on DOT equity

programs. Appointees to the ACTE were announced in August 2023, and are drawn from

various sectors of the transportation industry. The group held its first meeting in September

2023.

• In response to E.O. 13985, in December 2022, the Department of Transportation issued

DOT Order 1000.17 and formed the DOT Equity Council (Council) to guide and oversee

the process for institutionalizing equity across the Department’s policies and programs, and

compliance with related E.O.s and authorities. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg

chairs the Equity Council, which meets quarterly.

• The Department of Treasury has made significant efforts to increase civil rights

compliance and equal opportunity throughout the Department with the implementation of a

new external civil rights language access plan and complaint tracking system. Treasury’s

Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity also worked with the CDFI

Fund to implement pre-award civil rights compliance reviews in their financial assistance

award process. Specifically, the CDFI Fund began using a pre-award data collection form

in August 2023.

• The Environmental Protection Agency launched the new Office of Environmental Justice

and External Civil Rights, which significantly increased staffing with a majority of full-

time employees deployed in EPA’s 10 regions; strengthened and increased support for

language assistance services and community engagement; began development of indicators

to identify disparities in environmental and public health conditions; and trained and built

capacity across EPA on integrating equity and justice into agency work to advance

environmental justice and integrate equity in the implementation of agency programs.

• The Environmental Protection Agency strengthened external civil rights enforcement and

initiated EPA’s first civil rights compliance review to evaluate impacts of potentially

discriminatory activities by EPA financial assistance recipients on communities with

environmental justice concerns, and increased transparency by affirmatively providing

information to the public, including an interactive Online Docket of all external civil rights

complaints filed with EPA since 2014, and corresponding documents.

• In August 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency issued Interim Environmental

Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting FAQs, which gathered existing guidance, technical

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assistance, and other resources to assist permit writers and reviewers with integrating

environmental justice and civil rights into decision-making.

• The General Services Administration worked to expand access to voter registration

information in communities that face voter participation difficulties due to language

barriers. Vote.gov added several Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander languages

including: Bengali, Khmer, Korean, Hindi, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, with Chinese (both

simplified and traditional) and its first Alaska Native language, Yup’ik-Akuzipik.

• The General Services Administration launched an Equity Study on Remote Identity

Proofing, recruiting 4,000 Americans, to understand potential barriers and demographic

disparities in identity verification technologies that are commonly used by the public when

accessing federal services and benefits.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration increased accessibility in NASA

facilities. Among NASA’s efforts to increase accessibility are initiatives at NASA Goddard

Space Flight Center and Space Center Houston for Sensory Friendly Hours at visitor

centers and numerous STEM materials and programs for students with disabilities. In July

2023, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex was named a Certified Autism Center.

• In September 2023, the Social Security Administration (SSA) updated policy to offer

people the choice to self-select their gender on their Social Security number (SSN) record.

People who update their gender marker will still need to show a current document to prove

their identity, but they will no longer need to provide medical or legal documentation of

their gender.

Improving Language Access

• The Department of Agriculture is working across the Department to increase language

access for customers and potential customers with LEP. The Department has announced

a new Language Access Plan to guide Department-wide and agency plans and

implementation and made signification progress in increasing the availability of non-

English resources. For example, in FY 2022, USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation

mission area translated more than 730 products spanning 30 languages and created 200

new Spanish-language webpages on farmers.gov.

• The Department of Health and Human Services created a comprehensive structure for

implementing HHS’s action plan and practices for language access. HHS relaunched its

Language Access Steering Committee (LASC), which is comprised of representatives

from every HHS agency. The LASC will facilitate the sharing of effective practices and

procedures for enhancing language access.

• To ensure state compliance with language access and effective communication

obligations during and after public health emergencies, on April 5, 2023, the

Department of Health and Human Services OCR dispatched a letter to state health

officials reminding states of their language access and effective communication

obligations under federal civil rights laws to ensure that individuals and families continue

to have access to Medicaid.

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• In July 2022, Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Immigration

Services (USCIS) issued new language access guidance to ensure that LEP individuals

seeking asylum who cannot be interviewed in the credible fear screening process are

placed into removal proceedings where an immigration judge can apply appropriate

language access safeguards as that individual seeks relief.

• The Department of Homeland Security USCIS Language Services Branch has

prioritized reaching the most vulnerable populations, including victims of trafficking, in

their languages and in a culturally appropriate manner. This work, which spanned two

fiscal years and involved multiple language specialists, resulted in approximately 1,000

pages of translation.

• The Department of Homeland Security continues to enhance communication with the

public regarding the ability to file complaints concerning DHS programs and seek redress

without retaliation, how these processes work, and what individuals can expect from

these processes. In March 2023, the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL)

launched a new online complaint portal, with prompts available in 10 languages. The

portal accepts complaints in any language and also notes the availability of interpreters

and translators for any language.

• On May 25, 2023, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas issued

Policy Statement 500-02, Reaffirming the Commitment to Nondiscrimination in

Department of Homeland Security Activities, adopting the May 2023 Department of

Justice Guidance for Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Regarding the Use of Race,

Ethnicity, Gender, National Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and

Disability as it applies to federal law enforcement personnel and federal non-law

enforcement personnel in the DHS covered law enforcement activities. Expanded

application of the anti-profiling standards to security screening activities by federal law

enforcement agencies, such as those performed by Protective Security Officers employed

by the Federal Protective Service, is among several notable policy changes resulting from

DHS adoption of the updated DOJ guidance.

• In May 2023, the Department of Homeland Security CRCL transmitted an update of

the Department’s Language Access Plan to DOJ, pursuant to the November 2022

Memorandum from the Attorney General, Strengthening the Federal Government’s

Commitment to Language Access. The DHS Language Access Plan, finalized and issued

in November 2023, incorporates recommendations from DHS agencies and offices,

highlights language access accomplishments, and affirms the Department’s commitment

to ensuring meaningful access to persons and communities with LEP, which DHS serves.

CRCL administers the DHS Civil Rights Evaluation Tool, a data collection and technical

assistance tool, which assists the approximately 3,000 DHS grant recipients in meeting

and understanding their civil rights responsibilities, including language access obligations

under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other civil rights requirements.

• The Department of Homeland Security Office of the Citizenship and Immigration

Services Ombudsman offers case assistance (free of charge), and conducts stakeholder

outreach to marginalized and vulnerable communities, farmworkers, refugees, asylees,

individuals requesting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and others, is

implementing a multilingual strategy to expand the office’s reach to individuals with

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LEP. The strategy incorporates infographics which are available in 11 languages:

English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese,

Russian, Arabic, Somali, and Ukrainian.

• The Department of Homeland Security U.S. Coast Guard is procuring portable

handheld tools that provide real-time translation at sea to augment in-person translators.

The portable translators are expected to provide instant off-line translations at sea for at

least 16 different languages, including Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, German, French,

Haitian-Creole, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian-Iranian, Portuguese, Russian,

Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. In addition, the tools will have the

capability to translate documents (text-to-voice).

• In May 2022, the Department of Justice hired its first-ever Language Access

Coordinator and has reestablished the Language Access Working Group, which is

comprised of representatives from various DOJ components, and meets regularly to

provide a platform to support, guide, and oversee components’ efforts to increase

meaningful access so that communities can better access DOJ programs, communicate

public safety concerns, and vindicate their rights. For example, DOJ recently published

its FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan in Spanish. DOJ also published key excerpts in Chinese,

Vietnamese, Korean, and Tagalog. In August 2023, the Department also released its

updated Language Access Plan, which improves translation and interpretation services,

promotes quality assurance of those services, and expands the range of tools available to

serve the public.

• In FY 2023, the Department of Labor Civil Rights Center established the Centralized

Office of Language Assistance to provide technical assistance and guidance to agencies

on language access. The Department also launched an enterprise-wide survey to assess

each DOL agency’s current language access practices, to strengthen outreach,

engagement, and foster stronger relationships with organizations who serve LEP

individuals. The Department’s Plan to Improve Access for Persons with LEP will be

issued shortly.

• In FY 2022, Department of Labor OSHA’s Susan Harwood Training Grant program

funded 90 different non-profit organizations to develop and/or offer safety and health

training and/or materials for hard-to-reach, often LEP workers and small business

employers located in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Over 87% of applicants

proposed to develop or offer training in languages other than English.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration developed and updated

Language Access Plans at all 10 of its Centers to establish a more equitable

communication strategy for reaching LEP populations. Additionally, NASA completed

one Title VI compliance review focused on LEP. It also completed two Title IX reviews

and initiated two additional Title IX reviews. Together, these actions strengthened

NASA’s work on civil rights compliance and accessibility to LEP populations.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration greatly expanded Spanish-

language communications, including releasing the second episode of Universo Curioso de

la NASA, ranked number one in science podcasts in 15 countries. NASA’s Spanish

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language Instagram and X(Twitter) accounts ranked number one in the federal

government.

• In August 2023, the Social Security Administration made form SS-5 (Application for a

Social Security Card) instructions available in 15 languages other than English and

Spanish in local Social Security offices and Card Centers. The non-English instructions

will help applicants with LEP complete the English-language form SS-5.

Leveraging Equitable Data

• To better capture and include underserved communities in data collection, the

Department of Commerce Census Bureau received a FY 2023 appropriation of $10

million to research adding questions on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the

American Community Survey. Similarly, Census is piloting a project with the Internal

Revenue Service (IRS) to develop formally private (confidentiality safeguarded)

measures of race and ethnicity at the person level, allowing Census to share protected

data with the IRS. Sharing such protected microdata allows other federal agencies to

study variations by race and ethnicity in enrollment in, access to, and usage patterns of

benefits and services of federal programs without necessitating access to confidential

data.

• To become a leader on equitable AI research and development, the Department of

Defense released an updated Responsible AI Guidelines in Practice by the Defense

Innovation Unit in June 2023. The document is a practical framework for including the

DoD’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics Principles, including equity, in AI product

planning, development, testing, and evaluation. It is a living document, to be updated

based on evolving best practices and practical experience.

• In June 2022, the Department of Defense published its Responsible Artificial

Intelligence Strategy and Implementation Pathway, which guides the Department’s

journey to its goal of a trusted AI ecosystem.

• To address gaps in data collection, the Department of Energy implemented an agency

wide BIL FOA template for BIL and IRA actions to further the Administration’s goals to

advance equity, provide support for disadvantaged communities, and leverage federal

resources to achieve these objectives. The FOA template includes a Community Benefits

Plan requirement, along with requirements to collect equity and justice-focused data.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development updated data collection

requirements in its Homeless Management Information System. The updates improved

race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity data collection from homelessness

service providers and developed new resources for additional guidance: Client-Centered

Approach to Recognizing Race and Ethnicity Identities in Data Collection and Client-

Centered Approach to Recognizing Gender Identities in Data Collection.

• The Department of the Interior enhanced its data collection to support park

programming that is more inclusive of underrepresented communities through the

investments made in the National Park Service’s (NPS’s) socio-economic program, as

well as the park unit visitor surveys.

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• In December 2022, the Department of Transportation FHWA surveyed State

Departments of Transportation and Metropolitan Planning Organizations on their

inclusion of quantitative equity screenings and meaningful and representative public

participation in their Statewide and Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Programs

in order to help develop a baseline and work toward achieving the related Key

Performance Indicator.

• As of December 2022, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

migrated 75 environmental data sets to the cloud, surpassing the goal of 50 for

2022, to make the data more accessible to the public.

• Since January 2022, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s

Applied Remote Sensing Training program has trained almost 28,000 people from

all 50 states, three territories, and 159 countries on how to use NASA data to address

key environmental issues, surpassing its annual goal of 3,000 people by more than

nine-fold.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded 16 proposals

totaling $6.5 million over three years for education and training in open science to

enable transparent research and data for everyone.

• In August 2022, the Social Security Administration added race and ethnicity questions

to the online SSN application process used to obtain a Social Security card. This has

resulted in an increase of voluntary reporting of race and ethnicity information. In

September 2023, SSA also added race and ethnicity questions to the online SSN

replacement application process used to obtain a replacement card.

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HEALTH EQUITY

Expanding Equitable Access to Food and Nutrition for Children and Families

• The Department of Agriculture is investing in outreach, innovation, and modernization

to ensure that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and

Children (WIC) serves more eligible families and better meets their needs. WIC

modernization is focused on enrolling and keeping enrolled all eligible families; making

shopping simple and convenient; continuing to leverage technology to make applying for

the program, scheduling appointments, receiving nutrition services, and interacting with

WIC between appointments easy; and making WIC equitable and accessible for all.

While evaluations of the modernization effort are planned to start this year, preliminary

data shows that WIC participation is rising in most states, with 6.7 million moms, babies,

and young kids benefitting from the program as of July 2023.

• In September 2023, the Department of Agriculture finalized a regulation expanding the

availability of the school lunch program Community Eligibility Provision, which gives

about 3,000 more school districts in high-need areas the option to serve breakfast and

lunch to all students at no cost. USDA is also supporting expanded access to healthy

school meals by offering extensive financial support for schools: $30 million in Healthy

Meals Incentives grants to 264 small and rural school districts nationwide; $30 million in

FY 2023 Equipment Grants for states and school districts operating school lunch

programs; and nearly $11 million in FY 2023 Farm to School Grants, serving 1.2 million

children.

• The Department of Agriculture awarded nearly $100 million in Reach & Resiliency

grants to 42 state agencies to expand The Emergency Food Assistance Program

operations in underserved areas, including remote, rural, and Tribal communities. USDA

also announced a second round of nearly $1 billion in funding through USDA’s

Commodity Credit Corporation for states to order commodities from USDA vendors for

emergency food providers, including food banks and community kitchens, as they face

high demand and supply chain disruptions. The investment is part of USDA’s continued

efforts to make nutritious food grown by American producers more accessible for

families and students nationwide.

• In summer 2023, the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)

allowed certain rural areas to distribute meals to kids outside of the typically required

group (congregate) settings through the Summer Food Service Program and National

School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option. This action will help close the summer

hunger gap and ensure equitable access to nutritious food for children in all parts of the

country during the summer months. FNS is also partnering with states and stakeholders to

stand up a permanent Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program starting in summer

2024, which will provide benefits to purchase groceries over the summer to families with

children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals.

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Improving Maternal and Reproductive Healthcare

• As of December 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services approved 42

states, DC, and the Virgin Islands to provide 12 months of continuous postpartum

coverage through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). An estimated

540,000 Americans annually are eligible for essential care for a full year after pregnancy.

HHS secured this option for states permanently in the Consolidated Appropriations Act

of 2023, and CMS will continue to work with states on continuous coverage.

• The Department of Health and Human Services awarded Equity in Postpartum Care

Challenge grants to identify successful and promising approaches to improving

postpartum care and equity in maternal health outcomes.

• The Department of Health and Human Services CMS established a "Birthing

Friendly” hospital designation—a publicly-reported, public-facing hospital designation

on the quality and safety of maternity care (launched in 2023). CMS will award this

designation to hospitals that report they participated in a national or statewide quality

collaborative and implemented all recommended interventions.

• The Department of Health and Human Services established a National Maternal

Mental Health Hotline on Mother’s Day 2022, which provides 24/7, free, confidential

emotional support, resources, and referrals before, during, and after pregnancy in English

and Spanish and offers interpreter services in more than 60 languages. During the first

year, hotline counselors responded to nearly 12,000 calls and texts.

• In December 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services launched the

Transforming Maternal Health model through the CMS Innovation Center, the first to

focus exclusively on improving maternal health care for people enrolled in Medicaid and

Children's Health Insurance Program. The model will support participating state

Medicaid agencies in the development of a whole-person approach to pregnancy,

childbirth, and postpartum care that addresses the physical, mental health, and social

needs experienced during pregnancy. The goal of the model is to reduce disparities in

access and treatment. The model aims to improve outcomes and experiences for mothers

and their newborns, while also reducing overall program expenditures.

• In July 2022, the Departments of Health and Human Services, the Treasury, and

Labor issued guidance on coverage of certain contraceptive services and products,

including emergency contraceptives, under the Affordable Care Act. In August 2022, the

Office of Personnel Management issued a Carrier Letter on Contraception reminding

Carriers of their responsibilities to offer contraceptive services with no enrollee cost-

sharing. At the end of January 2024, OPM issued guidance strongly encouraging all

FEHB Carriers to broaden coverage for contraceptive products, drugs and services at no

cost sharing; and, undertake comprehensive enrollee education on the availability of

contraceptive services. This guidance aligns the FEHB program with those regulated or

funded by the departments of Labor, HHS, and Treasury.

• On March 1, 2023, the Office of Personnel Management issued its annual Call Letter

for the 2024 plan year for FEHBP plans requiring health plans to offer expanded fertility

benefits, including coverage of artificial insemination and, at a minimum, 3 cycles of In

Vitro Fertilization (IVF) related drugs annually. Twenty-five health plan choices,

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including four national plan choices, offer broader coverage of in-vitro fertilization (IVF)

related services and benefits than the minimum level required.

• The Office of Personnel Management asked FEHB Carriers to maintain and expand

coverage shown to improve maternal health outcomes that many initiated in 2022. The

majority of FEHB Carriers have continued to: implement the CDC-developed Hear

Her™ campaign to raise awareness among providers of potentially life-threatening

warning signs during and after pregnancy exhibited by women of color; increase

reimbursement and coverage for childbirth education classes, group prenatal care, home

visiting programs, care management for high-risk pregnancies, self-measured blood

pressure monitoring, certified nurse midwives, birth centers, and perinatal support

services, like doulas; and include in their networks hospitals whose standards align with

the “Birthing-Friendly” designation aimed at improving perinatal health outcomes and

maternal health equity.

Addressing Community Health Needs

• On August 4, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services published draft

rules on language access in all health programs and activities funded by HHS, HHS’s

Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM),

proposing comprehensive updates to HHS’s regulations implementing Section 1557, the

nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act. The proposed rule would restore

and strengthen civil rights protections for patients and consumers in certain federally

funded health programs.

• The Department of Health and Human Services OCR and the Assistant Secretary for

Financial Resources published an NPRM clarifying nondiscrimination on the basis of sex

in certain HHS grants. The NPRM states that, in statutes administered by HHS that

prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, HHS interprets those provisions to prohibit

discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This NPRM further

builds on HHS’s efforts to ensure access to health and human services in furtherance of

President Biden’s E.O.s on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation and Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay,

Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals.

• The Office of Personnel Management conducted 10 focus groups of federal employees

and completed a report on its findings to support the development of a new FEHB tool.

The findings helped OPM identify key features and functionality that federal employees

desire in a Decision Support Tool when selecting health benefits and informed the user-

research for the Decision Support Tool for Postal employees. In addition, OPM finalized

a customer experience web survey and published the Paperwork Reduction Act notice to

implement the web surveys. OPM also included questions in the 2023 Federal Employee

Benefits Survey to assess employee views on the current plan comparison tool.

• In FY 2023, the Social Security Administration launched a new Supplemental Security

Income (SSI) “Basic Needs” campaign to restore applications closer to pre-pandemic

levels, in support of its FY 2022-2023 APG. The APG was to increase SSI applications

from underserved communities by 25% and nationwide by 15%, relative to the 2021

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baseline. The agency exceeded its APG target for SSI applications from underserved

communities, achieving about 105% of its goal. Nationwide, the agency achieved about

99% of its goal for SSI applications.

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC

SAFETY

Countering Domestic Violent Extremism, Racism, and Hate-Fueled Violence

• To counter domestic violent extremism and targeted violence, the Department of

Homeland Security Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) conducted

targeted outreach to additional local and underserved communities, providing technical

assistance and support to those stakeholders. The Targeted Violence and Terrorism

Prevention Grant Program provides funding for state, local, Tribal, and territorial

governments, nonprofits, and institutions of higher education to establish or enhance

capabilities to prevent targeted violence and terrorism. In FY 2022, CP3 reached 49 new

organizations and over 900 people, resulting in 31 applications from and 11 awards to

organizations representing underserved communities.

• In response to a wave of bomb threats targeting HBCUs in 2022, the Department of

Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Office for

Bombing Prevention conducted 27 courses for HBCU students and faculty in prevention

and building resilience, trained more than 1,200 participants, delivered over 1,500

products, and saw a 54% increase in completion of the more than 24,000 training videos.

Additional courses are ongoing.

• In 2022, the Department of Homeland Security Office of State and Local Law

Enforcement and CRCL Office, and the White House Initiative on Advancing

Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through HBCUs, sponsored

full-day courses at five HBCUs to help equip campus leaders and other community

stakeholders with the problem-solving skills to prevent, protect, and mitigate the effects

of, respond to, and recover from active shooter situations.

• Since July 2022, the Department of Homeland Security has led multiple engagements

focused on addressing community concerns related to domestic violent extremism,

Department strategy, and incidents of hate targeting specific communities. In April 2023,

DHS Office of Partnership and Engagement (OPE) hosted a virtual Ramadan engagement

with American Muslim community leaders to solicit their feedback, concerns, and

insights on DHS policies and programs.

• In March 2023, the Department of Homeland Security launched the Prevention

Resource Finder, providing stakeholders with information on the resources needed to

help prepare for and prevent targeted violence and terrorism across our country.

• The Department of Homeland Security regularly engages with underserved

communities and stakeholder groups, including those representing diverse racial, ethnic,

and religious communities; the LGBTQI+ community; persons who are LEP; individuals

with disabilities; and others. For example, in September 2022, Secretary Mayorkas

announced the appointment of 25 members to the reinvigorated Faith-Based Security

Advisory Council. The Council’s membership, with representatives from the Christian,

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Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh faith communities, as well as law enforcement, has met

three times and has issued recommendations on enhancing information sharing with

faith-based organizations, improving the accessibility of DHS grants and resources, and

building trust and partnerships with faith-based communities.

• The Department of Justice has increased multilingual resources to combat hate crimes

and incidents through federal law enforcement action and enhanced training, support, and

outreach to state and local partners. For example, DOJ has further prioritized civil rights

violations and hate crimes enforcement among the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s field

offices. As of September 2023, DOJ launched the United Against Hate program in all 94

U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to help improve the reporting of hate crimes by informing

communities on how to identify, report, and help prevent hate crimes, and to encourage

trust building between law enforcement and communities.

• The BSCA provides the Department of Justice with essential tools to help prevent and

reduce gun violence. Notably, BSCA established new federal criminal offenses that

address straw purchasing and firearms trafficking, prompted changes to the National

Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), and provided additional grant

funding to prevent and reduce gun violence. BSCA also changed the background check

process and narrowed what was known as the “boyfriend loophole” by expanding the

misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence (MCDV) prohibitor to persons convicted, on

or after June 25, 2022, of a qualifying offense that was committed against a person with

whom they are or recently were in a dating relationship. In August 2022, NICS began

denying the transfer of firearms from federal firearms licensees to applicants based on the

expanded definition of MCDV.

• The Joint Commission on Reducing Violent Crime Against Indians (Commission) was

extended to increase intergovernmental coordination in combating violent crime within

Indian lands and against Indigenous persons. The Department of Justice components are

supporting the work of the Commission, which is developing recommendations on

establishing best practices for federal, state, Tribal, and local LEAs to improve

coordination and resources for survivors and victims’ families and combating the

epidemic of missing, murdered, and trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Native

peoples. In 2023, the Commission held field hearings in the communities most affected

by this crisis, which will result in a final report to the U.S. Congress, the Attorney

General, and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

Supporting Victims and Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

• In July 2023, the Department of Defense continues to implement military justice reform

through the Executive Order signed by President Biden that transferred key decision-

making authorities from commanders to specialized, independent military prosecutors for

domestic violence, sexual assault, murder, and other serious offenses.

• In March 2022, the Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign developed an

online Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Awareness Course to help airport and private

aviation industry personnel define GBV; identify its various forms, including human

trafficking; and describe ways to support victims and survivors.

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• In March 2023, the Department of Homeland Security USCIS announced the opening

of the Humanitarian, Adjustment, Removing Conditions, and Travel Documents (HART)

Service Center. This new Service Center focuses on adjudication of humanitarian-based

immigration relief, including Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitions and

petitions for U nonimmigrant status for eligible survivors of qualifying crimes. The

establishment of this new Service Center will significantly increase the number of

adjudicators to positively impact the timeliness and scale of USCIS’ humanitarian

processing abilities, particularly for women and girls pursuing these avenues of

humanitarian protection. In support of this announcement, USCIS held a national

stakeholder engagement in April 2023, and provided briefings on the new service center

to several stakeholder groups.

• To combat sexual misconduct and gender-based violence, the Department of Justice has

developed resources to assist Department prosecutors and investigators in understanding

how to use federal civil rights statutes to redress sexual misconduct. DOJ has also

produced a report related to sexual misconduct by BOP employees, which offers

actionable recommendations to improve procedures for victim reporting, ensure survivors

do not experience penalties for reporting, enhance reporting options for third parties, and

prioritize investigations and prosecutions of BOP employees who commit sexual

misconduct.

• The Department of Justice is implementing the Alaska Pilot Program (Pilot Program) to

advance the public safety needs of Alaska Native Villages through the expansion of

Tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit certain covered crimes in

Villages designated by the Attorney General to participate in the Pilot Program. In

furtherance of this work, the Office of Tribal Justice has led formal consultations with

Tribal leaders and continues to collaborate with Tribal representatives and organizations

to develop the Pilot Program. In addition, the Office on Violence Against Women

(OVW) issued a special solicitation for Alaska Tribes interested in preparing for the Pilot

Program through funding under the Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction: Targeted

Support for Alaska Native Tribes Special Initiative. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the

District of Alaska also convened approximately 800 Tribes and Tribal agencies, LEAs,

and victims’ services organizations to establish the Alaska Tribal Public Safety Advisory

Committee, as required by VAWA Reauthorization. In connection with the VAWA

Reauthorization Act of 2022, the Attorney General and OVW are authorized to make

grants to enhance services for victims of crimes in underserved populations, including

LGBTQI+ populations.

• The Department of Transportation Maritime Administration and U.S. Merchant

Marine Academy released the Every Mariner Builds A Respectful Culture (EMBARC)

Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment (SASH) Prevention Mandatory Standards for all

U.S.-flag vessels to adopt and follow. These standards foster a community of mutual

respect, support, and accountability and provide resources to support appropriate

reporting of sexual misconduct, impacting not only individual midshipmen but the

industry culture as a whole. Fourteen companies have fully enrolled and adopted a SASH

policy as of July 2023.

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• The National Science Foundation’s Office of Equity and Civil Rights has appointed a

dedicated Sexual Assault/Harassment Prevention and Response Program Manager along

with a Senior Advisor within the Office of the Director to expand the efforts and guide

program initiatives. The Office also issued a Dear Colleague letter in August 2023 that

encourages applicants to submit research proposals to NSF-funding opportunities that

address harassment in STEM education and research settings and workplaces.

Improving Transit Safety and Accessibility in Urban and Rural Communities

• In October 2022, the Department of Transportation announced the TIFIA 49 Program

that offers low-cost and flexible financing for transit and Transit-oriented Development

(TOD) projects at up to 49% of eligible project costs through DOT’s Transportation

Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, a higher level of financing

that will help more projects get off the ground.

• In December 2022, the Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration

(FTA) announced 15 projects in nine states that will receive approximately $686 million

under the new All Stations Accessibility Program to make transit rail stations built before

passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act fully accessible to people with

disabilities.

• In January 2023, the Department of Transportation encouraged discretionary grant

project sponsors to identify how their project will reverse or mitigate how the community

is experiencing disadvantage.

• In January 2023, the Department of Transportation FHWA released the Speed Safety

Camera Program Planning and Operations Guide for state and local governments aimed

at reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries resulting from speeding related crashes as

part of a broader speed management program—especially in school areas and

construction zones.

• In February 2023, the Department of Transportation FTA awarded its Mobility,

Access & Transportation Insecurity: Creating Links to Opportunity Research and

Demonstration program to explore strategies to improve people’s mobility and access to

daily needs and evaluate outcomes and impacts upon individuals and communities.

• In February 2023, the Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA) published a final rule, as required by the BIL, updating the

Uniform State Highway Safety Grant Program to require NHTSA grant recipients to

conduct meaningful public engagement among affected communities, particularly those

most significantly impacted by traffic crashes resulting in injuries and fatalities.

• In February 2023, the Department of Transportation announced $800 million in grant

awards for the Safe Streets and Roads for All program to help communities improve

roadway safety, especially for the most vulnerable roadway users, benefitting

disadvantaged communities who are disproportionately impacted by roadway fatalities.

• In May 2023, the Department of Transportation launched the Equitable Transportation

Community (ETC) Explorer tool, an interactive mapping tool to understand where

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transportation insecurity, defined as limited transportation access and safety combined

with high cost burden, is most acute across the country. The Department also began

piloting a transportation cost burden measure, using existing data sources in the ETC

Explorer, to prioritize transportation investments.

• In June 2023, the Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration

(FRA) awarded $570 million in project funds under the Railroad Crossing Elimination

Grant Program which provides funding for highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossing

improvement projects that focus on improving the safety and mobility of people and

goods. With the proximity of rail infrastructure to minority and low-income areas, there

often is a correlation between grade crossing delays and negative impacts to those

communities.

• The Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is

researching ways to help automatically secure wheelchairs in aircraft while maintaining

occupant safety. NHTSA also continues to identify the needs of people with disabilities

and diverse needs to use the automated vehicles of the future safely and comfortably.

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HOUSING JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY

INVESTMENT

Advancing Housing Justice

• The Department of the Interior and Department of Housing and Urban

Development collaboratively announced support for more Affordable Housing in

Nevada.

• The Department of Treasury leveraged the Emergency Rental Assistance program to

create the first-ever nationwide infrastructure to prevent eviction. More than 12.3 million

household payments were made to families at risk of eviction as of June 30, 2023. The

program has been particularly effective at reaching low-income and/or traditionally

underserved renters, including Black and women-headed households.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development lowered costs for borrowers by

reducing the Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium Rates. In addition to lowering costs

for borrowers, which could mean an estimated savings of $678 million for American

families, HUD established a 40-Year Loan modification to better assist struggling

homeowners from losing their assets to foreclosure, particularly households of color.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development partnered with the National

Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) to Address Appraisal Bias and

Discrimination. The HUD-NAREB partnership is tackling appraisal bias and

discrimination and promoting fairness in the housing market through online training for

counselors, roundtable discussions on bias and discrimination, educational material

distribution, and appraisal-related training.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development educated housing providers,

tenants, applicants, and others about fair housing protections. HUD issued

Implementation of the Office of General Counsel’s Guidance on Application of Fair

Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real

Estate-Related Transactions to protect tenant rights related to the use of criminal records,

including to set out best practices related to the use of criminal background screening

information on applicants or tenants, and developed an LGBTQIA+ Fair Housing Toolkit

to advance housing equity for the LGBTQIA+ community.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken additional steps

through the Office of Single Family Housing (SFH) to support wealth-generation

activities for prospective and current homeowners. Specifically, SFH expanded access to

credit by incorporating a borrower’s positive rental payment history into the mortgage

underwriting process. Using rental payment history promotes a more inclusive credit

evaluation, which in turn can expand homeownership opportunities to first-time

homebuyers. This guidance is expected to continue to expand homeownership

opportunities for borrowers where a positive rental payment history can make a

difference when combined with other assessment factors for determining eligibility for

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Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgage financing. HUD estimates this

policy change will enable an additional 5,000 borrowers per year to qualify for an FHA-

insured loan.

• In 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration’s Interagency Task Force on Property

Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE), led by the Department of Housing and Urban

Development and the White House, released the PAVE Action Plan, the most wide-

ranging set of actions ever announced to advance equity in the home appraisal process.

• In March 2023, the Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $54

million to 182 fair housing organizations across the country under its Fair Housing

Initiatives Program (FHIP), an increase of $7 million from the prior year’s funding cycle.

The grants will provide $28,200,000 to support the efforts of national, state, and local fair

housing entities working to address violations of the Fair Housing Act and helping to end

discrimination in housing. In addition, HUD provided $26,350,000 in funding to its

second- and third-year Private Enforcement Initiative grantees to continue fair housing

enforcement efforts nationwide. Eligible activities for the funding awarded include

testing for appraisal bias and educating local communities on the issue. The grant funding

will allow the grantees to provide fair housing enforcement by conducting investigations,

testing to identify discrimination in the rental and sales markets, and filing fair housing

complaints with HUD or substantially equivalent state and local agencies.

• In October 2023, the Department of Housing and Urban Development published

a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would eliminate the agency’s restrictions on the

use of fair housing testers with prior felony convictions or certain other convictions by

FHIP grantees and Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agencies. Fair housing

testers provide invaluable support to HUD and HUD’s fair housing partners by taking

part in housing transactions to screen for discrimination.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Public and Indian

Housing is ensuring that Public Housing Authorities meet legal requirements around

disclosing denials of admission to applicants and to share best practices around the use of

tenant screening reports and the disclosure of the contents of those reports to tenants.

Achieving Equitable Outcomes for Disaster Survivors

• The Department of Commerce Census Bureau launched the Community Resilience

Estimates (CRE) program to help measure the abilities of communities to absorb the

external stresses of a disaster or shock. The CRE partnerships include various Commerce

and inter-agency partners like the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA),

NOAA, DHS FEMA, and EPA. More broadly, the CRE program provides users with a

dashboard and data to understand the social vulnerability of their communities.

• The Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency

has advanced equity as a foundation for public assistance. In August 2022, FEMA’s

Office for Public Assistance released the Operational Draft of the Public Assistance

Program Delivery Guide, which included considerations for FEMA recipients and

applicants to conduct response and recovery efforts in an equitable manner. The guide

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includes a performance metric for the prioritization of communities rated as highly

socially vulnerable, including underserved rural areas.

• The Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency is

redeveloping the way it collects, documents, and processes information from applicants

to be less burdensome, more effective, and more equitable in the distribution of public

assistance. FEMA will work to clarify the recipient’s legal responsibility and to structure

a more comprehensive reporting process so that recipients and subrecipients clearly

understand their obligations to develop and report on their strategies for equitable

response and recovery.

• The Small Business Administration improved access to disaster assistance through a

new process to assist businesses with application completion, reconsiderations, credit

repair, and managerial and technical services. To optimize recovery resource delivery,

SBA increased the maximum allowable disaster loan amount; implemented statutory

changes to increase the accessibility of disaster assistance for rural communities and

piloted a new lending platform to reduce burden and speed up the application and

approval process; and began conducting customer service campaigns earlier in the

disaster response cycle with partners. These partners include local, state, and federal

entities such as SBA Resource Partners like Small Business Development Centers

(SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), the business mentoring organization

SCORE, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), as well as Community

Navigators, economic development agencies, and emergency managers, and with mayors,

Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), MSIs, HBCUs, and Tribal Nations.

• The Small Business Administration completed the Disaster Loan Program

Modifications Rule to increase the maximum allowable disaster loan amount to ensure

the amount of disaster assistance is sufficient to help disaster victims complete a full

recovery.

• The Small Business Administration implemented statutory changes increasing the

accessibility of disaster assistance for rural communities.

• In collaboration with local organizations, the Small Business Administration new

Portable Loan Outreach Center (PLOC) initiative focused on providing support to

underserved disaster survivors that might not otherwise have access to SBA assistance. In

FY 2023, several rural areas have been served by PLOCs. For example, in Mississippi,

352 business contacts had 72 successful loan applications; in Florida, 248 contacts led to

132 accepted applications.

• As of the third quarter of FY 2023, the Small Business Administration conducted 3,957

targeted outreach activities and events for disaster survivors in underserved communities,

emphasizing engagement with key community stakeholders.

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Tackling the Digital Divide

• The Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s (RD’s) ReConnect Program

provides loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations to bring high-speed Internet to rural

areas that lack sufficient access to broadband. In FY 2022, in the program’s third round

of funding, RD authorized 100% grants (without matching requirements) for Alaska

Native Corporations, Tribal governments, colonias, persistent poverty areas, and socially

vulnerable communities. For the fourth round, an additional no-match funding category

was added in August 2022, for projects where 90% of households lack sufficient access

to broadband.

• The Department of Agriculture made funding available to rural communities, technical

assistance providers, and cooperatives through a new Broadband Technical Assistance

(BTA) program. The BTA program promotes broadband expansion in rural areas with

support for project planning and community engagement, financial sustainability,

environmental compliance, construction planning and engineering, accessing federal

resources, and data collection and reporting. $20 million is available to help rural

communities access broadband technical assistance resources and to support the

development / expansion of broadband cooperatives.

• The Department of Commerce allocated more than $42 billion for broadband

construction, improvements, and access through the Broadband Equity, Access, and

Deployment (BEAD) program to deploy or upgrade broadband networks to ensure

everyone in America has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service;

nearly a billion dollars in Middle Mile (MM) program grants allocated across 36

organizations across 40 states and territories to support the construction, improvement, or

acquisition of middle-mile infrastructure, and $288 million in Broadband Infrastructure

Program (BIP) funds awarded to 14 recipients to begin breaking ground this year through

partnerships between states and Internet service providers to expand Internet access to

areas without service, especially rural areas.

• To better support minority-serving anchor institutions, the Department of Commerce is

implementing the Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program, which

provided $268 million in grant funding to 43 HBCUs, 31 HSIs, and 21 MSIs, and five

TCUs to purchase broadband Internet service and eligible equipment, or to hire and train

Information Technology personnel, to upgrade classroom technology, and to increase

digital literacy skills.

• The Department of Commerce Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program provided $980

million to Tribal governments to be used for broadband deployment on Tribal lands, as

well as for telehealth, distance learning, broadband affordability, and digital inclusion

initiatives. The Department invested $100 million through the Indigenous Communities

program funding, which was awarded to 51 recipients in 25 states and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to support the needs of Tribal

governments and Indigenous communities.

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Improving Equity in Infrastructure

• The Department of the Interior announced support for President Biden’s establishment

of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National

Monument in northern Arizona. The new national monument consists of three distinct

areas to the north and south of Grand Canyon National Park, totaling approximately

917,618 acres of federal lands in northern Arizona.

• The Department of the Interior announced $8.5 million in grant awards by the Office

of Insular Affairs’ Energizing Insular Communities program to support energy initiatives

in the U.S. territories. This award included $1 million to the Virgin Islands Water and

Power Authority for the procurement of hybrid and electric utility fleet vehicles and

equipment and $1 million to the American Samoa Medical Center Authority for

microgrid, cooling tower, and LED lighting retrofit projects.

• The Department of the Interior NPS announced $192 million in funding for the Land

Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)—Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP)

Program, which enables urban, disadvantaged communities to create new outdoor

recreation spaces, reinvigorate existing parks, and form connections between people and

the outdoors in such communities. As part of its NOFO, NPS modified the evaluation

criteria in ORLP grants to encourage states to submit projects focused on environmental

justice, addressing heat islands, and support for recreation outside of military facilities.

NPS also created two deadlines for the grant (January 23, 2023, and May 31, 2023) to

encourage states to submit more grants.

• The Department of the Interior enhanced LWCF and ORLP investments that are

tracking the short- and long-term success outcomes of the program investments in under-

represented communities.

• In February 2023, the Department of Transportation awarded $185 million to

disadvantaged communities as part of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program to

provide planning and construction grants to communities who have been cut off from

opportunities by infrastructure projects.

• In July 2023, the Department of Transportation published the joint FY 2023 NOFO for

the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Program, making up to $3.16 billion

available for planning activities and capital construction projects that advance

community-centered connection.

• The Department of Transportation launched the Rural Opportunities to Use

Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative to address concerns and

identify transportation challenges facing rural communities. Department officials hosted a

series of webinars and informational sessions to solicit input and increase awareness of

DOT programs for rural communities and convened a council dedicated to addressing

rural and Tribal initiatives. ROUTES offers comprehensive technical assistance to rural

communities across a variety of transportation-related topics, including grant funding,

electric vehicles, safety, and infrastructure development and maintenance.

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Strengthening Community Engagement and Public Participation

• The Department of Energy created the Office of State and Community Energy

Programs to administer state and community-facing programs, including the

Weatherization Assistance Program. On February 3, 2023, DOE published allocations of

$30 million for Weatherization Readiness from the FY 2023 Weather Assistance

Program appropriation, an increase of $15 million from FY 2022.

• The Department of Energy created the Energy Savings Hub and a video series to

educate the public on topics such as energy savings and tax incentives. The Energy

Savings Hub is a one-stop shop for homeowners, renters, and drivers to learn how they

can save energy, save money, and save the planet. It features something for everyone,

including clean energy tax incentives and tips/tricks to conserve energy. The Clean

Energy 101 video series is captioned in both English and Spanish. It is comprised of short

explanations of clean energy appliances and technologies that qualify for incentives in

President Biden's Investing in America Agenda, including the basics of clean energy

technologies, such as heat pumps, solar rooftops, electric vehicles, and more.

• The Department of the Interior released the Campground Modernization guide to

support an improved and more inclusive visitor experience.

• The Department of the Interior distributed $2.1 million dollars in grant funding to 30

NPS units to help share more inclusive and comprehensive narratives, reduce park

Storytelling backlogs, and invest in staff capacity to sustain transformative interpretation.

• The Department of the Interior developed a partnership with Uber/Lyft in three pilot

cities where access is limited for urban communities. This partnership includes

subsidized rides to NPS units and partner-based data-collection to track success of the

program.

• The General Services Administration partnered with the National Endowment for the

Arts and updated the Art in Architecture program rules to expand public access and artist

representation in the millions of dollars of commissioned artworks permanently installed

in federal facilities.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration increased public participation in

NASA outreach events to underserved communities between September 2022 and March

2023 by 70%.

• The Department of Treasury collaborated with 12 national Latino organizations to host

the first Treasury summit on investing in the economic future of the Latino community in

June 2023. The Latino Economic Summit brought together nearly 100 leaders from the

private, nonprofit, and government sectors to elevate challenges and identify

opportunities to unleash the potential of the Latino community and the entire economy.

• The Department of Treasury Office of Tribal and Native Affairs works across

Treasury and the IRS offices to advise on economic and recovery programs, $30 billion

in direct Tribal set-asides to the benefit of over 2.5 million Tribal citizens, tax policies,

and other policy matters that impact Tribal and Native communities. The Office also

conducts consultations with Tribes and coordinates outreach. As of February 2024, the

Office has hosted over 50 formal consultations and 900 tribal engagement sessions.

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• The Department of Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity (TACRE)

established cross-cutting principles and priorities and in 2023 submitted several

recommendations to Treasury to address data transparency, taxpayer access to Direct

File, direct engagement with taxpayers who could benefit from tax credits, and working

with CDFIs to promote diversification through the certification and re-certification

processes.

• The Department of Treasury launched a blog series detailing the origins of racial

economic disparities and the implications for the national economy.

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GLOBAL EQUALITY

Removing Barriers to Naturalization and Humanitarian Processing

• The Department of Homeland Security USCIS began a comprehensive review of

policies, regulations, forms, and operations to identify barriers that may impede access to

naturalization by underserved communities, and is undertaking efforts to reduce or

eliminate those barriers. In October 2022, USCIS updated Form N-648, Medical

Certification for Disability Exceptions, and related Policy Manual guidance. Applicants

for naturalization with a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment may

request an exception to the English and civics testing requirements for naturalization.

This form and Policy Manual update streamline the process for applicants to claim and

substantiate a disability by eliminating unnecessary and duplicative questions.

• In March 2023, the Department of Homeland Security USCIS updated Policy Manual

guidance to allow individuals requesting immigration benefits to self-select their gender

marker without the need to provide proof of their gender identity or to match the gender

listed on their supporting documentation. This update reflects an important step toward

reducing administrative burdens on applicants and increasing accessibility to immigration

benefits and services.

• In May 2022, the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Patrol

(CBP) implemented an online training course titled, “Disability Access Training for Law

Enforcement Professionals,” to educate uniformed officers and agents about their roles

and responsibilities for ensuring nondiscrimination in CBP-conducted services, programs,

and activities for members of the public with disabilities. CBP’s uniformed officers and

agents will be required to complete the training on a biennial basis.

• In FY 2023, the Department of Homeland Security began increasing the use of video

technology to conduct I-589 asylum interviews domestically, and I-590 refugee

interviews internationally, so that applicants living in remote locations will not have to

wait so long or travel so far.

• The Department of State produced numerous public reports that have strengthened their

specific focus on equity, such as Human Rights Report, Trafficking in Persons Report,

International Religious Freedom Report, and several equity-related Congressional

reports. The Department also established its first Equity APG, in the FY 2022-2023

cycle, to advance equity in U.S. foreign policies, programs, and processes. As an example

of how the APG drove significant organizational change by identifying outcomes and

measuring results, the U.S. negotiated more than 50 United Nations outcome and/or

consensus documents that expanded inclusive language of historically marginalized and

underserved groups. This included United Nations General Assembly resolutions on the

rights of Indigenous peoples, people of African descent, and eliminating gender-based

violence.

• In FY 2022, the Department of State began globally tracking foreign assistance

programs to embed equity and inclusion into programming. This effort complements

existing tracking efforts, enabling programs to address the specific needs of marginalized,

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racial and ethnic, and other underserved communities, and continued efforts to develop a

Social Inclusion Analysis Tool to help Department officials integrate and operationalize

equity and inclusion into externally-facing foreign affairs areas, foreign policy

implementation, foreign assistance program design, and diplomatic statecraft.

Investments totaled $56.8 million, spread across all geographic regions.

Supporting Global Equality and Engagement

• To increase the capacity of the Department of State’s Public Diplomacy programs to

embed equity into programs, the agency developed guidance that incorporates

intersectional equity principles, leveraged data and technology to track equity in the

Public Diplomacy program participation, and expanded outreach and engagement with

underserved communities to include providing live captioning services for deaf and hard

of hearing and launching the inaugural Sign@State Symposium and Minority Serving

Institutions Conference.

• The Department of State began issuing passport books with gender x markers to the

general public in April 2022, and is updating other passport and citizenship forms to

allow the selection of the X gender marker for passport cards, expedited passports, and

Consular Reports of Birth Abroad; and revamped artwork and imagery on U.S. passports

to ensure better representation of diversity in the nation.

• The Agency for International Development (USAID) approved more than 4,700

partner profiles in the WorkwithUSAID.gov Partner Directory. More than 1,600 partners

have completed the pre-engagement assessment, increasing the visibility of their work,

connecting them with others in the development community, and assessing whether or

not they are ready to respond to a USAID solicitation.

• The Agency for International Development published the updated Acquisition and

Assistance (A&A) Strategy and Implementation Plan. The Plan includes a simplified and

reduced pre-award risk survey for local organizations seeking USAID funding and a

Renewal Award Guide and Template to train A&A staff to use a mechanism that

leverages practices from collaborating, learning, and adapting, and responds to

adjustments in dynamic operating environments. For example, USAID issued reminders

to prime contractors about the requirement of reporting data against their small business

subcontracting plan and to improve the accuracy of data they submit.

• The Agency for International Development launched the Racial and Ethnic Equity

Initiative. This initiative is a knowledge base of operational and best practices that have

successfully advanced social inclusion and racial equity in foreign assistance

programming.

• The Agency for International Development established an External Civil Rights

Division in the USAID Office of Civil Rights. The new Division will receive and address

complaints and ensure the agency complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

• The Agency for International Development developed a new method to track the extent

to which USAID’s foreign assistance programming is locally led. USAID identified 14

high priority “good practices” that create space for local actors to exercise leadership

over foreign assistance programming, including priority setting, activity design,

implementation, or defining and measuring results.