The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People criticized Biden for not including measures to combat student loan debt facing Black Americans among his new steps aimed at racial equity
"You cannot begin to address the racial wealth gap without addressing the student loan debt crisis," NAACP National President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. "You just can't address one without the other. Plain and simple. President Biden's budget fails to address the student debt crisis.”
The administration also touted several of its proposals in Biden's infrastructure and jobs package, which officials contend will deliver economic opportunities for people of color.
The proposals include a $10 billion initiative targeting community revitalization efforts, projects retrofitting transit systems to redress the dislocation of minority communities, incentives to end exclusionary zoning and a new tax credit to develop low and affordable housing.
At the start of his presidency, Biden identified racial justice as one of the four crises of his presidency. Since taking office, the White House has sought to make racial equity a cornerstone of its policymaking.
The $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, for instance, included $5 billion in funding for Black farmers. The administration also changed policies at the Small Business Administration that prioritized loans through the Paycheck Protection Program to firms with fewer than 20 employees as part of an effort to target minority firms.
On his first day in office, Biden also signed an executive order meant to advance racial justice and equity within the federal workforce.
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