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4/18/2024

Remarks by U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo at Treasury Advisory Committee for Racial Equity |…

Remarks by U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally
Adeyemo at Treasury Advisory Committee for Racial Equity
April 18, 2024

New report

on Treasuryʼs work to create an economy that works for all Americans released
with remarks

As Prepared for Delivery
Thank you all for joining us here today. Iʼm grateful for your continued work, time, and
dedication to advancing economic and racial equity. Iʼm also grateful that you made the trip
here. Itʼs important for us to get out of Washington and see firsthand the impact we are
making in local communities. I want to thank former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for
serving as Chair of the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity and welcoming us to his
native Philadelphia. I also want to thank the current mayor – Mayor Cherelle Parker – for
joining us today and sharing the impressive work underway in her great city.
As you know, when Treasury first established the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial
Equity (TACRE), our intent was to more closely examine and understand economic disparities
by race and implement Treasury programs in a way that increase economic opportunity for all
Americans. Doing so is a key part of President Biden and Vice President Harrisʼ mandate to
promote an economy that lives up to its unrealized potential—not just in the aggregate but
for everyone.
Over the past four years, the American economy has had its most equitable economic
recovery in history—seen across metrics from unemployment to wages to business
ownership. But as everyone in this room knows, we have a lot more work to do to build on this
progress.
This group has come together at an extraordinary moment when President Bidenʼs
investments in the American economy through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and
Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act are poised to reshape the economic landscape for
generations to come. We all know that past public investments to jumpstart innovation, build
wealth, and grow industries have o en le communities of color behind. This time we have an
opportunity to grow the economy in a way that recognizes that unlocking the economic
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Remarks by U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo at Treasury Advisory Committee for Racial Equity |…

potential of those that have long been overlooked, underestimated, and under-resourced is
critical to economic growth and prosperity for everyone.
You are helping to ensure that a sweeping set of public investments in the American economy
over the next decade are fair, inclusive, equitable, and e ective. Today we released a report
on Treasuryʼs major racial equity achievements under Secretary Yellenʼs leadership. This
body of work would not have been possible without the thoughtful deliberations of this
group. Iʼll give you a few examples.
The IRS launched a Direct File pilot with dedicated outreach strategies to reach low-income
tax filers. This tremendous e ort demonstrated the value of a free tax filing tool for the
American public – as evidenced by the over 100,000 users that took advantage of the pilot this
tax filing season.
Treasury has driven record investments to Community Development Financial Institutions,
Minority Depository Institutions, and other capital allocators with successful track records
delivering capital to underserved entrepreneurs and neighborhoods. In fact, recent data from
the State Small Business Credit Initiative shows that of the April 2024, 47 venture capital
funds have received an SSBCI capital commitment, of which 30 are owned or managed by
traditionally underserved fund managers or have an investment strategy that includes a focus
on supporting companies with traditionally underserved founders and leaders.
For the first time ever, Treasury included an addendum to the FY2025 Greenbook, showing the
e ects of three revenue proposals on racial wealth inequality. In addition, we are making
progress in expanding access to tax data matched to data from the Census Bureau. This will
help provide the Census Bureau and researchers with additional information on individual
incomes, deductions, and credits.
Your advice has also been critical to how we use data to help more underserved businesses
successfully obtain a contract with Treasury and support our hiring and employee retention
e orts.
As important as those specific recommendations are, the overall advice this Committee has
provided to the Department is crucial. Many people o en focus on the policy design, but this
Committee has importantly focused on the ways in which implementation of policy can
promote equity. The data makes it clear that investments that advance racial equity help
create economic opportunities for all Americans. The Treasury Department is committed to
creating an economy that works for everyone.
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Remarks by U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo at Treasury Advisory Committee for Racial Equity |…

As I said, we know we have a lot more to do. I appreciate that, in good faith, you have all
pushed us to do more. Iʼm eager to hear more from you all today and to have a candid
discussion on what we can accomplish this year and into the future.
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