House Democrats introduced two bills in an effort to codify DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs at the federal level.
According to The Hill, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., on Friday reintroduced the Federal Government Equity Improvement Act and the Equity in Agency Planning Act.
Led by Raskin, the Federal Government Equity Improvement Act would create the Equity Subcommittee on the Performance Improvement Council. According to The Hill, the interagency subcommittee would work to develop data and collaborate on how best to deliver unbiased government services.
The subcommittee also would be required to solicit ideas from federal program recipients.
"The federal government must be transparent, accountable, and responsive to everyone it serves — not just those who have had easier access to government services and decision making," Raskin said in a statement to The Hill.
Pressley's legislation, the Equity in Agency Planning Act, would mandate that federal agencies focus on improving the equitable delivery of government services.
Under the bill, federal agencies would be required to work with non-governmental organizations and stakeholders to revise and develop plans toward that end.
"We must center racial equity and justice in every administrative and policy decision across federal agencies," Pressley said in a statement. "Our bills would help us do just that by building on the Biden-Harris Administration's historic executive orders and providing essential tools to advance equity through data collection and critical stakeholder engagement."
The measures reportedly seek to build on President Joe Biden's executive order Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, which was signed on his first day in office.
The order required federal agencies to determine the challenges that prevent them from providing services to underserved populations and then find more effective ways of serving those groups.
"Since its very first executive order on its very first day, the Biden-Harris administration has championed a historic, whole-of-government effort to ensure equity in federal operations and services, transforming how the federal government serves the communities it has failed or neglected in the past," Raskin told The Hill.
The fate of the two new bills is uncertain, given the priority Republicans have placed on demolishing DEI initiatives.
DEI proponents say such policies and programs help people of color, women, and LGBTQ individuals access education and workforce opportunities, as well as government programs. Republicans, however, say DEI policies and programs are discriminatory and divisive, as they unfairly promote certain groups of people over others.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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