Vice President Kamala Harris stopped in Detroit on Monday as a part of the White House’s Economic Opportunity Tour to announce an investment of over $100 million in electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing with a focus on black-owned businesses.
Ms. Harris touted the Biden administration’s investment of “trillions of dollars in America’s infrastructure, in clean energy and a clean energy economy, in manufacturing, and in supply chains.”
She then stated that the Biden administration has invested “hundreds of billions of dollars” to address racial disparities, which this newly announced investment will also address by favoring black-owned businesses.
“We all know black entrepreneurs do not lack for ideas or ambition but often lack the capital that is necessary to turn an idea into a thriving business, to invest in inventory, hire employees, to scale up,” she said. “In fact, black entrepreneurs are three times as likely to not apply for a loan for fear they’re going to be turned away from a bank.”
This led Ms. Harris to establish the Economic Opportunity Coalition, she said, which comprises corporations and nonprofits that invest in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
She then announced that the Biden administration will invest $100 million “in small and medium-sized auto supply companies, many of which are black-owned and based right here in Michigan,” funds that will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal.
“These grants will allow businesses to upgrade production and production lines to produce parts for electric vehicles,” she said.
She also announced a program that will match government-backed loans with private equity “to help small and midsize auto suppliers access loans from a quarter-million dollars to 10 million dollars.”
“The strength of America’s economy is also based on the strength of America’s supply chain,” she said.
She said the investment will fortify American production and “keep those jobs here in Detroit.”
The administration is also expanding access to government contracts, she said.
‘Grow and Diversify’
According to a White House press release, the Department of Energy (DOE) will earmark $50 million for its Automotive Conversion Grants program to help “small- and medium-sized suppliers convert from manufacturing internal combustion engine parts to manufacturing parts for the EV supply chain.”The DOE is also earmarking $50 million for its Justice40 climate initiative to provide grants of up to $300,000 to businesses that are working on projects “to help auto suppliers kickstart manufacturing diversification and conversion projects” that will “reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
‘Structural Inequities’
In Michigan, Ms. Harris went on to discuss how “structural inequities” have prevented some black Americans from buying homes.“As a result of lasting legacies, of structural inequities, such as segregation, redlining, and so-called urban renewal, today black Americans are 40 percent less likely to own a home,” she said, adding that homeownership rates for black men “have been falling for three decades straight.”
To address these disparities, she said the Biden administration “outlined a blueprint to provide folks who are first in their family to buy a home with $25,000 toward a down payment, to give families up to $400 a month to help with a mortgage, and to build 2 million units of affordable housing to lower costs for home buyers and renters.”
Debt Forgiveness
She discussed the Biden administration’s sweeping plans to forgive medical and student debt.“President Biden and I have made debt forgiveness a central pillar of our economic agenda,” she said. “And we have already forgiven about $500 million dollars of medical debt for hundreds of thousands of Americans across the nation.”
She added that in Wayne County, Michigan, the Biden administration will forgive an additional $700 million in medical debt “for as many as 300,000 people.”
“We are also implementing a rule that medical debt cannot be used in calculating your credit score,” she said. “What that means is medical debt cannot be the reason someone is denied a car loan, a home loan, or a small business loan.”
She said the Biden administration has forgiven up to $160 billion for over 4.5 million people, which is “on average more than $30,000 per person and $70,000 for our public servants like nurses, firefighters, and teachers.”
She said student loan debt can be forgiven “even if you didn’t graduate.”
‘A Fundamental Principle’
She brought her speech to a close by stating that the Biden administration’s work is “guided by a fundamental principle,” which is a belief in the people of the country.“And so we believe that it is a great return on the investment to invest in the people of America, and to invest as we have discussed today in your business, in your financial security, in your wealth,” she said. “And this approach is working.”
Since taking office, she said there’s been record growth in black-owned businesses with over 2.5 million new jobs for black workers while black wealth has increased by 60 percent.
“Together let us continue to invest in the ambition and aspirations of our people—of the American people,” she said. “Together let us continue to help folks create wealth and achieve financial freedom. And together let us continue to build a nation where every person has the opportunity to compete, prosper, and thrive.”
