Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. James E. Clyburn, Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, sent a letter to Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Rob Fairweather and Acting Secretary of Labor Al Stewart urging the Biden-Harris Administration to closely track unemployment data for low-wage wage workers, people of color, women, and other economically vulnerable populations who have been disproportionately harmed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I applaud the actions of the Biden-Harris Administration thus far to lift up the hardest hit communities, and I urge you to closely track unemployment data for vulnerable groups to inform efforts to foster a thriving and inclusive American economy," the Chairman wrote. “Tracking these widening inequities is imperative if we are going to strengthen our economy as a whole and reach full employment."
While the Bureau of Labor Statistics February jobs report pointed to promising signs of economic recovery, it also identified glaring racial disparities in unemployment. The jobless rate was 5.6 percent for white Americans, but 8.5 percent for Latino Americans and nearly 10 percent for Black Americans. Lower-wage workers have also been particularly hard hit, with total employment 28 percent below the pre-pandemic level.
“Regrettably, the previous Administration failed to protect these communities, even burying crucial employment data that showed the extent of the hardship," the Chairman recalled.
On June 18, 2020 and July 1, 2020, Chairman Clyburn wrote to the Trump Administration requesting unemployment and economic projections that the White House had omitted from the annual mid-session review budget update. The Trump Administration withheld this data while making rosy and misleading predictions about the economy that were contradicted by economists.
In contrast, President Biden announced on his first day in office that his Administration would “pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality." The President and Democrats in Congress made good on that promise by enacting the American Rescue Plan to provide swift aid to families and communities that are still struggling due to the pandemic. The nonpartisan Urban Institute found that this law will reduce poverty by one-third and reduce racial disparities in poverty nationwide.
Today’s letter asks the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Labor to explain their plans to track employment metrics for disadvantaged communities, to incorporate this data in the President’s budget and mid-session review, and to use this data to inform the Administration’s economic priorities.
The letter concluded: “I look forward to working closely with the Biden-Harris Administration to close the economic disparities suffered by disadvantaged communities by building and sustaining a robust and inclusive post-pandemic recovery."
The Select Subcommittee will hold a hearing today at 11:00 a.m. ET with Nobel Laureate Economist Joseph Stiglitz and AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs to examine how the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated economic inequality and steps to build an inclusive post-pandemic recovery.
