The White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (Council) published its Implementation Plan, outlining a detailed work plan for how the Council—chaired by HUD Secretary Ben Carson—will accomplish the goals specified in Executive Order 13583 of December 12, 2018.
The Implementation Plan explains the various subcommittees of the Council and describes the strategy to implement administrative reforms and initiatives that will target, streamline, coordinate, and optimize Federal resources in economically distressed communities, including Opportunity Zones. In addition to developing an “OpportunityZones.gov” website, the Council and its Executive Director Scott Turner will be conducting listening tour sessions of rural, urban and suburban Opportunity Zones and other distressed communities throughout the remainder of 2019. The report identifies the following work streams and associated goals:
- Economic Development: Leverage Federal grants and loans in a more integrated way to develop dilapidated properties and provide basic infrastructure and financial tools to attract private investment.
- Entrepreneurship: Leverage government lending and grants to stimulate access to private capital and promote programs that assist entrepreneurs.
- Safe Neighborhoods: Combat drug addiction and the opioid crisis, reduce crime, enhance public safety, and address environmental contamination obstacles to development.
- Education and Workforce Development: Improve the efficacy of K-12 and community college career and technical education and workforce development programs to better prepare workers in distressed communities for jobs.
- Measurement: Develop robust reporting and analytics to measure the impact of Opportunity Zones.
