In a new Executive Order dated December 12, 2018 that's received scant media attention, but did receive a prominent post here: MesaZona 13 Dec 2018
13 December 2018
HUD Press Release:
Secretary Carson To Lead White House Opportunity & Revitalization Council
SECRETARY CARSON TO LEAD WHITE HOUSE OPPORTUNITY AND REVITALIZATION COUNCIL
WASHINGTON – Today, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council and named U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson as its chairperson.
The Council’s 13 Federal member agencies will engage with governments at all levels on ways to more effectively use taxpayer dollars to revitalize low-income communities. The Council will improve revitalization efforts by streamlining, coordinating, and targeting existing Federal programs to Opportunity Zones, economically distressed communities where new investments may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.
Additionally, the Council will consider legislative proposals and undertake regulatory reform to remove barriers to revitalization efforts and present the President with options to encourage capital investment in economically distressed communities.
“These are still early days for the work of the Council and Opportunity Zones, but the groundwork has been laid,” Secretary Carson said. “The seeds the President has planted are growing and the promise they hold will improve places long forgotten, and the lives of those who call those places home. . .
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Yesterday here's what Fred Lucas writing in The Daily Signal had to say:
What Ben Carson Expects From the House’s
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson says he can work on key urban issues with some Democrats in the new House majority that takes over in January.
“There are many other Democrats that will work with us,” Carson told The Daily Signal. “This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This is about empowering people. I hope we can get over the political partisanship and work on solutions that help everyone.”
However, most housing-related legislation will have to go through the House Financial Services Committee ----- and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who has called for impeaching President Donald Trump and harassing political opponents, will become chairman of the committee as a result of Democrats’ capturing the House majority in the November elections. . .
Trump, in signing an executive order Wednesday creating the revitalization council, also talked about a criminal justice reform bill that he has urged Congress to pass. . .
“There are many other Democrats that will work with us,” Carson told The Daily Signal. “This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This is about empowering people. I hope we can get over the political partisanship and work on solutions that help everyone.”
However, most housing-related legislation will have to go through the House Financial Services Committee ----- and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who has called for impeaching President Donald Trump and harassing political opponents, will become chairman of the committee as a result of Democrats’ capturing the House majority in the November elections. . .
Trump, in signing an executive order Wednesday creating the revitalization council, also talked about a criminal justice reform bill that he has urged Congress to pass. . .
He said he would like to tie federal grants to local communities with their removal of regulatory barriers to economic growth.
“A key part of revitalizing economically depressed areas is building the kind of housing people can afford,” Carson said. “We will definitely look at federal regulations. We can’t tell localities what regulations to have, but we can provide incentives.”
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