In a press release published earlier today, HUD announced that the President established the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council and named Secretary Carson its chairperson. The White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council’s activities include the following:

• Engage all levels of government on methods to effectively use taxpayer dollars to revitalize low-income communities;
• Streamline, coordinate, and target existing Federal programs to Opportunity Zones and distressed communities;
• Consider legislative proposals and undertake regulatory reform to remove barriers to revitalization; and
• Present the President with options to encourage capital investment in economically distressed communities.

Secretary Carson has said that “[t]hese are still early days for the work of the Council and Opportunity Zones, but the groundwork has been laid . . . [t]he 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.”

The full press release can be found here.