Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren Introduce Racial Equity Plans – The New York Times

Elizabeth Warren: New Rules for Federal Contractors

Every year, the federal government awards $500 billion in contracts to companies that, altogether, employ about a quarter of the country’s workers. Ms. Warren’s plan, which she released on Friday and described to the audience on Saturday, calls for an executive order that would require the recipients of those contracts to diversify their workforces, and pay women and people of color equally.

“It’s up to the federal government to say what the terms of those contracts are,” Ms. Warren said. “It’s not enough to talk the talk about equal pay for equal work. It’s not enough to talk the talk about the diversity of your work force. You’ve got to walk the walk, or you’re not getting those federal contracts.”

Under her proposed executive order, contractors would be barred from asking about past salaries and criminal records, and from using forced arbitration and noncompete clauses. Another component of the plan is meant to diversify the federal government’s own work force.

Ms. Warren also called for a $7 billion federal fund to invest in businesses owned by people of color and women, noting — as Mr. Booker did, too — that it is far easier for white Americans to start a small business than for black Americans, who receive a tiny fraction of the country’s venture capital.

“We start to close the gap,” she said, “by using the power that the president herself will have.” At the word “herself,” the audience broke into applause.

Cory Booker: ‘Baby bonds’ and reproductive rights

Mr. Booker, too, addressed the racial wealth gap, calling for “the largest pool of capital for nontraditional entrepreneurs in our country’s history” and highlighting his proposal to create savings accounts for every child born in the United States.

The accounts, which Mr. Booker calls “baby bonds,” would start with $1,000 for each child, and families below a certain income threshold would receive additional contributions of up to $2,000 a year.