August 2, 2025
H.R. 4524 reflects Rep. Pressley and her colleagues’ stated commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in government policy.
On July 23, Rep. Ayanna Pressley joined National Urban League President Marc Morial, Leadership Conference CEO Maya Wiley, LULAC CEO Juan Proano, and Public Citizen Co-President Rob Weissman for a joint press conference to spotlight H.R. 4524—the Equity in Government Act. Reintroduced by Pressley, the bill aims to cement into law key diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) provisions originally established through executive orders under former President Joe Biden.
According to a press release from Rep. Pressley’s office, H.R. 4524 underscores her and her colleagues’ ongoing commitment to DEI, especially as Donald Trump and his allies push efforts to undo civil rights advancements made by marginalized communities over the past six decades.
“Donald Trump’s first six months in office have been a precise, intentional assault on people of color, as well as our LGBTQIA+ siblings, folks with disabilities, and other marginalized people. Despite this, we’re more resolved than ever in our commitment to a more just, equitable, and diverse America,” Congresswoman Pressley noted in her press release.
She continued, “I’m proud to join my colleagues and movement partners in making plain that we will not be silenced and we will not stand by as Donald Trump and extremist Republicans resegregate America and continue rolling back our hard-earned civil rights. We must work to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion is the law of the land. That is why the Equity in Government Act is deeply necessary and will aid our efforts by helping to ensure the federal government works for all people.”
As the press release makes clear, the bill aims to tie together several items from Biden’s day-one Executive Orders 13985 and 14091, which Trump repealed immediately after taking office. Those items ensured that federal agencies promoted equal opportunity for groups that have been historically and systematically discriminated against, including Black Americans, people of color, women, and disabled people.
In addition to the aforementioned groups, the bill is endorsed by the AAPI Victory Alliance, the ACLU, the African American Policy Forum, American Oversight, the Common Cause, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inclusive America, Interfaith Alliance, the National Action Network, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, the National Black Justice Collective, Popular Democracy, and SEIU; and was co-sponsored by over 40 of Pressley’s colleagues.
Among other things, the bill will require agencies to consult with community organizations and other stakeholders when they are developing and revising strategic plans and performance goals. It will also require those agencies to include at least one goal related to improving the equitable provision of services when initially submitting their Agency Strategic Plans and Agency Performance Plans.
In addition, the bill also gives permanent authorization to the Federal Chief Data Officer Council, in an effort to ensure that the council’s work to facilitate fair and equitable outcomes of evidence-based government operations continues unimpeded; it also seeks to establish an Equity Subcommittee within the existing Performance Improvement Council, which would assist the council in facilitating the development and sharing of guidance, data, and best practices for the equitable provision of federal services.
As Marc Morial noted in his comments in the press release, “In the last six months, federal departments protecting civil rights have been defunded, voting protections rolled back, and diversity programs criminalized. Far-right actors have weaponized the term ‘woke’ to attack equity, inclusion, and even historical truth. The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has been twisted into a tool of political retaliation. The National Urban League is proud to stand with Congresswoman Pressley and all our allies to meet this moment of crisis.”
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