Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with members from Black Chambers of Commerce on Friday to talk about the struggles they face during the pandemic.

What You Need To Know

  • Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with members from Black Chambers of Commerce on Friday

  • Yellen warned that without immediate action from the federal government, COVID-19 could have a lasting impact for a generation of Black Americans

  • The vice president touted a $15 billion grant included in Biden's American Rescue Plan that will target small businesses across the country 

  • Harris on Friday morning cast the tie-breaking vote on a budget measure that could push the COVID relief plan through the Senate without Republican support 

The Biden-Harris administration has long promised to tackle racial inequity during their time in office, an issue that has only been deepened by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Yellen on Friday warned that without immediate action from the federal government, COVID-19 could have a lasting impact for a generation of Black Americans. 

"During the early days of the pandemic, African-Americans were the first to lose their small businesses. They were the first to lose their jobs,” Yellen said, adding: “And we’ve seen early data that suggest Black workers will be the last rehired when the economy opens back up.”

Yellen stressed the importance of passing President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, saying the package is badly needed in order "to make sure that this pandemic isn't another generational setback for racial equality, and better yet, to finally start building an economy that works for everyone."

It was not a surprise to the economic policy expert that the pandemic disproportionately impacts minority communities; citing higher unemployment among Black Americans in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Yellen said that economic crises “hit people of color harder and longer."

In order to mitigate some of these problems, Yellen said the Treasury Department will conduct outreach programs to help small business owners know what help they qualify for. 

Harris — who on Friday morning cast the tie-breaking vote on a budget measure that could help muscle the COVID relief plan through the Senate without Republican support — emphasized that the administration’s priority is to get relief to families and small businesses as soon as possible. 

The vice president spoke specifically about a $15 billion grant included in the proposal that will target and help 1 million small businesses across the country. 

"The grant program is about not only saving businesses that are on the edge through no fault of their own, but giving them the support to not only survive but thrive,” she said. 

The stakes for the county and economy were amplified on Friday morning by the release of the government’s jobs report for January, which showed that hiring had stalled to a pace that could hinder a return to full employment for several years. Some 406,000 people left the labor force last month as deaths from the pandemic have surged.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.