WASHINGTON D.C. —- GOP Rep. Andrew Ogles of Tennessee has introduced a bill that would eliminate the Treasury Department’s Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, called the “Go Woke Go Broke Act,” which was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 20th. The committee, created in March 2022, comprises 25 members and is chaired by Michael Nutter, a former mayor of Philadelphia who now teaches at Columbia University. While the committee does not have policymaking power, it is tasked with making recommendations on addressing economic racial inequalities.
Critics of initiatives like this have argued that they go against providing a fair playing field for everyone, regardless of their race. However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sees the committee as an important tool for achieving racial equity goals, stating in a press release, “A critical piece of executing on our racial equity goals is bringing a wide set of outside perspectives and lived experiences to the decision-making table. The [committee], made up of members with wide-ranging backgrounds and expertise, will provide important insight and advice to leadership across the department to bolster and inform our equity efforts.”
Rep. Ogles, stated while addressing Congress, “Instead, the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people are being spent by the Treasury Department to promote garbage, exclusionary, and profoundly racist DEI ideology. This evil and grotesque concept
threatens to tear our country apart, and this President clearly couldn’t care less. Efforts to promote so-called equity and diversity have already contributed to the failure of businesses and banks in the private sector. We have just seen that. Yet, this administration is unfazed and as focused as ever on pitting fellow citizens against each other on the basis of race. The Democrats’ woke, radical agenda is hurting our children, it is hurting our families, and is destroying the American economy. The American people deserve better. Woke garbage is not–I repeat, is not–a substitute for fiscal policy.”
The bill’s fate in Congress remains to be seen.
