Press Release - Opportunity Zones: A New Dawn for Economic Opportunity

By: Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., HUD Secretary

As Ronald Reagan foretold a generation ago, it is morning again in America. Today's booming economy, under President Donald J. Trump, stands in stark contrast to the stagnation and volatility Americans endured over the past decade.

It is one of our Nation's bedrock beliefs that America is the Land of Opportunity. Every street in every city, every stretch along every country road, should indeed be a zone where opportunity calls home.

In pursuit of that bold ideal, Opportunity Zones were created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to stimulate economic development and job creation, by incentivizing long-term investments in low-income neighborhoods.

Few programs in modern American history have the potential to touch the lives of so many people as powerfully as Opportunity Zones, which are now home to approximately 31.3 million Americans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia — or roughly 10% of the country. An additional 3.7 million people reside in Opportunity Zones in five U.S. territories.

Read the full op-ed here.