The Biden administration is deepening its effort to focus on reducing racial inequity with the formation of a new advisory committee that will help the Treasury Department carry out policies that aim to narrow economic disparities faced by communities of color.

The Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity will include 25 members from academia, business and advocacy groups. It will convene four times a year to evaluate and offer guidance to the Treasury Department and its leadership on an array of programs that touch nearly every corner of the economy.

Biden administration officials say the focus on equity will help unlock economic potential that has for decades gone untapped.

“The steps we take here to think about racial equity aren’t only about moral issues, but how we can further our economic agenda by expanding the potential of the economy,” Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, said in an interview. {snip}

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Mr. Adeyemo said members of the committee would offer advice on a broad range of policy areas, including taxes, the modernization of the Internal Revenue Service and the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law this year. {snip}

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen has made racial equity a top priority at the department. Last year, she appointed Treasury’s first counselor for racial equity {snip}

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