Abdul El-Sayed Announces Policy Agenda to Empower Michigan’s Black Communities

MICHIGAN – Today, U.S. Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed released his Transforming Housing, Resources, Infrastructure, Value & Economic Opportunities (THRIVE) Policy Agenda, outlining the legislation he will introduce or support in the U.S. Senate to directly address the priorities of Black communities across Michigan. 

“For generations, Black communities in Michigan have received promises of federal investment that never fully arrived, or arrived without any way to track whether it actually improved people’s lives,” said Abdul. “This policy agenda is a commitment to keeping the priorities of Michigan’s Black communities centered in all of the work that I do. In the U.S. Senate, I will fight to work towards a world where communities that are so often forgotten have the opportunity they need to thrive.” 

Abdul’s THRIVE Agenda tackles the systems that have long left Black Michiganders behind, including: 

The THRIVE Agenda includes:

Access to Capital & Minority Business Growth: Closing the lending and contracting gap by expanding CDFI and SBA lending to minority-owned businesses, with a goal of doubling the share of SBA-backed loans reaching Black- and Latino-owned firms within five years.

Affordable Housing & Homeownership: Expanding Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocations, fixing HUD’s Area Median Income calculations, and expanding down-payment assistance and FHA/USDA loan access in majority-Black and majority-Latino neighborhoods.

90-Day Housing Access for Veterans & Families: Setting an enforceable 90-day standard from application to lease-up for HUD-VASH and Housing Choice Voucher applicants.

Health & Access to Care: Fighting for Medicare for All, securing multi-year Community Health Center funding, and expanding telehealth and food access in underserved neighborhoods.

Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies: Locking in 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, expanding Medicaid reimbursement for doulas and midwives, and expanding the RxKids program nationally.

Environmental Justice & Clean Water: Accelerating lead service line replacement, expanding PFAS remediation, and guaranteeing 50 gallons of clean water per person per day with bills capped at 2% of household income.

Education & Workforce Pipeline: Fixing school infrastructure funding formulas, building toward debt-free and tuition-free higher education, and expanding HBCU and apprenticeship investment.

Voting Rights: Supporting the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and a federal automatic voter registration standard.

Read the full THRIVE Policy Agenda HERE.