By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Outgoing US President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Sunday aimed at prioritizing government resources to help economically distressed American communities – a the day before he left the White House.

Biden’s order targets the so-called “Left-Behind Communities” and aims to help incoming President Donald Trump, who will oversee significant spending on infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, broadband internet and other programs approved by during Biden’s presidency.

By one estimate, 15% percent of the US population – or nearly 50 million Americans – live in a depressed zip code, as measured by poverty, unemployment, education, abandoned homes, median income and reduced jobs and businesses.

The White House announced several programs funded over the past four years including $54 billion in investments in the Energy Communities — coal, oil and gas, and power plant areas — as well as the $210 million announced last week for six new tech hubs, $525 million for job training in struggling areas and billions in infrastructure for struggling regions.

Biden’s order prioritizes underserved communities for economic development funding including those “facing economic hardship, undergoing industrial transitions, emerging as hubs of innovation, and rebuilding from natural disasters.”

“It’s not splashy. It’s just fulfilling his determination to help the remaining communities, especially in the heart, to make a comeback,” said White House economic adviser Lael Brainard in an interview.

The Commerce Department under Biden has provided $700 million for “tech hubs” that seek to spread the benefits of technology sector growth beyond traditional hubs from California’s Silicon Valley to Boston and made other major investments.

Biden said in a statement that his administration “has made historic investments to help underserved communities, such as depressed areas, factory towns, and coal communities, make the failure to return.”

His order mandated a “whole-of-government coordination of federal investments in underserved communities and created a “No-Fault Door” to help distressed areas identify the resources throughout the federal government.

It also tells federal employees in areas that have recently suffered natural disasters to identify funding opportunities to meet long-term economic development and infrastructure needs.

“It locks in the things that we know about how to do it well and what gives these communities the best chance for success,” Brainard said.

Trump in 2018 signed his own executive order creating a White House opportunities (SO:) and Revitalization Council to address concerns about distressed communities saying “despite a growing national economy, these communities are plagued by high levels of poverty, failing schools, and scarcity of jobs.”

The Republican president has promised to cut regulations and raise tariffs in his second term as part of a plan to boost the US economy.