In an already-contentious primary season for GOP presidential hopefuls, last week offered a rare moment of unity as former President Donald Trump surprisingly welcomed Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to the arena.

“Good luck to Sen. Tim Scott in entering the Republican presidential primary race. … I got opportunity zones done with Tim, a big deal that has been highly successful. Good luck Tim!” Trump said.

The former president’s acknowledgment of Scott and one of his signature legislative accomplishments is a testament to the success they both had with one of the most innovative economic policies in a generation.

With the help of Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Scott authored and secured a spot for the bipartisan opportunity zones policy proposal in the massive 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Trump’s embrace of opportunity zones ensured the provision’s passage, and he later included it on the campaign trail for reelection as an example of his economic plans in low-income communities.

Even then-candidate Joe Biden awoke to the success of the opportunity zone tax incentive and its bipartisan roots, and it quickly became part of his economic plan as well.

Unfortunately, even with bipartisan approval and funds flowing into low-income communities, the left-leaning press couldn’t get over Trump’s ties to the opportunity zone initiative and sought to demonize it.

The New York Times ran headlines that read, “How a Trump Tax Break to Help Poor Communities Became a Windfall for the Rich,” or “Trump Tax Break That Benefited the Rich Is Being Investigated,” regarding wild characterizations from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) about a few opportunity zone funds. The puffed-up charges eventually fizzled when met with the reality of the program’s results.

The think tank behind the opportunity zone policy, Economic Innovation Group (EIG), released an analysis of two research papers to provide the “clearest assessment yet of the national scope and effects of OZ investment.” Much to the chagrin of the New York Times and liberal senators, the analysis revealed that nearly half of these designated low-to-moderate income communities (opportunity zones) received investment. That stands in sharp contrast to the Left’s characterization that only wealthy neighborhoods received investment.

Among other positive findings, the opportunity zone tax incentive caused a 3.4% increase in home values without a corresponding increase in rents during the years of study, specifically 2017-2020. These positive findings should encourage policymakers to tie opportunity zones into other programs. For example, what if elected officials encouraged homeownership among low- and moderate-income folks in opportunity zones by allowing them to benefit from property appreciation?

Lawmakers should also pass the Opportunity Zones Transparency, Extension, and Improvement Act, a bill that would refresh some of the benefits of the opportunity zone tax incentive for investors, thereby encouraging them to invest. This is especially important now since fewer investors have the capital gains to invest in the tax incentive given the current economic uncertainty. The bill would also extend the approaching 2026 deadline to 2028, thereby enabling more capital to flow into low-income communities.

So many Americans have become cynical of the political process and discouraged by today’s inflation and hard economic times. Indeed, 78% of the public thinks America is headed in the wrong direction. Now is the time to support a policy that actually works: the opportunity zone tax incentive. And, let’s give credit to those elected officials that boldly passed and promoted it.

Jill Homan is president of Javelin 19, a real estate investment & development firm focused on opportunity zones, and a mother of a four-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter.