[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 25, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1007-S1010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN:
  S. 1676. A bill to amend section 507 of the Omnibus Parks and Public 
Land Management Act of 1996 to provide additional funding for the 
preservation and restoration of historic buildings and structures at 
historically black colleges and universities, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


        historically black colleges and universities legislation

  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce 
legislation to protect and preserve some of our Nation's most important 
historic landmarks that are at risk of being lost forever. I speak of 
buildings located on the campuses of our Nation's 103 historically 
black colleges and universities. Like so much of our infrastructure, 
many of the buildings that make up these schools are literally falling 
down.

[[Page S1010]]

  Our Nation's HBCUs have promoted academic excellence for over 130 
years. They have produced some of our Nation's most distinguished 
leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, our 
former colleague Harris Wofford, and many current Members of Congress. 
These schools have distinguished themselves in the field of higher 
education over the years by maintaining the highest academic standards 
while increasing educational opportunities for economically- and 
socially-disadvantaged Americans, including tens of thousands of 
African-Americans.
  Although they represent only three percent of all U.S. institutions 
of higher education, HBCUs graduate 33 percent of all African-Americans 
with bachelor's degrees and 43 percent of all African-Americans who go 
on to earn their Ph.D.'s.
  Nonetheless, in order to meet the educational needs of these 
promising individuals, these schools have had to keep their tuition and 
fees well below those at comparable institutions. The average tuition 
and fees charged by private historically black colleges and 
universities, for example, is less than half the average charged by 
private colleges nationwide.
  HBCUs have also had to keep their costs low in order to increase 
financial aid for their students, who are disproportionately more 
dependent on financial aid than students at other U.S. colleges. A 
study by the United Negro College Fund found that 90 percent of 
students at private historically black colleges and universities 
require financial aid, compared with 65 percent of private college 
students nationally. The study also found that nearly one-half of these 
students come from families earning less than $25,000.
  Given that historically black colleges and universities have found it 
increasingly difficult to support student aid, it should not be 
surprising that they are unable to restore and preserve the historic 
landmarks that sit on their campuses.
  According to a new report being released today by the U.S. General 
Accounting Office, $755 million are needed to restore and preserve 712 
historic structures on the campuses of historically black colleges and 
universities. 323 of these structures are already on the National 
Register of Historic Places. The others are either eligible for the 
National Register on the basis of State historic preservation officers' 
surveys or are considered historic by the colleges and universities.
  Some HBCUs have large numbers of historic properties. Talladega 
College, for example, has 32 properties on the Historic Register and 
one additional properties eligible for the Historic Register. The 
college needs $13,239,000 in order to restore and preserve these 
facilities.
  One of these buildings is Swayne Hall, Talladega's first building. 
Swayne Hall, which is on the National Register, was built with slave 
labor in 1852 for the Talladega Baptist Male High School, and later was 
used to house Federal prisoners during the Civil War. Two of the slaves 
who helped build Swayne Hall later went on to found Talladega College. 
Swayne Hall now houses three floors of classrooms and offices, and 
needs $1.5 million worth of repairs and refurbishment.
  Congress authorized $29 million under the Omnibus Parks and Public 
Lands Management Act of 1996 to fund restoration of certain historic 
buildings on HBCU campuses, including Swayne Hall. Last year, $4 
million was appropriated for this purpose. In addition, Congress has 
provided $4.3 million over the years to the National Park Service to 
restore other historic properties on the campuses of HBCUs.
  Those actions, while helpful, do not come close to addressing the 
needs of HBCUs around the country. The legislation I am introducing 
today will meet those needs. It authorizes the Secretary of the 
Interior to award $377.5 million to HBCUs to restore and preserve their 
historic properties. The bill preserves the matching ratio that 
currently exists, so that when these Federal funds are matched, dollar-
for-dollar, HBCUs will have the funds to restore and preserve all their 
historic structures.
  This legislation will help protect the national treasures found on 
the campuses of our historically black colleges and universities, and 
will ensure that these schools can continue to provide a quality 
education in the 21st century. I urge all of my colleagues to cosponsor 
this important legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1676

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES AT 
                   HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.

       Section 507 of the Omnibus Parks and Public Land Management 
     Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 470a note; 110 Stat. 4156) is amended 
     by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
       ``(d) Funding.--
       ``(1) Authorization of additional appropriations to the 
     historic preservation fund.--In addition to other funds 
     covered into the Historic Preservation Fund under section 108 
     of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) or 
     under any other law, there is authorized to be appropriated 
     to the Historic Preservation Fund $377,500,000 for fiscal 
     years beginning after fiscal year 1998.
       ``(2) Availability to carry out this section.--For fiscal 
     years beginning after fiscal year 1998, $377,500,000 shall be 
     made available pursuant to section 108 of the National 
     Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) to carry out this 
     section.''.
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