[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 15, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9322-S9323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       NATIONAL HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WEEK

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 422, and 
the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 422) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate that the President should designate the week beginning 
     September 12, 2004, as ``National Historically Black Colleges 
     and Universities Week.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, America's Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities have served as precious portals of opportunity for 
African-Americans since the first, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, 
was founded 167 years ago. I join all Americans in commemorating these 
proud institutions of higher learning this week, which the President 
has proclaimed ``National Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
Week.''
  Mary McLeod Bethune once said, ``We firmly believe education has the 
irresistible power to dissolve the shackles of slavery.'' It was this 
moral commitment to education for African-Americans that inspired Ms. 
Bethune to found her famous day school in Daytona, FL--now known as 
Bethune Cookman College--100 years ago. It was also this ideal that 
inspired the establishment of 130 other Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities nationwide. And the ``irresistible power'' of these 
institutions for the African-American community is clear. Fully 42 
percent of all the PhDs earned each year by African-Americans are 
earned by graduates of HBCUs.
  But despite playing a central role in our Nation's economic, 
cultural, social and spiritual life, HBCUs have been physically 
eroding, victims of chronic neglect and underfunding. A 1990 General 
Accounting Office study concluded that 712 properties on 103 HBCU 
campuses nationwide were in need of repair or renovation, at an 
estimated cost of $755 million.
  That is why 2 years ago I joined with Congressman Jim Clyburn in the 
cause of repairing, restoring, rebuilding, and revitalizing HBCUs. With 
the support of Senators Landrieu, Miller, and others, our legislation 
to authorize $50 million in new funding for HBCUs passed the Senate in 
January 2003, and was signed into law by the President in February of 
that year. We appropriated $3 million for the program last year, and 
hope to continue such robust funding this appropriations cycle.

[[Page S9323]]

  I saw firsthand the effect that this legislation can have. When I 
visited Allen University in South Carolina in 2002, I went to Arnett 
Hall--a building that had been transformed from an eyesore into a 
beautiful and stately facility with the help of Federal funds. In the 
past, students and faculty who walked into the dilapidated hall would 
be left with the clear impression that we are neglecting these historic 
treasures. Now, they visit the restored hall and are left with the 
impression that we consider Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities central to our history and to our future.
  Our HBCU legislation was an important step to fulfilling the dream, 
as Dr. Martin Luther King famously captured it, of an America true to 
its creed that we are all created equal. Each of these 130 institutions 
of higher learning, educating 300,000 African-American students, is a 
living memorial to the dream of equal educational opportunity for all--
living memorials we are morally bound to preserve. This week, let us 
recall the proud heritage and valuable contribution Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities make to our Nation, and redouble our efforts 
to keep their doors open for future generations.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, today I rise to honor the Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities around the country that serve over 
215,000 of our finest African-American students.
  Since the first HBCU was founded in 1837, HBCUs have played an 
important role in our higher education system. They have educated some 
of our most prominent African-American leaders, such as the Reverend 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood 
Marshall, educator Booker T. Washington, former U.S. Surgeon General 
David Satcher, Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, and Louisiana native and 
former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, Jr., to just name a few. 
Today, 65 percent of all African-American physicians, 50 percent of 
African-American engineers, and 35 percent of African-American lawyers 
are graduates of an HBCU. It is clear that HBCUs have and continue to 
play a vital role in our higher education system, and for that, I honor 
them today.
  I would specifically like to praise the six HBCUs in my home state of 
Louisiana that produce exceptionally fine graduates: Dillard University 
in New Orleans, Grambling State University in Grambling, Southern 
University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in Baton Rouge, 
Southern University in New Orleans, Southern University in Shreveport, 
and Xavier University in New Orleans. These schools serve roughly 
30,000 Louisiana higher education students and prepare them to be 
tomorrow's leaders. For that, I say thank you.
  Recognizing the importance of HBCUs, I am proud to lend my support to 
S. Res. 422, designating this week as ``National Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities Week.'' And, I am proud to support the 
College Quality, Affordability, and Diversity Improvement Act, S. 1793, 
which extends and increases the Title V, Part B programs under the 
Higher Education Act that strengthen HBCUs. As we enter the final weeks 
of the 108th Congress, I look forward to discussing, debating, and 
passing this important piece of legislation, and as we move through the 
appropriations process, I urge my colleagues to ensure that adequate 
funding is given to HBCUs.
  Historically Black Colleges and Universities have given a great 
amount to our higher education system through the years, and today I 
give them my thanks and praise.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution 
be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 422) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 422

       Whereas there are 105 historically Black colleges and 
     universities in the United States;
       Whereas historically Black colleges and universities 
     provide the quality education so essential to full 
     participation in a complex, highly technological society;
       Whereas historically Black colleges and universities have a 
     rich heritage and have played a prominent role in the history 
     of the United States;
       Whereas historically Black colleges and universities have 
     allowed many underprivileged students to attain their full 
     potential through higher education; and
       Whereas the achievements and goals of historically Black 
     colleges and universities are deserving of national 
     recognition: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL HISTORICALLY BLACK 
                   COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WEEK.

       (a) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the President should designate the week beginning 
     September 12, 2004, as ``National Historically Black Colleges 
     and Universities Week''.
       (b) Proclamation.--The Senate requests the President to 
     issue a proclamation--
       (1) designating the week beginning September 12, 2004, as 
     ``National Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
     Week''; and
       (2) calling on the people of the United States and 
     interested groups to observe the week with appropriate 
     ceremonies, activities, and programs to demonstrate support 
     for historically Black colleges and universities in the 
     United States.

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this resolution relates to historically 
black colleges and universities and the designation of a period of time 
to express appreciation for the tremendous function and job they carry 
out in this great country of ours.
  In my own city of Nashville, my hometown, and where I live now, we 
have two wonderful historically black institutions of learning. One is 
a medical center, Meharry Medical College; and the another is Fisk 
University. The contributions those two institutions of learning have 
made to our community, and indeed to the global community, and in the 
sense of Meharry to the national community of physicians, has been just 
tremendous.
  I know both sides of the aisle take great pleasure in once again 
recognizing this period of time that we can celebrate the great work 
that is done.

                          ____________________