[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 130 (Wednesday, September 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1797]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION DIGITAL AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY 
                        OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 4, 2007

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 
H.R. 694, the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless 
Technology Opportunity Act of 2007.
  Minority Serving Institutions include Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities, HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, HSIs, Tribal 
Colleges and Universities, TCUs, and Asian American/Pacific Islander-
Serving Institutions.
  Historically Black Colleges and Universities produce a 
disproportionately high percentage of African American science, 
engineering and technology professionals with advanced degrees. Even 
though they struggle with limited resources, HBCUs are institutions 
that provide special opportunities for educational enrichment for 
minority students.
  HBCUs graduated 40 percent or more of all African Americans who, in 
2000, received degrees in physics, chemistry, astronomy, environmental 
sciences, mathematics and biology.
  In fact, African Americans who graduate from HBCUs are more likely to 
go on to graduate school and complete doctoral degrees than African-
American undergraduates from other institutions.
  HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions offer unique learning 
experiences, instill confidence, and impart a ``can-do'' attitude among 
minority students who matriculate there.
  Congressman Edolphus Towns of New York has devised a strong bill to 
assist minority-serving institutions in acquiring, and augmenting the 
use of digital and wireless networking technologies to improve the 
quality and delivery of educational services.
  This legislation is appropriate, considering the very small 
appropriation given to these institutions to help carry on their 
legacy.
  I strongly support this bill and appreciate Chairman Bart Gordon and 
Ranking Member Ralph Hall, of the Committee on Science and Technology, 
for their partnership to facilitate it through the Committee process.
  Again, I am pleased to support the Minority Serving Institution 
Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act of 2007, and I urge my 
colleagues to support it also.

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