[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 175 (Tuesday, November 13, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H13826-H13828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HBCU CAPITAL FINANCING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2007

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4154) to increase the insurance 
limitations on Federal insurance for bonds issued by the designated 
bonding authority for Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
capital financing.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4154

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

     SECTION 1. LIMITATIONS ON FEDERAL INSURANCE FOR BONDS ISSUED 
                   BY THE DESIGNATED BONDING AUTHORITY.

        Section 344(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1066c(a)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``$375,000,000'' and inserting 
     ``$1,100,000,000'';
       (2) by striking ``$250,000,000'' and inserting 
     ``$733,333,333''; and
       (3) by striking ``$125,000,000'' and inserting 
     ``$366,666,666''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Keller) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative 
days during which Members may insert material relevant to H.R. 4154 
into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he 
may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the 
majority whip of the House, who has worked and moved all might here to 
get this legislation to the floor.
  Mr. CLYBURN. I want to thank Chairman Miller for yielding the time to 
me, and I want to thank Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Chairman 
Miller, Messrs. McKeon and Keller, Leader Boehner, Minority Whip Blunt 
and all the other committee members on both sides of the aisle for 
bringing the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital 
Financing Improvement Act to the floor, and I rise in strong support of 
this legislation.
  As a proud graduate of an HBCU, South Carolina State University, I 
understand the important role that HBCUs play in the development of our 
country. It is essential that this congressional body do all that we 
can to support these institutions and the students they serve.
  Our Nation's historically black colleges and universities have 
produced some of America's brightest stars and most principled leaders, 
many of whom serve in this body.
  I requested the introduction of this bill because many of the 
builders and buildings and facilities at some of these fine colleges 
and universities are deteriorating as we speak. This bill goes a long 
way toward making it possible for many of these schools to refurbish 
their infrastructure and to better serve the needs of their faculties 
and student bodies.
  This legislation provides increased lending authority for bonds 
issued to support capital financing projects at HBCUs. Funds authorized 
through this bill will be used for the repair, renovation and the 
construction of facilities used for instruction, research and housing.
  Mr. Speaker, institutions of higher learning are only as good as what 
they produce, and, in my opinion, no other set of institutions has a 
more impressive alumni role than our Nation's HBCUs. I encourage my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. KELLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4154, a bill to increase the 
limit placed on the Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
Capital Financing Program. This worthy program provides Federal 
insurance for bonds issued to support capital financing projects at 
HBCUs. Generally, the funds are used for repair and renovation.
  This program includes important safeguards to protect taxpayers while 
making funds available to HBCUs. Under current law, the total 
outstanding principal and interest payments on loans made under this 
program cannot exceed $375 million. During fiscal year 2006, the 
Department of Education made 24 loans from this program. Since the last 
Congress, at least four institutions have submitted applications to the 
Department of Education to obtain funds from this program. Another 
seven schools have expressed an interest in the program, according to 
the Department. Without expanding this cap, none of these schools would 
have access to these critical funds.
  Historically black colleges and universities are integral to the 
fabric of our Nation's higher education system. HBCUs serve many low-
income and first-generation college students that would not otherwise 
have the opportunity to attend college. Students attending these 
institutions should have access to safe, up-to-date facilities.
  With so many institutions in need of assistance, this bill will 
increase the overall limit on this program from $375 million to $1.1 
billion. With this new cap, the Department of Education will be able to 
make over $400 million in loans to deserving public and private 
institutions. Through the HBCU Capital Financing Program, we can help 
these institutions to help themselves.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and vote 
``yes'' on H.R. 4154.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to 
the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), a member of the committee.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, historically black colleges and universities play a 
pivotal role in America's higher education system and continue to 
educate many black American students as well as students of other races 
every year.
  Today, we have over 100 historically black colleges and universities 
in the Nation, 5 percent of our colleges and universities; yet these 
institutions award almost 30 percent of all college degrees obtained by 
African Americans. In some areas of science, math and engineering, 
these colleges account for almost half or more of such degrees awarded 
to African Americans. HBCUs are also responsible for a large number of 
graduate and professional degrees earned by African Americans.
  This bill will provide the necessary capital that will ensure that 
HBCUs have all of the options available to them in order to maintain 
their excellent standard of education.

[[Page H13827]]

  This bill is supported by the Department of Education and three 
historically black college and university advocacy groups; the National 
Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, or NAFEO; 
Thurgood Marshall College Fund; and the United Negro College Fund.

                              {time}  1945

  I would like to thank the majority whip, Mr. Clyburn, and 
particularly thank the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, 
Mr. Miller, as well as their staffs who worked so hard to address this 
issue in a timely manner. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. KELLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to 
the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper).
  Mr. COOPER. I thank the gentleman from California, my friend from 
Virginia, and the gentleman from South Carolina for the prompt 
consideration of this vitally important measure.
  I have the privilege of representing not only Fisk University in 
Nashville, Tennessee, but also Meharry Medical College, as well as 
Tennessee State University and American Baptist College. But Fisk and 
Meharry are two private institutions that are in urgent need of funds 
such as these.
  People should be more aware of the historic role these institutions 
have played in American history. At one point Meharry Medical College 
alone had supplied literally half of the African American physicians 
practicing medicine in the United States of America. This country would 
be completely different without the legacy and the bright, bright 
future of Meharry Medical College.
  Equally prominent is Fisk University, what some people have called 
the Harvard of the historically black colleges and universities world. 
Currently led by Hazel O'Leary, many have heard of the Fisk Jubilee 
Singers, a group that is literally famous worldwide. But they should 
also know about the science, the liberal arts, and the incredible 
education that is going on at Fisk University every day.
  These are vitally important institutions, and I am thankful that even 
the administration has seen that we need to increase this loan fund. We 
need to offer help to these vitally important institutions so they can 
continue their historic mission of educating not only African American 
youth, but people of all colors and persuasions to live up to their 
full God-given potential.
  Fisk and Meharry are two vital institutions in my district. But as 
the gentleman noted, there are hundreds of other institutions spread 
nationwide. These are very important institutions to support, and I am 
grateful that the House leadership, with Republican cooperation, has 
brought this bill forward. We must pass this important legislation.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to 
the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings).
  Mr. CUMMINGS. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, as a graduate of Howard University and first-generation 
graduate of college, to see my daughter graduate from Howard 
University, too, and then to sit on the board of Morgan State 
University, this bill is very, very important.
  I have had an opportunity to visit a lot of historically black 
colleges and universities. I have often said if they did not exist, we 
would have to invent them because they have touched so many people. But 
so often when we go to campuses, we see buildings that are in very bad 
shape. Sometimes it almost brings tears to your eyes to think that 
students will come from far away and so often when they get there, so 
often they are disappointed. But the fact is that they still learn.
  But it is nice to know that extending this bonding authority will be 
helpful to them in getting these buildings built and renovated. It is 
so very, very important. So I want to congratulate Mr. Miller and the 
committee, and certainly Mr. Clyburn.
  I have often said that our children are the living messages we send 
to a future we will never see. I think if we are going to send a 
powerful message, our children must be educated and they must be 
educated in the best facilities. They must be educated with the best 
faculties. So as one who also represents Morgan State and Coppin, as 
well as Sojourner-Douglass in my district, I think this bill is so 
very, very important; and I think it says a lot about this body that we 
would even be doing this.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. 
Cummings, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Scott and Mr. Cooper who have worked 
diligently to get this legislation to the floor. And I want to thank 
Mr. Keller and Mr. McKeon on the Republican side, and our House 
leadership and the Republican leadership for facilitating this.
  The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital Financing 
Program was established by Congress in 1992 to help these schools fund 
capital projects to construct, rehabilitate, or renovate existing and 
new campus facilities.
  Under current law, the HBCU Capital Financing Program has a 
legislative cap or limit to the total amount of bonds that the 
Secretary of Education may guarantee to provide loans to these schools 
to undertake their capital projects.
  In dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Secretary 
exceeded, with congressional approval, the original cap that Congress 
imposed on the amount of bonds the Secretary could guarantee. Given the 
cap on such bonds was reached during the tragic events caused by 
Hurricane Katrina, the program is now unable to provide any loans to 
other schools.
  The bill we are considering under suspension today will simply 
increase the lending authority of the Secretary and establish a new cap 
to ensure other HBCUs in the pipeline for consideration of such loans 
will receive those loans. This is a short-term solution to the capital 
needs of these schools, and we will continue to address the 
reauthorization in the Higher Education Act the Education and Labor 
Committee is currently considering.
  So I want to thank all of those who participated in this legislation.
  I also want to take a moment, as we are talking about historically 
black colleges, to remember a pioneer that we lost this last weekend, 
former Congressman Gus Hawkins, who is a former Chair of the Education 
and Labor Committee and a member of the California delegation.
  He was a wonderful politician who had a great vision for this country 
on behalf of its students and workers. He fought every day of his 
public life to make their lives better in this country. He was a 
trailblazer in so many aspects, including advancing legislation that 
barred employment discrimination and increasing the minimum wage and 
access to colleges.
  I had the honor of serving on the committee while Gus was the Chair 
and can attest to his passion and dedication to the issues that affect 
America's students and workers.
  As a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first 
African American to represent California in the Congress, he led the 
way for many legislators who are here today.
  Gus was also the author of legislation which established the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission, which continues to combat employment 
discrimination. Throughout his career, Gus Hawkins authored more than 
300 pieces of State and Federal legislation, a feat that few can claim.
  After retiring, he served as director of the Hawkins Family Memorial 
Foundation for Education, Research and Development, where Gus continued 
helping many young people find a path to college.
  His voice is going to be missed, and I know my thoughts and thoughts 
of all of our colleagues are with the Hawkins family today.
  I also want to say that Gus Hawkins was a wonderful friend of my 
mother and father when Gus and my father served together in the 
California legislature where they fought many of these same fights on 
the State level. They were a remarkable group of people who blazed 
these trails for justice, economic and social justice, in this country. 
Gus Hawkins set the bar and the standard very high for all of us, and I 
think it is fitting that we are also addressing the needs of the 
historically black colleges here on the day we

[[Page H13828]]

choose to remember him and the delegation will have an hour of 
remembrance and testimony to Gus and his great accomplishments 
tomorrow.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote 
``yes'' on H.R. 4154. This is going to help many worthy historically 
black colleges to rebuild and renovate after the tragedy of Hurricane 
Katrina, and it is worthy of support of colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle. I urge them to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4154.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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