[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 169 (Thursday, October 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6142-S6144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 2486
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I am on the Senate floor now, where in
a moment I will be asking for unanimous consent for the Senate to take
up and vote on a House-passed bill that would provide full mandatory
funding for historically Black colleges and universities and other
minority-serving institutions.
The reason I am here is that the authority for this mandatory
spending expired 24 days ago, and we have it within our power right now
to remedy that situation. We can take up a vote on what is called the
FUTURE Act. We have a bipartisan Senate bill that is
[[Page S6143]]
championed by Senators Jones and Scott, and we have before us at the
desk a bill passed by the House of Representatives by voice vote, which
passed unanimously by the House of Representatives.
Without the passage of this bill, the FUTURE Act, our Nation's
historically Black colleges and universities will lose $85 million a
year in critical funding aimed at bolstering their resources, improving
their management, and enhancing their academic programs.
In my home State of Maryland, we have four terrific HBCUs--Bowie
State, Coppin, Morgan State, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Collectively, they stand to lose over $4 million a year, which they
need for things like classroom upgrades, experiential learning
opportunities, and services for supporting students and helping them
stay in school.
I realize there are some who say that since we just enacted fiscal
year 2019 funding, there is no urgency to take up and pass this bill
now. But just this past Saturday, I met with board members of the
Thurgood Marshall College Fund. That is the organization that
represents our Nation's public HBCUs. When they asked me why, when
there is so much agreement and support for this program, we couldn't
pass the extension, I couldn't give them a good answer.
They gave me a letter they had sent to the U.S. Senate just last
week, trying to dispel the myth that there is no urgency to the current
situation. Their president, Dr. Harry Williams, wrote:
The expiration of this program is already having real
consequences. . . . We already have examples of campuses
notifying employees that their positions and programs will be
terminated as of September 30, 2020, if not sooner. These are
real jobs, held by people who interact with students
everyday, in programs that play a critical role in graduating
and retaining students in the STEM fields, among other
disciplines.
He goes on to write:
The longer we wait to give certainty to these universities,
the more institutions will be left with no choice but to
begin winding-down programs that materially benefit students
and employees alike, and strip away the institutional
knowledge bases that our schools have built over time.
That is from Dr. Harry Williams, the president of the Thurgood
Marshall College Fund.
I heard the same thing from our Maryland HBCUs, that they have to
plan now for what is going to happen next year. They can't budget and
they can't plan on hope; they have to budget and plan on reality.
So I understand--our colleague, the Senator from Tennessee and the
chairman of the HELP Committee, is on the floor, and, like him, I hope
we do a broader higher ed reauthorization. I think we need to do that.
I know the House wants to do that. I spoke earlier today with the House
Education and Labor Committee Chairman, Bobby Scott. He wants to do
something too. He has introduced it. But he and the House also
understand that time is of essence when it comes to this piece dealing
with minority-serving institutions, which is why the House sent it over
to us in the first place. So there is really no time to waste. We need
to give these universities and colleges certainty.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the
immediate consideration of Calendar No. 212, H.R. 2486; that the bill
be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no
intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
The Senator from Tennessee.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, with all
respect, this is no way to help historically Black colleges and
minority-serving institutions. What the Senator from Maryland is
suggesting is that we pass a bill that would have 2 years' funding that
is supported by a budget gimmick that will never pass the U.S. Senate.
If we are relying on that proposal to fund historically Black colleges,
it is all over.
What I have offered instead--and I introduced 3 weeks ago on the
floor of the Senate--is a bipartisan package of bills that begins with
permanent funding for historically Black colleges and minority-serving
institutions that is fully paid for.
So if the choice is between 2 years of a gimmick that will never pass
the Senate and permanent funding that is fully paid for, that is not
much of a hard decision for me.
In addition to that, I suggested at the same time that we pass some
other proposals that are bipartisan and have been drafted by 32
Senators--18 Democrats, 14 Republicans. In addition to the long-term,
permanent solution for minority-serving institutions of $225 million a
year, we include simplifying FAFSA, which would help 20 million
families a year. Senator Jones and I introduced a bill to do that just
yesterday. That can pass this week and go to the President and be
signed into law. There is also Pell grants for prisoners, short-term
Pell grants. Senator Daines and Senator Portman and many others have
suggested that. We have a proposal that simplifies the aid letters. We
have a way to pay for the package. We have a way to keep parents from
having to send two sets of tax information to two different agencies of
government--all in this package.
The eight bills--and three bills I hope to include later--ended up
being cosponsored by 48 Senators, 25 Democrats and 23 Republicans. All
of this is ready to be considered by the Senate and sent to the
President and can pass this year.
So I am about to object, but what I want to make clear to the
historically Black colleges--and there are six of them in Tennessee--is
that the Secretary of Education has written a letter assuring them that
there are sufficient funds for another year and that the proposal by
the Senator from Maryland would only be 2 years, is a budget gimmick,
and will never pass the Senate.
So let's work together to permanently fund historically Black
colleges, simplify the FAFSA, 2-year Pell grants, increase the number
of students who get Pell grants--all of that can be done now. Let's not
keep pretending that we are helping the colleges with a proposal that
is short-term, a budget gimmick, and will never pass the Senate.
I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
The Senator from Maryland.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I would just say to the chairman of
the HELP Committee that I believe the best judge of what is good for
HBCUs is HBCUs themselves. They have asked the Senate to act
immediately on the legislation that passed the House unanimously on a
voice vote. So while we all would like to work toward comprehensive
reform and reauthorization of higher education, there is no need to
wait on this provision that is sitting in the Senate.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
the letters we received from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and
from the UNCF, both organizations that advocate on behalf of HBCUs.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Re Title III Part-F Funding to HBCUs and MSIs
Thurgood Marshall College Fund,
Washington, DC, October 14, 2019.
Hon. Mitch McConnell,
Majority Leader, U.S. Senate.
Hon. Lamar Alexander,
Chair, U.S. Senate HELP Committee.
Hon. Chuck Schumer,
Minority Leader, U.S. Senate.
Hon. Patty Murray,
Ranking Member,
U.S. Senate HELP Committee.
Dear Senators: We are sincerely disappointed that the
Senate did not pass the FUTURE Act prior to the September
30th deadline to prevent the Title Ill Part-F program from
expiring.
While it is true that Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) are funded through the academic school
year ending in April 2020, the expiration of this program as
set forth in the plain language of 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1067q,
means that no more grants will be made available to HBCUs
going forward and, as such, our institutions will be without
the ability to preserve the status quo as it relates to the
student programs and jobs supported by this funding.
In fact, the expiration of this program is already having
real consequences on the campuses of the publicly-supported
HBCUs that we represent. Despite having expired only two
weeks ago, we already have examples of campuses notifying
employees that their positions and programs will be
terminated as of September 30, 2020, if not sooner. These are
real jobs, held by people who interact with students
everyday, in programs that play a critical role in graduating
and retaining students in the STEM fields,
[[Page S6144]]
among other disciplines. The longer we wait to give certainty
to these universities, the more institutions will be left
with no choice but to begin winding-down programs that
materially benefit students and employees alike, and strip
away the institutional knowledge bases that our schools have
built over time with the support of Title III, Part F.
While we welcome a potential long-term or ``permanent''
solution to Title III, Part F, what we are hearing from our
campuses is clear--they simply do not have the time to wait
for Congress to work out a deal, particularly on bills that
have an uncertain future in both houses of Congress.
Therefore, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) strongly
encourages the Senate to finally take-up the House-passed,
bi-partisan and bi-cameral FUTURE Act immediately and pass
the bill before permanent damage is done to our campuses.
This course of action is the cleanest and most expedient way
to provide immediate certainty to our nation's HBCUs and
MSIs.
Following the Senate's passage of FUTURE Act, TMCF looks
forward to working with leaders on both sides of the aisle to
develop a longer-term solution for Title Ill, Part F, and for
other HEA-related issues in a broader bill like the Student
Aid Improvement Act or a comprehensive HEA reauthorization
that includes the permanent extension of Title III, Part F
funds.
Sincerely,
Dr. Harry L. Williams,
President & CEO.
____
United Negro College Fund, Inc.
Washington, DC, September 19, 2019.
Hon. Mitch McConnell,
Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Lamar Alexander,
Chairman, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
(HELP) Committee, Washington, DC.
Hon. Chuck Schumer,
Minority Leader, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Patty Murray,
Ranking Member, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
(HELP) Committee, Washington, DC.
Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer,
Chairman Alexander, and Ranking Member Murray: UNCF (the
United Negro College Fund, Inc.) submits this letter urging
you to cosponsor, support, and pass the House-passed H.R.
2486, the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking
Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act. This bipartisan,
bicameral bill passed the House Floor on September 17th by
voice vote and has now been sent to the Senate for
consideration.
UNCF is a non-profit organization with a mission to build a
robust and nationally-recognized pipeline of underrepresented
students who, because of UNCF support, become highly-
qualified college graduates and to ensure that our network of
37-member, private Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) is a respected model of best practice in
moving students to and through college.
The 101 HBCUs that exist today are valuable institutions
with a large economic footprint. Despite only representing 3
percent of all two-and four-year non-profit colleges and
universities, HBCUs (1) enroll 10 percent of all African
American undergraduates; (2) produce 17 percent of all
African American college graduates with bachelor's degrees;
and (3) graduate 21 percent of all African Americans with
bachelor's degrees in STEM fields. Moreover, these
institutions have a strong economic impact, especially on the
regions in which they are located, by creating 134,090 jobs,
producing $10.1 billion in terms of gross regional product,
and having a total annual economic impact of $14.8 billion.
Despite the large economic impact of these institutions,
they continue to be under-resourced and have endowments that
lag behind those of non-HBCUs by at least 70 percent.
Unfortunately, this is common for HBCUs and Congress has
recognized this and sought out ways to find parity between
HBCUs and non-HBCUs. One strategic way in attempting to help
HBCUs receive adequate resources was initially through the
College Cost and Reduction Act of 2007. This bill allowed for
HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Hispanic-
Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other Minority-Serving
Institutions (MSIs) to receive $255 million annually in
mandatory funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 and FY 2009. These
mandatory funds were directed in the Higher Education Act of
1965 to be used solely for science, technology, education,
and mathematics (STEM) education, among other uses largely
centered around STEM. Instead of allowing this funding stream
to expire, Congress continued to recognize the need of these
institutions to offer quality STEM programs on their campuses
and continued this funding stream in the Student Aid Fiscal
Responsibility Act (SAFRA) of 2009. SAFRA extended funding
for these institutions from FY 2009 to FY 2019 at $255
million annually and was included in the Health Care
Reconciliation Act of 2010 that ultimately passed both the
House and Senate to became law. Every vote taken on the
mandatory funding stream for these institutions has been
bipartisan, and it is our desire to have the same outcome for
H.R. 2486.
It is imperative that the Senate pass the FUTURE Act
because funding for HBCUs, TCUs, HSIs, and other MSIs expires
September 30, 2019. While we support a permanent extension of
mandatory funding, H.R. 2486, due to its passage in the House
of Representatives, is the surest way for these institutions
to maintain funding for FY 2020 and FY 2021. We strongly
believe that passing this bill now will address the immediate
funding needs of our institutions and allow Congress to
continue to work towards a permanent extension of this
funding moving forward.
Should you have any additional questions regarding this
letter, please feel free to reach out to Emmanual Guillory,
Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs.
Sincerely,
Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D.,
President and CEO.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I just underscore the fact, with respect to the
chairman, that the best judge of what is good for HBCUs, I think, is
HBCUs. They are worried because they are already having to provide
notice to their professors and their staff that funding might not be
available next year. I know, in the Senate, sometimes we think that no
one needs to plan ahead, but most of the world needs to plan ahead.
We will be back on this floor in the future again, asking that we
pass this urgent matter.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
____________________