[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12327-12328]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




REAUTHORIZING THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HISTORIC 
                          PRESERVATION PROGRAM

  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 295) to reauthorize the Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities Historic Preservation program, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 295

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

     SECTION 1. HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES 
                   HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM REAUTHORIZED.

       Section 507(d)(2) of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands 
     Management Act of 1996 (54 U.S.C. 302101 note) is amended by 
     striking the period at the end and inserting ``and each of 
     fiscal years 2017 through 2023.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
American Samoa (Mrs. Radewagen) and the gentleman from the Northern 
Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from American Samoa.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from American Samoa?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 295, introduced by Congressman Clyburn of South Carolina, 
reauthorizes the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic 
Preservation program. Since 1988, this program has allowed historically 
Black colleges and universities to document, preserve, and stabilize 
historic structures on their campuses. Over $60 million has been 
awarded to these colleges and universities for this program, ensuring 
that their rich history remains preserved for future generations.
  I urge my colleagues to adopt this important measure.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the sponsor of the bill.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 295, my bill to 
reauthorize the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic 
Preservation program. This bill has been cosponsored by my colleagues 
in the Congressional Black Caucus and is broadly supported by all of 
our colleagues. It received a unanimous vote in the House Natural 
Resources Committee earlier this year, and I thank Mrs. Radewagen and 
Mr. Sablan and all of our colleagues for their support.
  As a former high school history teacher, I have worked during my 
tenure in Congress to preserve and protect our Nation's historic 
treasures. Historically Black colleges and universities, commonly 
called HBCUs, are some of the most important historic educational 
institutions in our country. Many of them have buildings and sites on 
their campuses that have existed for over a century. Unfortunately, 
many of the historic buildings and sites on these campuses have 
deteriorated over the years and are at risk of being lost completely if 
not preserved and protected.
  In 1998, at the request of the Congressional Black Caucus, the United 
States Government Accountability Office surveyed 103 HBCU campuses to 
identify the historically significant sites on these campuses and 
project the cost of restoring and preserving these properties. The GAO 
identified 712 historic buildings and sites and projected a cost of 
$755 million to restore and preserve them. Each of these sites has 
national significance to American history, and I believe we have an 
obligation to be stewards of these cultural treasures.
  Congress first authorized grants to HBCUs for historic preservation 
in

[[Page 12328]]

1996. In 2003, working with our former colleague, the gentleman from 
Utah, Jim Hansen, and our current colleague, and my friend, the 
gentleman from Tennessee, Jimmy Duncan, Congress expanded the program 
that was originally championed by our former colleague, the gentleman 
from Tennessee, Bob Clement. Ten million dollars was authorized 
annually for 5 years.
  The bill before us today extends that authorization at the same level 
for an additional 7 years. I have seen the transformative effect of 
these historic preservation grants on HBCU campuses in my district and 
across the country.
  Arnette Hall at Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina, was 
designed by an African American architect and constructed by the 
university students themselves in 1891. Before being restored to the 
Secretary of the Interior's standards, Arnette Hall had been boarded up 
for nearly 40 years.
  Testifying before the Committee on Natural Resources earlier this 
year, Claflin University's president, Dr. Henry Tisdale, spoke of the 
tremendous impact the restorations of Ministers and Tingley Halls have 
had on his institution.
  Last June, I spoke at the rededication of historic Chappelle 
Auditorium, on the campus of Allen University, which was painstakingly 
restored thanks to funding from this program. Originally built in 1925, 
this building was central to the cultural life of African Americans in 
South Carolina for generations.
  In 1947, Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine attended a NAACP event at 
Chappelle Auditorium that inspired him to organize Black families in 
Clarendon County to petition their school district to provide buses for 
Black students who, at the time, were forced to make a daily walk of 
9.4 miles to school. This case, Briggs v. Elliot, precipitated the 
frontal attack on segregation in the country and was later combined 
with four other cases that became Brown v. Board of Education of 
Topeka, Kansas, at the United States Supreme Court. Overturning the 
``separate but equal'' fallacy, Brown ended legal segregation in this 
country.
  Historic buildings and sites at 59 HBCUs in 20 States have benefited 
from this program. Their stories are similar to those in my district 
that I have just shared.
  There are many more buildings and sites on these campuses that are in 
dire need of restoration and preservation. H.R. 295 will renew our 
commitment to the stewardship of this critical aspect of American 
history.
  Although it will not provide all of the funding the GAO estimated is 
needed to preserve every threatened site, H.R. 295 will continue the 
progress Congress has made in preserving these unique treasures.
  I thank Chairman Bishop, subcommittee Chairman McClintock, and 
Ranking Members Grijalva and Tsongas for their support of this 
important legislation, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.
  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I would advise the gentleman that I have 
no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 295 is a great bill. I would like to thank the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), my esteemed colleague, for all of his 
hard work.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from American Samoa (Mrs. Radewagen) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 295, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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