[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9963-9966]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




REAUTHORIZING THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HISTORIC 
                          PRESERVATION PROGRAM

  Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1135) to reauthorize the Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities Historic Preservation program.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1135

       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 2018 through 2024.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Cook) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1430

  Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 295, introduced by Congressman James Clyburn from South 
Carolina, reauthorizes the Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
Historic Preservation program.

[[Page 9964]]

  Since 1988, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic 
Preservation program has awarded over $60 million in grants to assist 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities with needed maintenance 
and rehabilitation of historic buildings on their campuses. These 
projects may include repairing damaged masonry, upgrading electrical 
and plumbing systems, or fixing leaking roofs.
  Although the needs of our Nation's Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities exceed the amounts authorized by this legislation, future 
funding provided to this program will help to ensure that the rich 
history of these campuses remains preserved for future generations.
  I urge adoption of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1135 reauthorizes the Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities Historic Preservation program. This program provides 
grants to revitalize and conserve historic structures at Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities in Virginia.
  I am very proud and grateful of the five HBCUs we have in Virginia: 
Virginia State, Norfolk State, Hampton University, Virginia Union 
University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg.
  I point out that the Nation's first elected African-American 
Governor, Douglas L. Wilder, was a graduate of Virginia Union 
University.
  Since the program was first authorized in 1988, as Mr. Cook has said, 
there has been over $60 million in grants to help restore iconic 
structures on many of these college campuses, and two-thirds of this 
money appropriated has been leveraged to generate matching funds to 
maximize the impacts of taxpayer dollars. But despite all the progress 
made with respect to revitalizing these campuses, there is still a lot 
of work that remains to be done in all 107 HBCUs.
  Reauthorization and sustained support for this program is long 
overdue. So I would like to thank my esteemed colleague from South 
Carolina (Mr. Clyburn) for all of his hard work and relentlessness to 
bring this bill to the attention of Congress.
  I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this good bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the distinguished leader.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for 
yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, as a student and former teacher of history, 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. There are over 100 HBCUs in the country, and eight of them are 
in South Carolina. I proudly represent seven of them and I am a 
graduate of one.
  Many of them have buildings and sites on their campuses that have 
existed for over a century and are of great historical significance. 
Unfortunately, many of the historic buildings and sites on these 
campuses have deteriorated over the years and are at risk of being lost 
if not preserved and protected.
  In 1998, at the behest of the Congressional Black Caucus, the United 
States Government Accountability Office, the GAO, 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 historic 
treasures.
  In 2003, working with our former colleague Jim Hansen of Utah and our 
current colleague and my dear friend Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee, 
Congress expanded the program and authorized expenditures of $10 
million annually for 5 years. I have seen the results firsthand. Last 
year, Allen University rededicated the historic Chappelle Auditorium on 
its campus in Columbia, South Carolina, 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 an 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. That was 9.4 miles to school and 9.4 miles back 
home.
  The legal case that grew from this petition, Briggs v. Elliott, 
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 Supreme Court. Overturning the 
separate-but-equal fallacy, Brown ended legal segregation throughout 
America.
  This is just a singular example of the history living on HBCU 
campuses. Because of our past efforts, historic buildings and sites at 
59 HBCUs in 20 States have received funding from this program. However, 
many historic structures are still endangered.
  Consequently, in the omnibus appropriations bill for 2017, which 
passed earlier this year, Congress included $4 million for HBCU 
Historic Preservation so that we could continue this progress.
  Last year, the House passed this bill unanimously, but it was not 
taken up by the Senate. I thank Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member 
Grijalva for supporting it again today. This bill is supported by the 
United Negro College Fund, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and the 
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
  The HBCU Historic Preservation program serves as an essential purpose 
to HBCUs, which have a special place in the fabric of American history, 
culture, and education. Countless individuals have worked tirelessly to 
cultivate HBCUs, and their legacy is seen in graduates whose 
achievements adorn the pages of American history. From Booker T. 
Washington, to Mary McLeod Bethune, W.E.B. DuBois, to Martin Luther 
King, Jr., HBCU visionaries and graduates have set powerful examples of 
leadership.
  The legacy of HBCUs is one of significant courage and steadfast 
determination. The structures on these campuses across the country are 
living testaments to African-American history, and they deserve to be 
stabilized and restored. HBCUs are among America's national treasures 
that must be preserved and protected for future generations.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this needed 
legislation.
  Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Adams), a distinguished Member of Congress.
  Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the reauthorization of the 
HBCU Historic Preservation program. There are ten HBCUs in North 
Carolina. The Johnson C. Smith University is in my district.
  I am pleased to see strong bipartisan support that recognizes how 
integral Historically Black Colleges and Universities are to our 
Nation.
  I am a proud graduate twice of North Carolina A&T, a retired 40-year 
professor at Bennett College--both HBCUs in Greensboro.
  Most of the structures that this program will help preserve date back 
to the founding of these schools, most founded in the 19th century. 
These structures teach us about the lengths that African Americans went 
through to be educated and to fight for their place in American 
society.

[[Page 9965]]

  They also provide important lessons for today, reminding us of how 
far we have come as a society and how these structures were once built 
to cope with Jim Crow America but now are used to educate our future 
lawyers, doctors, and politicians.
  They also remind us of how far we have to go, how we must continue to 
address the numerous inequities HBCUs face compared to other 
universities when it comes to educating the next generation.
  Funding from this program finances repairs that schools with large 
endowments take for granted, repairs from water damage, asbestos, lead 
paint, improvements to heating and ventilation systems, and increased 
physical accessibility for the disabled.
  The program helps modernize HBCU campuses, creating a suitable 
environment for learning and achievement, while allowing these 
institutions to attract prospective students who deserve an education.
  W.E.B. DuBois reminded us: Of all of the civil rights for which the 
world has struggled and fought for for 500 years, but the right to 
learn is undoubtedly the most fundamental.
  In short, Mr. Speaker, this program is necessary to update HBCU 
infrastructure and maintain their competitive edge as institutions of 
higher learning supporting that fundamental right.
  The President has said these schools are a priority for his 
administration. They are absolutely a priority for me as well as for my 
colleagues of the CBC and the bipartisan HBCU Caucus. So passing it 
proves that Congress can come together to achieve something substantial 
for these schools and continue the conversation surrounding HBCUs.
  Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Virginia has 9\1/2\ 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my good friend Congressman Jim 
Clyburn's bill to reauthorize the Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities Historic Preservation program.
  I have known Jim Clyburn for more than 35 years, and this has been 
his passion ever since I first met him many years ago. I thank Mr. 
Clyburn for his passion and his leadership on this issue.
  Since 1988, the HBCU Historic Preservation program has provided more 
than $60 million to HBCUs all across the country to support 
infrastructure and facilitate learning.
  Both my undergraduate and law school alma mater, North Carolina 
Central University in Durham, an institution that I am now proud to 
represent in Congress, has greatly benefited from the program.
  And I might say that my father graduated from Shaw University, which 
is an HBCU, and later from Meharry Medical College. My mother attended 
high school at Shaw University and graduated from college at Hampton 
Institute, now called Hampton University.
  Mr. Speaker, HBCUs fill a unique and important role in our Nation's 
higher education system and in our country's narrative. Not only do 
HBCUs train our workforce of the future by producing the most African-
American students who can earn science and engineering doctoral 
degrees, they are integral parts of our national identity.
  The more than 100 HBCUs spread across the country house the books and 
the memorabilia from freedmen and former slaves dating back many years.
  Many of the historic buildings on the campuses of HBCUs were used as 
meeting places during reconstruction and during the civil rights 
movement.
  HBCUs represent the past, the here and the now, and the future of our 
country. By reauthorizing this important program through 2024, we can 
honor the many important faculty and students that have helped HBCUs 
endure, support people at those institutions today, and prepare our 
workforce for the future.
  I strongly support this bill. I commend my dear colleague, 
Congressman Jim Clyburn, for his enormous leadership on this important 
issue. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Alabama (Ms. Sewell).
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
1135, to reauthorize the Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
Historic Preservation program.
  I am so grateful to Congressman Clyburn for his leadership over the 
years to strengthen and protect the Historic Preservation program on 
behalf of our Nation's HBCUs. He has been a tireless advocate on behalf 
of historic preservation of HBCUs, and I am honored today to join him 
in this effort. Mr. Clyburn has worked tirelessly during his time in 
Congress to preserve and protect our Nation's historic treasures and 
the legacies of those who came before us.
  Many of us have HBCUs in our district. They represent a steep history 
of student activism in the civil rights movement. Many of the 
buildings, sites, and historic records that exist on these campuses 
have existed for over a century and a half. In 1998, as a matter of 
fact, the GAO found that there were 712 historic buildings and sites on 
HBCU campuses. If we do not do more to protect and preserve the 
vestiges that remain, we will surely lose this important history.
  Tuskegee University is one university in my home State of Alabama, 
where Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and the Tuskegee 
Airmen all made their place in our Nation's history.
  Stillman College; Selma University; Concordia College; Miles College; 
Talladega College; Alabama A&M University; and Alabama State 
University, where my mother and father graduated, are Historically 
Black Colleges in the State of Alabama.
  At Talladega College, these funds were used to restore Foster Hall, 
which was erected for girls and teachers in 1869, and is the oldest 
dorm on that campus. This program has helped so many HBCUs in my State. 
The buildings were nearly destroyed 5 years ago, but the funds from the 
historic program were used to restore the buildings on Talladega's 
campus.
  When I think about my own district, the Seventh Congressional 
District of Alabama, at Miles College in Birmingham, students were 
leaders in the civil rights movement and led a selective buying 
campaign at local department stores and major retailers in 1963.
  Congress has recognized that we have a responsibility to be stewards 
of these great national resources since we first enacted grants to 
HBCUs for historic preservation in 1996. The program was then expanded 
in 2003, thanks to Mr. Clyburn and others. Historical buildings and 
sites at more than 60 HBCUs have benefited.
  If we continue making investments in this program, we can meet the 
dire historic preservation and restoration needs that remain at these 
threatened sites. We must not only know our history, but we must also 
protect our history.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to continue this important 
work by voting for this bill today to reauthorize the HBCU Historic 
Preservation program through 2024.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a graduate of the University 
of Virginia School of Law.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the manager of this 
legislation, the cosponsors, Mr. Clyburn, and so many others who have 
been part of this historic legislation for their leadership on it.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise as a member of the bipartisan Congressional HBCU 
Caucus and as an original cosponsor of H.R. 1135.
  H.R. 1135 would authorize the appropriation of millions of dollars 
from 2018 through 2024 to the Historic Preservation Fund to provide 
assistance for the

[[Page 9966]]

restoration and preservation of historic structures at Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities.
  Let me indicate that this has been a long journey. The 
reauthorization is very special and emotional to many of us. As many of 
us know, Historically Black Colleges and Universities came at the wake 
of the ending of slavery and were a place of refuge for so many 
students.
  I am reminded of those individuals who, as freed slaves, told stories 
of walking miles to be able to get to a school like Fisk University or 
to a school for so many in North Carolina and South Carolina or all 
throughout the South. They were great refuges for individuals who 
wanted a better life.
  It is important to note that in the 1980s, the National Park Service 
awarded more than $65 million. These grants require you to cover 30 
percent of the project. So it is not a handout. It is a hand-up. It is 
preserving the history of this great Nation.
  I am very grateful to the Congressional Black Caucus. When the 
question is asked, ``What is the Congressional Black Caucus and what do 
we do,'' I will say without shame that we are the conscience of this 
Nation and we recognize that we have a responsibility to protect the 
vulnerable things of this Nation, whether it be people or things.
  So the idea was to make sure that not only students have a brilliant 
education, but those who would seek knowledge will be able to come to 
the campuses of these Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
  I happen to represent two State schools: Texas Southern University 
and Prairie View A&M. There are many HBCUs throughout the State of 
Texas. We are grateful for the leadership that they have given. They 
have history.
  Soon I will be establishing what we call the Emancipation Trail, 
which chronicles the announcement of freedom in Texas. It was called 
Juneteenth. It was 2 years that some learned about their freedom after 
everyone else was free.
  Those stories are being told at the HBCUs, but at the same time, STEM 
education is being taught. Oakwood College, a historically Black 
college of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, educates huge numbers of 
doctors. I am told it has the largest number of African Americans that 
go into medical school.
  STEM is very important to our HBCUs. Texas Southern University has a 
renowned homeland security program.
  This is a good bill, and I thank my colleagues for voting for this 
very right and positive bill.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Bipartisan Congressional HBCU Caucus 
and an original co-sponsor, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1135, 
which reauthorizes the Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
Historic Preservation Program.
  H.R. 1135 would authorize the appropriation of $10 million annually 
from 2018 through 2024 for the Historic Preservation Fund to provide 
assistance for the restoration and preservation of historic structures 
at Historical Black Colleges (HBCUs).
  Specifically, H.R. 1135, reauthorizes $10 million in annual 
appropriations for the National Park Service grant program supporting 
the preservation of historic buildings on the campuses of historically 
black colleges and universities.
  Since the 1980s, the National Park Service (NPS) has awarded more 
than $65 million to more than 80 HBCUs to repair historic buildings on 
their campuses.
  To be eligible for grants under the program, recipients have to cover 
30 percent of the cost of a project.
  Eligible projects include stabilization, masonry repair, removing 
lead paint or other hazards, and the improvement of access for the 
disabled.
  Mr. Speaker, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
Preservation Program exists to preserve, and stabilize historic 
structures on HBCU campuses through projects such as structural 
stabilization, masonry repair, replacement of antiquated electrical and 
plumbing systems, abating environmental hazards such as asbestos, 
ameliorating termite damage, and replacing leaking roofs.
  The HBCU preservation project is critically important because much of 
the history of African Americans has been lost due to it not being 
considered important enough by historians to study and the fact that 
many of the repositories of that history--black churches--have been 
destroyed by arson.
  I thank and my colleague, Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn 
for his work in bringing this important legislation to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud that one of the greatest HBCUs in the 
country, Texas Southern University, is located in my congressional 
district.
  Texas Southern University has a rich history with nine academic 
units, 1,000 dedicated staff members, and over 9,200 esteemed students.
  Like most of my HBCU Caucus colleagues, I have worked closely with my 
local HBCU to provide funding and resources needed to enable them to 
fulfill their mission of educating the next generation of social 
engineers and conducting research programs addressing issues of major 
concern to the African American community.
  I was proud to spearhead the initiative that brought more than $13 
million in financial aid relief for the students and campus of Texas 
Southern University.
  I also worked with TSU administrators to initiate digital archive 
projects to preserve the records of two of its most distinguished 
alumni, the legendary Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland, both of whom 
preceded me as the Member of Congress for the Eighteenth Congressional 
District of Texas.
  I was pleased to facilitate a partnership between Comcast and TSU's 
School of Communication to provide scholarships and internships to TSU 
students and in-kind marketing services to the university.
  I helped secure funding needed to establish the Center for 
Transportation, Training and Research in the TSU College of Science, 
Engineering, and Technology.
  HBCU's have played a critical role in American history.
  As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated:

       The function of education is to teach one to think 
     intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus 
     character--that is the goal of true education.

  HBCUs do not just educate--HBCUs have and will continue to fill an 
important role in education opportunity and engagement for millions of 
young people from diverse backgrounds.
  I ask my colleagues to support reauthorization of the Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities Historic Preservation Program by 
joining me in voting to pass H.R. 1135.
  Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEYER. 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. Cook) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1135.
  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.

                          ____________________