In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

December 7, 2020. 

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 461) entitled 

‘‘An Act to strengthen the capacity and competitiveness of 

historically Black colleges and universities through robust 

public-sector, private-sector, and community partnerships and 

engagement, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘HBCU Propelling Agen3 cy Relationships Towards a New Era of Results for Stu4 dents Act’’ or the ‘‘HBCU PARTNERS Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) As many colleges and universities across the 

8 country kept their doors closed to African American 

9 applicants, historically Black colleges and universities 

10 (referred to in this section as ‘‘HBCUs’’) played a 

11 central role in ensuring that African Americans could 

12 attain an excellent education. 

13 (2) Today, HBCUs continue to play a critical 

14 role in ensuring that African Americans, and those of 
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1 all races, can access high-quality educational opportu2 nities. 

3 (3) HBCUs enroll nearly 300,000 students, an 

4 estimated 70 percent of whom come from low-income 

5 backgrounds and 80 percent of whom are African 

6 American. 

7 (4) According to the National Association For 

8 Equal Opportunity In Higher Education (referred to 

9 in this section as ‘‘NAFEO’’), HBCUs make up just 

10 3 percent of American institutions of higher education 

11 but serve more than a fifth of African American col12 lege students. 

13 (5) According to the Thurgood Marshall College 

14 Fund (referred to in this section as ‘‘TMCF’’), ap15 proximately 9 percent of all African American college 

16 students attend HBCUs. 

17 (6) A March 2017 report from the Education 

18 Trust concluded that HBCUs have higher completion 

19 rates for African American students than other insti20 tutions serving similar student populations. 

21 (7) According to TMCF, 40 percent of African 

22 American Members of Congress, 50 percent of African 

23 American lawyers, and 80 percent of African Amer24 ican judges are graduates of HBCUs. 
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1 (8) According to NAFEO, HBCUs graduate ap2 proximately 50 percent of African American public 

3 school teaching professionals. 

4 (9) According to the United Negro College Fund 

5 (referred to in this section as ‘‘UNCF’’), African 

6 American graduates of HBCUs are almost twice as 

7 likely as African Americans who graduated from 

8 other institutions to report that their university pre9 pared them well for life. 

10 (10) According to a study commissioned by 

11 UNCF, in 2014, HBCUs generated a total direct eco12 nomic impact of $14,800,000,000 and created more 

13 than 134,000 jobs. 

14 (11) According to a 2019 report produced by the 

15 American Council on Education and UNCF, despite 

16 efforts to counter a historical legacy of inequitable 

17 funding and notable investments by the Federal Gov18 ernment and many State governments, resource in19 equities continue to plague HBCUs. 

20 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

21 (1) to strengthen the capacity and competitive22 ness of HBCUs to fulfill their principal mission of 

23 equalizing educational opportunity, as described in 

24 section 301(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

25 (20 U.S.C. 1051(b)); 
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1 (2) to align HBCUs with the educational and 

2 economic competitiveness priorities of the United 

3 States; 

4 (3) to provide students enrolled at HBCUs with 

5 the highest quality educational and economic oppor6 tunities; 

7 (4) to bolster and facilitate productive inter8 actions between HBCUs and Federal agencies; and 

9 (5) to encourage HBCU participation in and 

10 benefit from Federal programs, grants, contracts, and 

11 cooperative agreements. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) APPLICABLE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘applicable 

15 agency’’ means— 

16 (A) the Department of Agriculture; 

17 (B) the Department of Commerce; 

18 (C) the Department of Defense; 

19 (D) the Department of Education; 

20 (E) the Department of Energy; 

21 (F) the Department of Health and Human 

22 Services; 

23 (G) the Department of Homeland Security; 

24 (H) the Department of Housing and Urban 

25 Development; 
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1 (I) the Department of the Interior; 

2 (J) the Department of Justice; 

3 (K) the Department of Labor; 

4 (L) the Department of State; 

5 (M) the Department of Transportation; 

6 (N) the Department of Treasury; 

7 (O) the Department of Veterans Affairs; 

8 (P) the National Aeronautics and Space 

9 Administration; 

10 (Q) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

11 Administration; 

12 (R) the National Science Foundation; 

13 (S) the Small Business Administration; and 

14 (T) any other Federal agency designated as 

15 an applicable agency under section 4. 

16 (2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Execu17 tive Director’’ means— 

18 (A) the Executive Director of the White 

19 House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges 

20 and Universities, as designated by the President; 

21 or 

22 (B) if no such Executive Director is des23 ignated, such person as the President may des24 ignate to lead the White House Initiative on 

25 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 
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1 (3) HBCU.—The term ‘‘HBCU’’ means a his2 torically Black college or university. 

3 (4) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNIVER4 SITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or univer5 sity’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B institu6 tion’’ under section 322 of the Higher Education Act 

7 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

8 (5) PRESIDENT’S BOARD OF ADVISORS.—The 

9 term ‘‘President’s Board of Advisors’’ means the 

10 President’s Board of Advisors on historically Black 

11 colleges and universities. 

12 (6) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

13 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Edu14 cation. 

15 (7) WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE.—The term 

16 ‘‘White House Initiative’’ means the White House Ini17 tiative on historically Black colleges and universities. 

18 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING HBCUS THROUGH FEDERAL 

19 AGENCY PLANS. 

20 (a) DESIGNATING APPLICABLE AGENCIES.—The Sec21 retary, in consultation with the Executive Director, shall— 

22 (1) identify each Federal agency with which an 

23 HBCU— 

24 (A) has entered into a grant, contract, or 

25 cooperative agreement; or 
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1 (B) is eligible to participate in the pro2 grams and initiatives under the jurisdiction of 

3 such Federal agency; and 

4 (2) designate each Federal agency so identified 

5 as an applicable agency. 

6 (b) SUBMITTING AGENCY PLANS.—Not later than Feb7 ruary 1 of each year, the head of each applicable agency 

8 shall submit to the Secretary, the Executive Director, the 

9 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

10 the Senate, the Committee on Education and Labor of the 

11 House of Representatives, and the President’s Board of Ad12 visors an annual Agency Plan describing efforts to strength13 en the capacity of HBCUs to participate or be eligible to 

14 participate in the programs and initiatives under the juris15 diction of such applicable agency as described in subsection 

16 (a)(1)(B). 

17 (c) FURTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION AND

18 ACCESSIBILITY.—The Executive Director shall make all an19 nual Agency Plan submissions publicly available online in 

20 a user-friendly format. 

21 (d) AGENCY PLAN CONTENT.—Where appropriate, 

22 each Agency Plan shall include— 

23 (1) a description of how the applicable agency 

24 intends to increase the capacity of HBCUs to compete 
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1 effectively for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree2 ments; 

3 (2) an identification of Federal programs and 

4 initiatives under the jurisdiction of the applicable 

5 agency in which HBCUs are underrepresented; 

6 (3) an outline of proposed efforts to improve 

7 HBCUs’ participation in such programs and initia8 tives; 

9 (4) a description of any progress made towards 

10 advancing or achieving goals and efforts from pre11 vious Agency Plans submitted under this section by 

12 such applicable agency; 

13 (5) a description of how the applicable agency 

14 plans to encourage public-sector, private-sector, and 

15 community involvement to improve the capacity of 

16 HBCUs to compete effectively for grants, contracts, or 

17 cooperative agreements, and to participate in pro18 grams and initiatives under the jurisdiction of such 

19 agency; 

20 (6) an identification of programs and initiatives 

21 not listed in a previous Agency Plan in which an 

22 HBCU may participate; 

23 (7) any other information the applicable agency 

24 determines is relevant to promoting opportunities to 
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1 fund, partner, contract, or otherwise interact with 

2 HBCUs; and 

3 (8) any additional criteria established by the 

4 Secretary or the White House Initiative. 

5 (e) AGENCY ENGAGEMENT.—To help fulfill the objec6 tives of the Agency Plans, the head of each applicable agen7 cy— 

8 (1) shall provide, as appropriate, technical as9 sistance and information to the Executive Director to 

10 enhance communication with HBCUs concerning the 

11 applicable agency’s— 

12 (A) programs and initiatives described in 

13 subsection (d)(2); and 

14 (B) the preparation of applications or pro15 posals for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree16 ments; and 

17 (2) shall appoint a senior official to report di18 rectly to the agency head on the applicable agency’s 

19 progress under this section. 

20 SEC. 5. PRESIDENT’S BOARD OF ADVISORS ON HBCUS. 

21 (a) ADMINISTRATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Presi23 dent’s Board of Advisors on historically Black colleges 

24 and universities in the Department of Education or, 
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1 if the President so elects, within the Executive Office 

2 of the President. 

3 (2) FUNDING FROM ED.—Except as provided in 

4 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall provide funding 

5 and administrative support for the President’s Board 

6 of Advisors, subject to the availability of appropria7 tions. 

8 (3) FUNDING FROM THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF

9 THE PRESIDENT.—If the President elects to locate the 

10 President’s Board of Advisors within the Executive 

11 Office of the President, the Executive Office of the 

12 President shall provide funding and administrative 

13 support for the President’s Board of Advisors, subject 

14 to the availability of appropriations. 

15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall appoint 

17 not more than 23 members to the President’s Board 

18 of Advisors, and the Secretary and Executive Director 

19 or their designees shall serve as ex officio members. 

20 (2) CHAIR.— 

21 (A) DESIGNATION.—The President shall 

22 designate one member of the President’s Board of 

23 Advisors to serve as its Chair, who shall help di24 rect the Board’s work in coordination with the 
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1 Secretary and in consultation with the Executive 

2 Director. 

3 (B) CONSULTATION.—The Chair shall also 

4 consult with the Executive Director regarding the 

5 time and location of meetings of the President’s 

6 Board of Advisors, which shall take place not less 

7 frequently than once every 6 months. 

8 (C) PERFORMANCE.—Insofar as the Federal 

9 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) may 

10 apply to the President’s Board of Advisors, any 

11 functions of the President under such Act, except 

12 for those of reporting to the Congress, shall be 

13 performed by the Chair, in accordance with 

14 guidelines issued by the Administrator of Gen15 eral Services. 

16 (3) COMPENSATION.—Members of the President’s 

17 Board of Advisors shall serve without compensation, 

18 but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses, including 

19 per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law. 

20 (c) MISSION AND FUNCTIONS.—The President’s Board 

21 of Advisors shall advise the President, through the White 

22 House Initiative, on all matters pertaining to strengthening 

23 the educational capacity of HBCUs, which shall include the 

24 following: 
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1 (1) Improving the identity, visibility, distinctive 

2 capabilities, and overall competitiveness of HBCUs. 

3 (2) Engaging the philanthropic, business, gov4 ernment, military, homeland-security, and education 

5 communities in a national dialogue regarding new 

6 HBCU programs and initiatives. 

7 (3) Improving the ability of HBCUs to remain 

8 fiscally secure institutions that can assist the Nation 

9 in achieving its educational goals and in advancing 

10 the interests of all Americans. 

11 (4) Elevating the public awareness of, and fos12 tering appreciation of, HBCUs. 

13 (5) Encouraging public-private investments in 

14 HBCUs. 

15 (6) Improving government-wide strategic plan16 ning related to HBCU competitiveness to align Fed17 eral resources and provide the context for decisions 

18 about HBCU partnerships, investments, performance 

19 goals, priorities, human capital development, and 

20 budget planning. 
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1 (d) REPORT.—The President’s Board of Advisors shall 

2 report annually to the President on the Board’s progress 

3 in carrying out its duties under this section. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 461 

AMENDMENT