I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1054 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 

Ms. ADAMS (for herself, Mr. WALKER, Mr. HILL of Arkansas, and Ms. SEWELL of Alabama) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To strengthen the capacity and competitiveness of historically 

Black colleges and universities through robust publicsector, private-sector, and community partnerships and 

engagement, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘HBCU Propelling 

5 Agency Relationships Towards a New Era of Results for 

6 Students Act’’ or the ‘‘HBCU PARTNERS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

3 (1) As many colleges and universities across the 

4 country kept their doors closed to African-American 

5 applicants, historically Black colleges and univer6 sities (referred to in this section as ‘‘HBCUs’’) 

7 played a central role in ensuring that African Ameri8 cans could attain an excellent education. 

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

10 role in ensuring that African Americans, and those 

11 of all races, can access high-quality educational op12 portunities. 

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

14 estimated 70 percent of whom come from low-income 

15 backgrounds and 80 percent of whom are African 

16 American. 

17 (4) According to the National Association For 

18 Equal Opportunity In Higher Education, HBCUs 

19 make up just 3 percent of American institutions of 

20 higher education but graduate more than a fifth of 

21 African-American college students. 

22 (5) According to the Thurgood Marshall College 

23 Fund (referred to in this section as ‘‘TMCF’’), ap24 proximately 9 percent of all African-American col25 lege students attend HBCUs. 


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1 (6) A March 2017 report from the Education 

2 Trust concluded that HBCUs have higher comple3 tion rates for African-American students than other 

4 institutions serving similar student populations. 

5 (7) In 2014, HBCUs generated a total direct 

6 economic impact of $14,800,000,000 and created 

7 more than 134,000 jobs, according to a study com8 missioned by the United Negro College Fund (re9 ferred to in this section as ‘‘UNCF’’). 

10 (8) According to TMCF, 40 percent of African11 American Members of Congress and 80 percent of 

12 African-American judges are graduates of HBCUs. 

13 (9) According to UNCF, in 2013, HBCUs 

14 awarded a quarter of all science, technology, engi15 neering, and mathematics bachelor’s degrees award16 ed to African Americans. 

17 (10) According to UNCF, African-American 

18 graduates of HBCUs are almost twice as likely as 

19 African Americans who graduated from other insti20 tutions to report that their university prepared them 

21 well for life. 

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

23 (1) to strengthen the capacity and competitive24 ness of HBCUs to fulfill their principal mission of 

25 equalizing educational opportunity, as described in 


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

2 (20 U.S.C. 1051(b)); 

3 (2) to align HBCUs with the educational and 

4 economic competitiveness priorities of the United 

5 States; 

6 (3) to provide students enrolled at HBCUs with 

7 the highest quality educational and economic oppor8 tunities; 

9 (4) to bolster and facilitate productive inter10 actions between HBCUs and Federal agencies; and 

11 (5) to encourage HBCU participation in and 

12 benefit from Federal programs, grants, contracts, 

13 and cooperative agreements. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) 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 Presi21 dent; 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 (2) HBCU.—The term ‘‘HBCU’’ means a his2 torically Black college or university. 

3 (3) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI4 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 

5 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B 

6 institution’’ under section 322 of the Higher Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

8 (4) 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 (5) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

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

15 (6) WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE.—The term 

16 ‘‘White House Initiative’’ means the White House 

17 Initiative on historically Black colleges and univer18 sities. 

19 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING HBCUS THROUGH FEDERAL 

20 AGENCY PLANS. 

21 (a) SUBMITTING AGENCY PLANS.—Not later than 

22 February 1 of each year, the head of each Federal agency 

23 shall— 

24 (1) submit to the Secretary and the Executive 

25 Director an annual Agency Plan describing efforts to 


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1 strengthen the capacity of HBCUs to participate in 

2 relevant Federal programs and initiatives under the 

3 jurisdiction of the Federal agency; or 

4 (2) if the agency does not work regularly with 

5 HBCUs, submit an annual Agency Plan describing 

6 efforts to identify specific HBCU initiatives and re7 sources that could benefit the HBCU community. 

8 (b) FURTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION AND

9 ACCESSIBILITY.—The head of each Federal agency shall 

10 submit each annual Agency Plan described in subsection 

11 (a) to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

12 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education 

13 and Labor of the House of Representatives. 

14 (c) AGENCY PLAN CONTENT.—Where appropriate, 

15 each Agency Plan shall— 

16 (1) establish how the Federal agency intends to 

17 increase the capacity of HBCUs to compete effec18 tively for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree19 ments; 

20 (2) identify Federal programs and initiatives 

21 under the jurisdiction of the Federal agency where 

22 HBCUs are underrepresented; 

23 (3) outline proposed efforts to improve HBCUs’ 

24 participation in such programs and initiatives in 

25 which they are underrepresented; 


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1 (4) if the agency does not have any programs 

2 or initiatives currently operating to benefit HBCUs, 

3 identify potential Federal programs and initiatives 

4 that could be created to help bolster the HBCU 

5 community; 

6 (5) describe any progress made towards advanc7 ing or achieving goals and efforts from previous 

8 Agency Plans; 

9 (6) encourage public-sector, private-sector, and 

10 community involvement in improving the capacity of 

11 HBCUs; and 

12 (7) meet, where relevant, any additional criteria 

13 established by the Secretary or the White House Ini14 tiative. 

15 (d) AGENCY ENGAGEMENT.—To help fulfill the ob16 jectives of the Agency Plans, the head of each Federal 

17 agency— 

18 (1) may provide, as appropriate, technical as19 sistance and information to the Executive Director 

20 to enhance communication with HBCUs concerning 

21 the Federal agency’s program activities and the 

22 preparation of applications or proposals for grants, 

23 contracts, or cooperative agreements; and 


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1 (2) shall appoint a senior official to report di2 rectly to the agency head on the Federal agency’s 

3 progress under this section. 

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

5 (a) ADMINISTRATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 

7 President’s Board of Advisors on historically Black 

8 colleges and universities in the Department of Edu9 cation or, if the President so elects, within the Exec10 utive Office of the President. 

11 (2) FUNDING FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDU12 CATION.—Except as provided in paragraph (3), the 

13 Secretary shall provide funding and administrative 

14 support for the President’s Board of Advisors, sub15 ject to the availability of appropriations. 

16 (3) FUNDING FROM THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF

17 THE PRESIDENT.—If the President elects to locate 

18 the President’s Board of Advisors within the Execu19 tive Office of the President, the Executive Office of 

20 the President shall provide funding and administra21 tive support for the President’s Board of Advisors, 

22 subject to the availability of appropriations. 

23 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The President shall appoint not 

24 more than 23 members to the President’s Board of Advi25 sors, and the Secretary and Executive Director or their 


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1 designees shall serve as ex officio members. The President 

2 shall designate one member of the President’s Board of 

3 Advisors to serve as its Chair, who shall help direct the 

4 Board’s work in coordination with the Secretary and in 

5 consultation with the Executive Director. The Chair shall 

6 also consult with the Executive Director regarding the 

7 time and location of meetings of the President’s Board 

8 of Advisors, which shall take place not less frequently than 

9 once every 6 months. Members of the President’s Board 

10 of Advisors shall serve without compensation, but shall be 

11 reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

12 of subsistence, as authorized by law. Insofar as the Fed13 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) may apply 

14 to the Board, any functions of the President under such 

15 Act, except for those of reporting to the Congress, shall 

16 be performed by the Chair, in accordance with guidelines 

17 issued by the Administrator of General Services. 

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

19 Board of Advisors shall advise the President on all matters 

20 pertaining to strengthening the educational capacity of 

21 HBCUs. In particular, the President’s Board of Advisors 

22 shall advise the President in the following areas: 

23 (1) Improving the identity, visibility, distinctive 

24 capabilities, and overall competitiveness of HBCUs. 


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1 (2) Engaging the philanthropic, business, gov2 ernment, military, homeland-security, and education 

3 communities in a national dialogue regarding new 

4 HBCU programs and initiatives. 

5 (3) Improving the ability of HBCUs to remain 

6 fiscally secure institutions that can assist the Nation 

7 in achieving its educational goals and in advancing 

8 the interests of the United States. 

9 (4) Elevating the public awareness of, and fos10 tering appreciation of, HBCUs. 

11 (5) Encouraging public-private investments in 

12 HBCUs. 

13 (6) Improving government-wide strategic plan14 ning related to HBCU competitiveness to align Fed15 eral resources and provide the context for decisions 

16 about HBCU partnerships, investments, perform17 ance goals, priorities, human capital development, 

18 and budget planning. 

19 (d) REPORT.—The President’s Board of Advisors 

20 shall report annually to the President on the Board’s 

21 progress in carrying out its duties under this section. 

Æ 


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