Endowment Transparency Act

Bill: 118-s-2187
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2023-06-22
Policy area: Education
Latest action: action_date: 2023-06-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-06-22
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Endowment Transparency Act</b></p> <p>This bill requires certain actions regarding institutions of higher education (IHEs) and the management of their assets.</p> <p>Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education to annually update the College Navigator website with information on the assets of IHEs, including information about investments with minority- or women-owned firms.</p> <p>The bill also requires the Minority Business Development Agency to (1) report on recommended changes for substantially increasing the use of minority- or women-owned firms in the investment and bond transactions of IHEs, and (2) convene a conference every two years.</p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2187 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 22, 2023 Mr. Booker introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require annual reporting on assets of institutions of higher education.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Endowment Transparency Act . 2. Reporting on assets of institutions of higher education (a) Consumer information (1) Asset reporting Section 132(i) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1015a(i)(1) ) is amended— (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7); and (B) by adding after paragraph (1) the following: (2) Assets (A) In General Not later than one year after the date of enactment of the Endowment Transparency Act , the Secretary shall make publicly available on the College Navigator website, in simple and understandable terms, the following information about each institution of higher education that participates in programs under title IV, for the most recent academic year for which satisfactory data are available: (i) The total assets of the institution that are managed— (I) by an investment adviser, disaggregated by asset class; and (II) by a minority- or women-owned investment adviser, disaggregated by asset class and race of the investment adviser. (ii) With respect to investment advisers employed by the institution, the number of those investment advisers, disaggregated by gender and race. (iii) The percent of bond issuances by the institution that are underwritten by minority- or women-owned asset management firms. (B) Definitions In this paragraph— (i) the term investment adviser has the meaning given the term in section 202(a) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ( 15 U.S.C. 80b–2(a) ); (ii) the term minority has the meaning given the term under section 308(b) of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 ( 12 U.S.C. 1463 note); and (iii) the term minority- or women-owned , when used with respect to an investment adviser or an asset management firm, means an investment adviser or an asset management firm that— (I) is owned more than 50 percent by 1 or more individuals who are women or minorities; and (II) is managed by, and the daily business operations of which are controlled by, 1 or more individuals who are women or minorities. . (2) Technical amendments Section 132(i) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1015a(i)(4) ) is amended— (A) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by striking paragraph (1) and inserting paragraphs (1) and (2) ; (B) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by striking paragraph (1) and inserting paragraphs (1) and (2) ; and (C) in paragraph (6)(A), as redesignated by paragraph (1)— (i) in clause (iii) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting paragraph (7) each place the term appears; and (ii) in clause (vi) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting paragraphs (1) and (2) . (3) Data collection Paragraph (5) of section 132(i) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1015a(i)(4) ), as redesignated by paragraph (1), is amended— (A) by striking The Commissioner and inserting the following: (A) In general The Commissioner ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (B) Rules for asset reporting With respect to the information described in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of paragraph (2)(A), the Secretary of Education (acting through the Commissioner for Education Statistics), the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development shall, jointly, issue rules to establish a standardized form and manner for collecting and reporting such information. . (4) Rule of construction Nothing in the amendments made by this section may be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary of Education to collect additional diversity information not specifically described in the amendments made by this section. (b) Analysis and report by the Minority Business Development Agency (1) In general After the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date that information is first reported under section 132(i)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as added by subsection (a)), the Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development shall, in consultation with representatives from industry (including minority- or women-owned investment advisers and minority- or women-owned asset management firms)— (A) analyze all information reported under that paragraph (2); and (B) issue a report to the Congress, and make such report available to the public, containing— (i) any recommended best practices the Under Secretary may have for substantially increasing the use of minority- or women-owned investment advisers and minority- or women-owned asset management firms in the investment and bond transactions of institutions of higher education; and (ii) any recommendations the Under Secretary may have for regulatory or legislative changes to increase the use of such advisers and firms. (2) Updated reports The Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development shall update the report required under paragraph (1)(B) every 2 years. (3) Definitions In this subsection, the terms investment advisor , minority and minority- or women-owned have the meaning give those terms in section 132(i)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as added by subsection (a)). 3. MBDA Conference (a) In general The Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, every 2 years, convene a conference of institutions of higher education, minority- or women-owned investment advisers, minority- or women-owned asset management firms, and investment consultants to help those institutions, advisers, and firms to share best practices for investment and bond transactions, including increasing opportunities for such advisers and asset management firms, and learn about the benefits of using such advisers and firms for investment and bond transactions. (b) Definitions In this section, the terms investment advisor , minority and minority- or women-owned have the meaning give those terms in section 132(i)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as added by section 2(a)). (c) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development $3,000,000 to carry out this section.