HBCU Africa Partnerships Act

Bill: 118-s-3149
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2023-10-26
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-10-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 3149 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES October 26, 2023 Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Scott of South Carolina , Mr. Kaine , and Mr. Wicker ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To encourage the growth of research partnerships between historically Black colleges and universities and Federal agencies to advance development in sub-Saharan Africa.

1. Short title; table of contents (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the HBCU Africa Partnerships Act . (b) Table of contents The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. Sec. 4. Purposes. Sec. 5. Definitions. Sec. 6. Expanding partnerships between relevant departments and agencies and historically Black colleges and universities. Sec. 7. Expanding exchange programming for scholars from Sub-Saharan Africa. Sec. 8. Communications and outreach programming. Sec. 9. Congressional briefing. 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) High-quality education is central to economic prosperity and social well-being in the United States and around the world. (2) Historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions play a critical role in ensuring that students of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds have access to high-quality educational opportunities. (3) HBCUs have a long and rich history in educating and facilitating relationships between members of the African diaspora in the United States and throughout the world, from Europe and the Western Hemisphere to Asia and the African continent. (4) HBCU alumni have made important contributions to relations between the United States and Africa in the areas of— (A) democracy and political governance; (B) food and agricultural security; (C) education and human capital; (D) youth development; and (E) public health infrastructure. (5) The United States Government has partnered with HBCUs and other United States colleges and universities, including through— (A) the Department of State’s educational and cultural exchange programs; (B) the Young African Leaders Initiative, which supports United States Government efforts to invest in the next generation of African leaders; and (C) USAID's Minority Serving Partnership Initiative to facilitate research partnerships and engagements with minority-serving institutions, including HBCUs. 3. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the United States should promote and expand collaborative research partnerships between Federal agencies and HBCUs that advance joint partnerships in education, economic growth, food security, democracy and governance, agriculture, environmental conservation, small and medium-sized business development, humanitarian assistance, and conflict stabilization in developing countries; and (2) the United States should continue to facilitate and deepen partnerships between HBCUs and Sub-Saharan Africa. 4. Purposes The purposes of this Act are— (1) to strengthen the capacity of HBCUs to partner with relevant Federal departments and agencies in support of United States and African joint interests, including in the areas of democracy and good governance, food and agricultural security, education and human capital, youth development, trade and economic development, and public health infrastructure; (2) to help integrate the work of HBCUs with the foreign policy and foreign assistance priorities of the United States, as appropriate; (3) to bolster and facilitate productive interactions between HBCUs and relevant Federal departments and agencies; (4) to encourage HBCU participation in relevant Federal programs, grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements; (5) to expand existing partnership initiatives between HBCUs and relevant Federal departments and agencies; and (6) to recognize the historic contributions of HBCUs to relations between the United States and Africa. 5. Definitions In this Act: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives . (2) Educational exchange The term educational exchange means an activity listed in section 602(a) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2452a(a) ). (3) Historically black college or university; HBCU The terms historically Black college or university and HBCU mean a part B institution described in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 22 U.S.C. 1061(2) ). (4) Minority-serving institution The term minority-serving institution means an institution listed in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1067q(a) ). (5) Relevant federal departments and agencies The term relevant Federal departments and agencies includes— (A) the Department of State; (B) the United States Agency for International Development; and (C) any other Federal department or agency that is engaged in designing, providing, or supporting United States foreign assistance (including development finance) that the President determines is relevant for the purposes of this Act. (6) Short-term graduate and technical expert exchange program The term short-term graduate and technical expert exchange program means an exchange program lasting 12 months or shorter, including university exchange programs, professional non-degree programs, and internships. (7) USAID The term USAID means the United States Agency for International Development. 6. Expanding partnerships between relevant departments and agencies and historically Black colleges and universities To develop educational grant opportunities and expand partnerships with HBCUs— (1) the Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator should identifying HBCUs that— (A) have entered into a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with the Department of State or USAID; or (B) are eligible to participate in programs and initiatives under the jurisdiction of either such agency; and (2) the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs should develop an educational exchange for HBCUs identified pursuant to paragraph (1) to deepen relationships between partners in Sub-Saharan African and the United States in ways that advance United States policy goals in Africa and increase academic collaboration. 7. Expanding exchange programming for scholars from Sub-Saharan Africa (a) In general The Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator should seek to strengthen and expand partnerships and educational exchange opportunities, including by working with HBCUs, that build the capacity and expertise of students, scholars, and experts from Sub-Saharan Africa in key development sectors, including— (1) food systems and agriculture-led economic growth; (2) food safety and security, nutrition, and farming, including aquaculture; (3) animal health and pathology; (4) democracy and governance; (5) water, sanitation, and hygiene; (6) public health; (7) microenterprise business development and entrepreneurship; (8) water security; and (9) environmental resilience. (b) Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs programming The Secretary of State may establish a short-term graduate and technical expert exchange program for African students, scholars, and technical experts to spend a semester or academic year of nondegree study at institutions referred to in section 6(a) to support knowledge and skills training in the sectors referred to in subsection (a). 8. Communications and outreach programming The Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator shall advance outreach and communications between HBCUs, the Department of State, and USAID and expand partnerships with HBCUs by— (1) providing technical assistance in the development of grant and partnership applications; and (2) upon request, providing feedback to HBCUs, to the maximum extent practicable, after a grant rejection in order to improve future grant applications, as appropriate. 9. Congressional briefing Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the USAID Administrator, shall brief the appropriate congressional committees regarding— (1) the implementation of existing partnerships and programs between relevant Federal departments and agencies and HBCUs and efforts to expand such partnerships and programs; (2) efforts to strengthen the capacity of HBCUs to participate, or to be eligible to participate, in relevant programs and initiatives; (3) any progress made towards— (A) advancing plans to develop partnerships or programs and initiatives with HBCUs that are not engaged in existing partnerships with relevant Federal departments and agencies; and (B) identifying plans in which an HBCU may participate; and (4) any other information that relevant Federal departments and agencies determine is relevant to promoting opportunities to fund, partner, contract, or otherwise interact with HBCUs.