[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8264 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8264
To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on Grant Opportunities for
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 14, 2026
Mr. Hill of Arkansas (for himself, Ms. Adams, Mr. McCormick, and Mr.
Figures) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on Grant Opportunities for
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``HBCU Research Capacity Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
are a vital source to the Nation's research and workforce
communities. While enrolling 8.5 percent of Black undergraduate
students, HBCUs produce almost 18 percent of Black STEM
bachelor's degree recipients, as of 2024.
(2) Despite these major contributions, only one HBCU,
Howard University, has achieved very high research activity
status. Furthermore, HBCUs received less than 1 percent of the
approximately $60,000,000,000 in Federal research and
development expenditures at colleges and universities in fiscal
year 2023.
(3) Due to historical underfunding, HBCUs face cyclical
barriers in building research capacity, further limiting grant
access, resources, and exasperating issues related to smaller
endowments. This makes it even more difficult for scholars to
secure Federal research funding.
(4) In finding solutions to research and development
barriers, a May 2024 report by the National Science and
Technology Council recommends strategies such as expanding
flexibility in funding, encouraging interagency collaboration
to share best practices, and reforming merit-review to reduce
bias and improve transparency.
(5) Expanding research diversity is strategically important
for national security, economic growth, and innovation.
Underrepresentation of HBCUs in Federal research funding
represents a missed opportunity.
(6) A Federal clearinghouse providing information on grant
opportunities and sharing best practices would help address
barriers such as knowledge gaps, transparency, and capacity
limitations.
(7) Coordinated agency review, gap identification, and
reporting to Congress should improve accountability and help
ensure equitable access to Federal research funding for HBCUs.
(8) Establishing, maintaining, and creating accountability
measures for the Clearinghouse is therefore appropriate and
necessary to notify eligible HBCUs and guide Federal agencies
in supporting HBCU research capacity.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR HISTORICALLY
BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.
Part B of title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1060 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 328. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.
``(a) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary
of Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the
National Science Foundation, the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall establish a
Federal Clearinghouse on Research Capacity and Grant
Opportunities for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(in this section referred to as the `Clearinghouse') within the
Department.
``(2) Purpose.--The Clearinghouse shall be the primary
resource of the Federal Government to identify and provide
comprehensive information on Federal grant opportunities for
which part B institutions are eligible or are exclusively
eligible, delineating between the two categories, that
support--
``(A) research and development; and
``(B) building institutional research capacity.
``(3) Personnel.--
``(A) Assignments.--The Clearinghouse shall be
assigned such personnel and resources as the Secretary
considers appropriate to carry out this section.
``(B) Detailees.--The Secretary of Education, the
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Director of the National Science Foundation, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration may detail personnel to the
Clearinghouse.
``(4) Exemptions.--
``(A) Paperwork reduction act.--Subchapter I of
chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly
known as the `Paperwork Reduction Act') shall not apply
to any rulemaking or information collection required
under this section.
``(B) Federal advisory committee act.--Chapter 10
of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply for the
purposes of carrying out this section.
``(b) Clearinghouse Contents.--The Clearinghouse shall include best
practices and recommendations for part B institutions to build
institutional research capacity and access Federal research funding,
including best practices and recommendations from appropriate Federal,
State, and local organizations, including from annual Agency Plan
submissions described under section 4 of the HBCU PARTNERS Act (20
U.S.C. 1063d).''.
SEC. 4. NOTIFICATION OF CLEARINGHOUSE.
(a) Notification of Publication.--The Secretary of Education shall
provide written notification of the publication of the Federal
Clearinghouse on Grant Opportunities for Historically Black Colleges
and Universities (referred to in this section and section 5 as the
``Clearinghouse''), as required to be established under section 328 of
the Higher Education Act of 1965, as added by section 3 of this Act, to
each part B institution (as such term is defined in section 322 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061)) and to Congress.
(b) Annual Notification to Congress.--The Secretary of Education
shall provide an annual report to Congress on the contents of the
Clearinghouse.
(c) Updates.--The Secretary of Education shall--
(1) provide each part B institution described in subsection
(a) with the option to receive quarterly updates of
Clearinghouse contents; and
(2) send quarterly updates of Clearinghouse contents to
each part B institution that chooses to receive the updates.
SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM REVIEW.
The Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Commerce, the
Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Director of the National Science Foundation, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
shall each--
(1) review grant programs administered by their respective
agency and identify any grant program that may be used to
implement best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse;
(2) identify any best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse for which there is not a Federal grant program
that may be used for the purposes of implementing the best
practice or recommendation as applicable to the agency; and
(3) on an annual basis, report any findings under paragraph
(2) to the appropriate committees of Congress.
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