HACU Action Alert--November 11, 2004

HACU urges support for $100 million for Title V

Members of a Congressional Conference Committee likely will present a final vote on the Title V appropriation for FY 2005 before November 25, 2004, when the 108^th Congress is expected to formally adjourn.

HACU is urging the leadership of all member colleges and universities to immediately contact Appropriations Committee members urging support for the Senate’s proposal for a $100 million Title V appropriation for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) for FY 2005. A contact list is included below. Timing is critical to secure support for the Senate’s proposal, which significantly exceeds recommendations by the House and Administration. Your grass roots leadership can make the difference.

The background text below can be used in whole or in part in preparing your letters, faxes and/or telephone calls. We have attached a draft letter for your consideration and convenience. Please contact HACU’s Washington, D.C., offices at (202) 833-8361, for additional information or assistance.

Although HSIs serve the largest concentrations of Hispanic higher education students, on average they continue to receive only about half the funding per student accorded to every other degree-granting institution.

An increase in the Title V appropriation to at least $100 million, supported by bipartisan leaders in the Senate, will be a positive step in helping to close this funding gap which unfairly impacts the country’s youngest and largest ethnic population.

The lesser $95.9 million appropriation proposed by the House and before the Conference Committee is a mere 1.9 percent increase over FY 2004 funding and, as such, would not account for the cost of inflation, nor accommodate the 10% increase last year alone in the number of HSIs, not to mention the growing Hispanic college-age population. This inadequate proposal would essentially widen the gap in funding support for HSIs.

We ask that the House and Senate Conference committee support the $100 million recommended by the Senate as a minimum appropriation for a population which comprises the fastest-growing sector of our U.S. work force, and which also continues to suffer the lowest high school and college graduation rates of any major population group.

Please help make Hispanic higher education success a priority so that every member of our diverse American community can contribute the advanced knowledge and skills needed for a strong nation in a high-technology global economy.

Click here for link to 108th Congress House Appropriations Committee Members.

Click here for link to 108th Congress Senate Appropriations Committee Members.

Click here for sample letter to your Congressmen.

HACU Action Alerts are a service of the

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.