MEMBER ADVISORY

August 4, 2020

Call for action for funding for HSIs in fifth emergency spending bill

 

Call your member of Congress now

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has issued a call-for-action for additional federal funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to address the ongoing challenges that students and institutions are currently experiencing.

HACU urges the leadership of the appropriations and education committees of the U.S. Congress to support additional funding for HSIs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The persistent federal underfunding of HSIs and Hispanic higher education remains a major impediment to the future of the nation. HSIs receive 68 cents for every dollar going to all other colleges and universities annually, per student, from all federal funding sources, to educate a disproportionately low-income student population.

In a joint letter sent to the Congress, HACU requested the following for HSIs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs):

  • For Congress to maintain at least a 10 percent set aside for HSIs, HBCUs, TCUs, and other MSIs in relation to the overall funding allocated for higher education in the final COVID-19 response legislation.
  • Include a waiver of the allowable uses in the Minority Science Engineering and Improvement Program.
  • Include a technology fund to allow students to access broadband.
  • Provide $6.5 billion in research and development funding.
  • Provide $500 million for the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
  • Invest $10 billion in infrastructure funding.
  • Double the maximum Pell Grant award for students.

HSIs have been historically underfunded and are now presented with the realities of ensuring a safe and healthy environment for faculty, staff, and students without the necessary resources. This separate stream of funding is vital to the sustainability of our institutions to respond to the unique circumstances and ever-changing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

HACU members and supporters: take action now and call your members Congress to fund HSIs in the next COVID-19 relief bill. Click here to call Congress.

HACU Member Advisories are a service of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)



  

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, founded in 1986, represents more than 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Latin America, Spain, and school districts throughout the U.S. HACU is the only national association representing existing and emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The Association’s headquarters are in San Antonio, Texas, with regional offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, California.

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