H.R. 8264

[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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