Letter to the Hon. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader, to the Hon. Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader, to the Hon. Richard Shelby, Chairman of Senate Appropriations Committee, and to the Hon. Patrick Leahy, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee - Cortez Masto, Rosen Urge Senate Leadership, Appropriators to Support Minority Serving Institutions in Next Stimulus Package

Letter

Dear Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer, Chairman Shelby, and Vice Chairman Leahy,
As the Senate anticipates consideration of a fourth supplemental appropriations package
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we respectfully request that specific provisions
and funds are added to support our nation's Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs),
including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and
Universities (TCUs) under Title III, Part A and B, Title V, and Title VII of the Higher
Education Act.
The $1.046 billion designated for MSIs, including HBCUs and TCUs, and the
institutional and emergency financial aid funds, included in the Higher Education
Emergency Relief Fund of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
Act, were important first steps in providing these institutions with the resources necessary
to respond to the unanticipated costs and challenges of COVID-19. However, as MSIs
enroll a high number of low-income, first-generation college students and are consistently
under-resourced due to smaller endowments and lower levels of federal and state
investment, they need additional support to continue to respond and recover from the
COVID-19 pandemic.
As the research has shown, the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting the
African American and Latino communities. This disease has exposed persistent
disparities in our society, and requires Congress to have a robust response. MSIs, including HBCUs and TCUs, are already starting to feel the strain of preparing for the
fall semester as their students are faced with the choice of withdrawing from college to
support their families economically in light of the pandemic or never enrolling in the first
place. We are asking you to include the following provisions and funding in the fourth
stimulus package to support these institutions that continue to do the transformative work
of educating the underserved:
1. Increase the Maximum Pell Grant Award and provide substantial new
investments in need-based financial aid
The federal Pell Grant program is the primary form of financial assistance for low- and
moderate-income families. However, today the Pell Grant covers only around 30 percent
of the average costs of tuition, fees, room, and board at public four-year colleges, which
is far below the 79 percent it covered over 40 years ago. HBCUs serve a high percentage
of Pell Grant recipients. Increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by at least inflationary
levels would boost college enrollment, reduce drop-out rates, and improve student
outcomes for students who rely on the program to receive a postsecondary degree.
Additionally, the Pell Grant should be placed on a path to double over the next 10 years.
It is also important to provide substantial new investments in need-based financial aid,
like the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), to help students meet
basic needs and navigate the new costs they are facing during COVID-19 with uncertain
access to campus housing and meal plans, laptops and internet connections at home, and
health insurance and health care for themselves and their families. Additional funding for
SEOG would help to provide larger awards to each of the current 1.7 million recipients
and also increase the total number students that MSIs, including HBCUs and TCUs, can
assist with these funds. While SEOG prioritizes supplemental assistance to Pell Grant
recipients, it can be flexibly awarded by colleges to both undergraduate and graduate
students. SEOG can be awarded according to the student's specific needs by taking other
factors beyond the federal formula and "expected family contribution" into
consideration--such as students who are providing for their children or family members
who are unable to work.
2. Invest an additional $1 billion in emergency funding for HBCUs, TCUs,
HSIs, and other Minority Serving Institutions and $ 25 million for Howard
University, and strengthen protections against any state or local cuts to these
institutions.
Given the ongoing uncertainty around the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
impacts this situation will have on institutions of higher education and their students, we
respectfully request that an additional $1 billion be invested in these vital institutions
under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. These additional funds will allow
MSIs and HBCUs to access the resources necessary to continue to provide quality
academic instruction and learning experiences to their students, in light of these
challenging circumstances. These institutions anticipate that the negative side effects of
the health emergency, such as declines in enrollment and auxiliary revenues, will
continue to impact them long after it has been resolved, decreasing their ability to provide
their students with the support and resources they need. In effect, we are asking that $1
billion be appropriated to continue to aid these institutions in their response to COVID19.
It is also important to ensure that MSIs, including HBCUs and TCUs, and the students
they serve, are not targeted for cuts as a result of a decline in state and local revenues.
The next package should strengthen the "maintenance of effort" (MOE) provisions of the
CARES Act. A strong MOE is essential for low-income and first-generation students, as
state and local funding cuts to higher education, including state-based financial aid
programs that serve both public and non-profit institutions, have historically had a
disproportionate impact on the students and families with the greatest financial need. The
next package should lengthen the MOE requirement through FY 2023 and narrow any
waiver authority to those states with extreme and unique financial exigency who commit
not to cut education funding disproportionately or reduce available tax revenues to
support education.
3. Provide an MSI investment of at least $6.5 billion in research, teaching,
extension and development funding.
Academic research is the cornerstone for the advancement of our nation's economy and
stability. In light of the current crisis, it is imperative that we have leading academics and
practioners at the front lines conducting the needed research to combat future pandemics
and solve for other potential health crises. For example, Howard University located in
Washington D.C. owns a hospital that serves as a COVID response hospital for the
nation's capital. It is a premier institution capable of managing the type of research that
will be needed to fight coronavirus and future pandemics.
The current pandemic has laid bare the glaring health care disparities in communities of
color. There are a number of MSIs that have baccalaureate and graduate degree programs
in the health professions, many of which receive financial support from the Higher
Education Act in Titles III Part A and B, Title V, and Title VII and other federal
programs. These programs in nursing, physician assistants and health care technicians are
addressing staffing shortages. However, a major federal investment to provide greater
support to these programs will be beneficial to the country. And, as we plan for the
future, utilizing the current regional University partnerships among some MSIs and the
current HBCU medical schools and hospitals to include starting new programs in
medicine, dental, nursing, and other health care fields should be top national priorities.
Further, according to the most recent data, all institutions of higher education received a
funding total of $79.436 billion dollars of research and development (R&D) funding in
2018 with $42.018 billion coming from the federal government. Of these institutions,
MSIs received significantly less funding. For instance, HBCUs received a total of
$534.045 million dollars in overall R&D funding with $400.349 million coming from the
federal government, equating to only 0.67 percent of total funding. TCUs received $13.8
million of overall funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), or less than one-
quarter of one percent, compared to $5.558 billion awarded by NSF in research and
education funding to the nation's higher education institutions. We ask for a specific new
investment of $6.5 billion total for MSIs in federal agencies and institutes such as NSF
and the National Institutes of Health, including but not limited to the National Institute of
Minority Health Disparities, to support groundbreaking research into COVID-related
health disparities for minority communities, and the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) Title VII health professions training programs, which help produce the
diverse health professionals our country sorely needs.
4. Include a waiver of the allowable uses in the Minority Science Engineering
and Improvement Program (MSEIP).
While the CARES Act allows the Secretary of Education to waive allowable uses for
grants awarded under Part A or B of Title III, Chapter I or II of Subpart 2 of Part A of
Title IV, Title V, or Subpart 4 of Part A of Title VII of the HEA, the MSEIP is crucial in
allowing MSIs to increase the participation of underrepresented students in fields that
will drive economic mobility and crucial progress and health research. In order to grant
maximum flexibility to respond to the ever-changing circumstances of this pandemic, a
waiver in the MSEIP is essential.
5. Include a technology fund to allow students to access broadband.
In the CARES Act, MSIs were given the ability to utilize resources to purchase
technological equipment for their students to complete their assignments online;
participate in virtual counseling; receive virtual mentoring and tutoring services; and
complete other required tasks in relation to their academic program through distance
education. While access to equipment is important, so is access to broadband. According
to an article released by the Pew Research Center, "roughly three-in- ten adults with
household incomes below $30,000 a year (29%) don't own a smartphone... and [m]ore
than four-in-ten [adults] don't have home broadband services (44%) or a traditional
computer (46%)."2 As the ongoing uncertainty of COVID-19 disrupts in-class learning, it
is imperative that MSI students have the ability to access broadband to allow them to
continue their academic program and complete their education.
Thank you for your consideration of this request and your continued attention to this
important priority.