Energy And Water Development And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - July 17, 2007)

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Mr. CLYBURN. I thank my chairman for giving me this time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas.

In fiscal year 2003, while I was a member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee, I requested an analysis of the Department of Energy funding, which had been historically received by historically black colleges and universities.

When I met with the subcommittee staff to go over these numbers, I think it is fair to say that we were all shocked. At that time, Mr. Hobson was chair of this subcommittee, and he summoned me to his office, and we sat down to discuss these numbers.

What we found was that over the prior 5 years funding to these institutions by the Department of Energy had been somewhere around 6.8 percent of all of their funding to colleges and universities across the country. In that 5-year period, that number had dropped to 2.8 percent, and we decided that it would be good to take a look at whether or not this could be reversed. I want you to just think about that.

Less than 3 percent of the funding by the Department of Energy was going to these institutions, yet over 25 percent of all black students in higher education were attending these institutions.

Now, my congressional district has seven, I would say to the gentleman from Texas, seven historical black colleges and universities, and he seemed to be discussing this amendment as if it were one.

I would also say to the gentleman that in my congressional district, you will find the University of South Carolina, The Citadel, the College of Charleston, Columbia College, Francis Marion University. And I would say that as far as the University of South Carolina is concerned, in this same subcommittee, you will see some earmarks, if you please, I call it targeted funding, to that institution. Yet I would ask the gentleman why has he singled out the HBCUs with no attention given to the University of South Carolina.

Mr. Chairman, I would suggest to the gentleman from Texas that this funding, $10.5 million, is a very small investment for these students. I applaud the gentleman's desire to be a good steward of the taxpayers' money. But our suggestion is that his focus is misguided. This small investment will pay huge dividends to the constituents I represent, and I rise in the strongest objection to this amendment.

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