Introduction of the HBCU Historic Preservation Program Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a bill to reauthorize the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Historic Preservation Program. I have always studied history, and taught it at the high school level. Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have worked to support historic preservation efforts which preserve and protect our nation's treasured institutions. The bill I am introducing today would continue a tremendously successful program which has been widely supported by many of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle.

HBCUs represent a unique and critical aspect of African American history in the United States. Many of these institutions are over 100 years old, but this history lives on today as these colleges and universities continue to thrive. In 1996, $29 million was originally provided in grants to preserve historic sites on HBCU campuses. In 1998, at the request of the Congressional Black Caucus, the GAO conducted a study to identify and project the cost of preserving and protecting threatened historic buildings and sites on the more that 100 HBCU campuses in the United States. The GAO identified 712 historic sites which would require $755 million to successfully preserve. Truly the costs of this project are challenging, but we have made progress. Responding to the GAO study, in 2002, Congress authorized an additional $60 million for six years.

I have seen the results firsthand. Several historic buildings at Allen, Claflin, and South Carolina State Universities, and Voorhees and Benedict Colleges in my district have been successfully restored. These structures are icons on their respective campuses and in their communities. They are living testaments to African American and South Carolina history. Arnett Hall at Allen University was designed by an African American architect and built by the students themselves in 1891. If this building were lost, that link to the past would be severed, never to be revived again. Through a grant from this program, it has been stabilized, restored and is being preserved. These results are not limited to South Carolina. Since its origin in 1996, 59 institutions have benefited in 20 different states.

While there are many success stories, the need is still great. Sites identified by the GAO are still threatened and are continuing to deteriorate. The authorization for this program has expired, and it has not received appropriations since the Recovery Act in 2009. Congress must not abandon the progress we have made. This bill would reauthorize the program for ten years at the same funding level. It will not by itself reach the total funding needed for every threatened site, but it will revive this initiative and continue to make progress preserving these historic campuses. I have been privileged to receive strong support from my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus and many other members of both parties for these efforts, and I look forward to working with all of them to extend this vital program and preserve our Nation's history.

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