HBCU Research Capacity Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8264 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 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 Nati