About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 [1] (November 26, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveeww0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service 0 November 26, 2021 The Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376): Title II Aid to Minority- Serving Institutions On November 19, 2021, the House passed H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), to provide for budget reconciliation. Title II of the BBBA contains provisions from the House Committee on Education and Labor to comply with the budget reconciliation directive included in Section 2002 of Senate Concurrent Resolution 14 (117th Congress). Within Title II, the BBBA would appropriate approximately $9 billion for FY2022-FY2026 to support minority-serving institutions (MSIs) through an existing Higher Education Act (HEA) institutional aid program and a newly authorized research and development (R&D) infrastructure competitive grant program. Other BBBA provisions outside of Title II would also support MSIs, but to a much lesser extent in terms of total dollars appropriated. This In Focus discusses the provisions in BBBA Title II that would support MSIs. Background on Federal Support for MSIs under the Higher Education Act MSIs are institutions of higher education (IHEs) that serve high concentrations of minority students, and they tend to have relatively low educational and general expenditures and enroll high proportions of financially needy students. Many MSIs have faced challenges in obtaining financial support, affecting their ability to enhance their academic offerings and institutional capabilities, which may ultimately affect how they serve their students. Title III of the HEA is one of the primary sources of federal support to MSIs. It authorizes several grant programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to assist them in strengthening their academic, administrative, and fiscal capabilities. Under current law, these programs are available for IHEs that serve high concentrations of specified minority student populations, along with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Title III-A and Title V authorize annual discretionary appropriations for these programs. Title III-F provides additional mandatory indefinite appropriations for many of these grant programs. The programs supported by Title III- F are * Strengthening HBCUs; * Hispanic-Serving Institutions Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and Articulation Programs (HSI STEM); * Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs); * Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian- Serving Institutions (ANNHs); * Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs); * Strengthening Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs); and * Strengthening Native American-Serving, Nontribal Institutions (NASNTIs). Some examples of authorized uses of HEA Title III-F funds, which can vary across programs, are to support construction, maintenance, and improvement of instructional facilities, and the development and improvement of academic programs. For additional information on the MSI programs authorized under the HEA, see CRS Report R43237, Programs for Minority-Serving Institutions Under the Higher Education Act, by Alexandra Hegji. BBBA Institutional Aid Section 20025 of the BBBA would appropriate $1.2 billion annually for FY2022 through FY2026-in addition to the current annual mandatory indefinite appropriations already authorized under HEA Title III-F-for the various HEA Title III-F MSI programs. Each Title III-F grant program would receive a BBBA-specified allocation. Annual mandatory appropriations provided under BBBA Section 20025 would equal about five times the FY2021 mandatory appropriations for each of the HEA Title III-F programs. MSIs receiving funding under BBBA Section 20025 would be required to use funds for allowable uses currently authorized for the HEA Title III-F programs, as well as to award need-based financial aid (including emergency grants to low-income students enrolled in eligible educational programs). The BBBA specifies that no individual shall be determined by the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to be ineligible for program benefits (including need-based aid) except on the basis of not being a low-income student enrolled in an eligible program. Table 1 details current (FY2021) mandatory appropriations and BBBA Section 20025 mandatory appropriations for each of the MSI programs under HEA Title III-F. ittps://Crsreports.congress.gt