After the announcement that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans a chamber vote pairing the national debt ceiling to indiscriminate spending caps for upcoming fiscal years, UNCF (United Negro College Fund) cautions Congress against decreases that affect historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Education, like national defense, is a category where today's investments yield tomorrow's results. As such, investments in educating those coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds should be protected--and further investments should be made.
"I have met with the House Speaker in the past, and I know he and the House have very difficult decisions to make," said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF. "However, the gains made in recent years have been positive milestones in the entire history of HBCUs by being the rarest federal investments which will most certainly pay off for our country. On behalf of our institutions and students, current and future, we have to be smarter and not cut for cutting's sake."
"It is incumbent on the House members who represent HBCUs and their students to protect their funding,” said Lodriguez V. Murray, senior vice president for public policy and government affairs, UNCF. “By protecting HBCU funding in any upcoming legislation that will include spending caps, House Republicans will not just show a real commitment to diversity but also to the economic impact our institutions have on their communities. HBCU funding is more than a number. It helps transfer to real jobs in those communities.”
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About UNCF
UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. While totaling only 3% of all colleges and universities, UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 15% of bachelor’s degrees, 5% of master’s degrees, 10% of doctoral degrees and 19% of all STEM degrees earned by Black students in higher education. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.
