,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dafg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bd1 #bjbf,mr4 ,warnock 7for himself and ,mrs4 ,britt7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to establish the ,federal ,clearinghouse on ,grant ,opportunities for ,historically ,black ,colleges and ,universities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,hbcu ,research ,capacity ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,historically ,black ,colleges and ,universities 7,h,b,c,us7 are a vital source to the ,nation's research and workforce communities4 ,while enrolling #h4e percent of ,black undergraduate students1 ,h,b,c,us produce almost #ah percent of ,black ,,stem bachelor's degree recipients1 as of #bjbd4 7#b7 ,despite these major contributions1 only one ,,hbcu1 ,howard ,university1 has achieved very high research activity status4 ,furthermore1 ,h,b,c,us received less than #a percent of the approximately #fj1jjj1jjj1jjj in ,federal research and development expenditures at colleges and universities in fiscal year #bjbc4 7#c7 ,due to historical underfunding1 ,h,b,c,us face cyclical barriers in building research capacity1 further limiting grant access1 resources1 and exasperating issues related to smaller endowments4 ,this makes it even more difficult for scholars to secure ,federal research funding4 7#d7 ,in finding solutions to research and development barriers1 a ,may #bjbd report by the ,national ,science and ,technology ,council recommends strategies such as expanding flexibility in funding1 encouraging interagency collaboration to share best practices1 and reforming merit-review to reduce bias and improve transparency4 7#e7 ,expanding research diversity is strategically important for national security1 economic growth1 and innovation4 ,underrepresentation of ,h,b,c,us in ,federal research funding represents a missed opportunity4 7#f7 ,a ,federal clearinghouse providing information on grant opportunities and sharing best practices would help address barriers such as knowledge gaps1 transparency1 and capacity limitations4 7#g7 ,coordinated agency review1 gap identification1 and reporting to ,congress should improve accountability and help ensure equitable access to ,federal research funding for ,h,b,c,us4 7#h7 ,establishing1 maintaining1 and creating accountability measures for the ,clearinghouse is therefore appropriate and necessary to notify eligible ,h,b,c,us and guide ,federal agencies in supporting ,,hbcu research capacity4 #c4 ,federal ,clearinghouse on ,grant ,opportunities for ,historically ,black ,colleges and ,universities ,part ,b of title ,,iii of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajfj et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cbh4 ,federal ,clearinghouse on ,grant ,opportunities for ,historically ,black ,colleges and ,universities 7a7 ,establishment 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,commerce1 the ,secretary of ,energy1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 and the ,administrator of the ,national ,aeronautics and ,space ,administration shall establish a ,federal ,clearinghouse on ,research ,capacity and ,grant ,opportunities for ,historically ,black ,colleges and ,universities 7in this section referred to as the ,clearinghouse7 within the ,department4 7#b7 ,purpose ,the ,clearinghouse shall be the primary resource of the ,federal ,government to identify and provide comprehensive information on ,federal grant opportunities for which part ,b institutions are eligible or are exclusively eligible1 delineating between the two categories1 that support-- 7,a7 research and development2 and 7,b7 building institutional research capacity4 7#c7 ,personnel 7,a7 ,assignments ,the ,clearinghouse shall be assigned such personnel and resources as the ,secretary considers appropriate to carry out this section4 7,b7 ,detailees ,the ,secretary of ,education1 the ,secretary of ,commerce1 the ,secretary of ,energy1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 and the ,administrator of the ,national ,aeronautics and ,space ,administration may detail personnel to the ,clearinghouse4 7#d7 ,exemptions 7,a7 ,paperwork reduction act ,subchapter ,i of chapter #ce of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly known as the ,paperwork ,reduction ,act7 shall not apply to any rulemaking or information collection required under this section4 7,b7 ,federal advisory committee act ,chapter #aj of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 shall not apply for the purposes of carrying out this section4 7b7 ,clearinghouse contents ,the ,clearinghouse shall include best practices and recommendations for part ,b institutions to build institutional research capacity and access ,federal research funding1 including best practices and recommendations from appropriate ,federal1 ,state1 and local organizations1 including from annual ,agency ,plan submissions described under section #d of the ,,hbcu ,,partners ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajfc;d74 4 #d4 ,notification of ,clearinghouse 7a7 ,notification of publication ,the ,secretary of ,education shall provide written notification of the publication of the ,federal ,clearinghouse on ,grant ,opportunities for ,historically ,black ,colleges and ,universities 7referred to in this section and section #e as the ,clearinghouse71 as required to be established under section #cbh of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife1 as added by section #c of this ,act1 to each part ,b institution 7as such term is defined in section #cbb of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajfa77 and to ,congress4 7b7 ,annual notification to ,congress ,the ,secretary of ,education shall provide an annual report to ,congress on the contents of the ,clearinghouse4 7c7 ,updates ,the ,secretary of ,education shall-- 7#a7 provide each part ,b institution described in subsection 7a7 with the option to receive quarterly updates of ,clearinghouse contents2 and 7#b7 send quarterly updates of ,clearinghouse contents to each part ,b institution that chooses to receive the updates4 #e4 ,grant program review ,the ,secretary of ,education1 the ,secretary of ,commerce1 the ,secretary of ,energy1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 and the ,administrator of the ,national ,aeronautics and ,space ,administration shall each-- 7#a7 review grant programs administered by their respective agency and identify any grant program that may be used to implement best practices and recommendations of the ,clearinghouse2 7#b7 identify any best practices and recommendations of the ,clearinghouse for which there is not a ,federal grant program that may be used for the purposes of implementing the best practice or recommendation as applicable to the agency2 and 7#c7 on an annual basis1 report any findings under paragraph 7#b7 to the appropriate committees of ,congress4