U.S. House Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. French Hill (AR-02) and Rep. Alma Adams (NC-12), along with Caucus members Rep. Richard McCormick (GA-06) and Rep. Shomari Figures (AL-02), introduced the HBCU Research Capacity Act. The legislation is the House companion to S. 4167, introduced by Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) on March 24, 2026.HBCUs are cornerstones of American higher education, producing a disproportionately large share of Black STEM graduates and playing an outsized role in building the nation’s workforce, yet they receive less than 1% of the roughly $60 billion in federal research and development funding allocated to colleges and universities each year. The HBCU Research Capacity Actfixes that by establishing a federal clearinghouse giving HBCUs a centralized, regularly updated source of federal grant opportunities across agencies, along with best practices for building research capacity and stronger coordination to reduce longstanding barriers to access.”Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including the four we are blessed to have here in Arkansas, have been a source of opportunity and innovation for generations,” said Rep. Hill, Co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan House HBCU Caucus. “Despite their outsized contributions, HBCUs receive a fraction of the federal research funding available to them. TheHBCU Research Capacity Act takes a practical step toward changing that by ensuring these institutions have the information and tools they need to compete for federal dollars and continue fulfilling their vital mission for generations to come.”
