Rep. Adams in The Hill: “Congress has unfinished business for Black America”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 9, 2022) – The Hill published an opinion piece by Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) entitled “3 proposals Congress can pass to fulfill Biden’s promises to Black America.” In the editorial, Rep. Adams stresses the importance of passing a minimum wage increase, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, and the IGNITE HBCU, TCU, and MSI Excellence Act.
Rep. Adams writes:
The 117th Congress has unfinished business for Black America.
In 2020, President Biden ran and won on a platform that included advancing the economic mobility of African Americans and closing racial wealth and income gaps; making far-reaching investments in ending health disparities by race; and tackling racial inequity in our education system.
We can make big, bipartisan progress on these issues before the end of Congress, but it’s up to us to act.
…
The IGNITE Act would create a federal grant program for infrastructure at HBCUs, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), and other minority serving institutions (MSIs) including Hispanic serving institutions (HSIs) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). The grants can be used to improve infrastructure for these schools, including maintenance of historic buildings, new technology and classrooms, or improved security for students and staff.
The IGNITE Act is supported by the Congressional Tri-Caucus, composed of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Our legislation is co-sponsored by 200 Democrats and 20 Republicans, and the Senate companion of the bill also has bipartisan support. In fact, the legislation builds on our FUTURE Act legislation, which President Trump signed into law.
Unfortunately, the most recent major funding package for HBCUs and MSIs — a proposed $3 billion — was also part of the stalled Build Back Better bill. This is our last, best chance to pass the IGNITE Act and fulfill our promises to the American people.
The full piece is available at TheHill.com.
Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. represents North Carolina's 12th Congressional District (Charlotte, Mecklenburg County) and serves as vice chair of the House Agriculture Committee. Additionally, she serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Education & Labor Committee, where she serves as Chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. In 2015, Rep. Adams co-founded the first Bipartisan HBCU Caucus in Congress. She is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, one of the 1890s institutions.
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