Partnerships Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 1494, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Homeland Security Partnerships Act.

As a two-time HBCU graduate, I have long been an advocate of these important institutions and creating more opportunities for them to work with the Federal Government. Throughout the 15 years that I have served on the Committee on Homeland Security, I have made it a priority to facilitate dialogue between the HBCUs and the Department of Homeland Security on how to build meaningful partnerships.

As the gentlewoman from New Mexico has already mentioned, HBCUs and minority-serving institutions have and continue to make great contributions to American society. That is why it is critical that we encourage DHS to strengthen partnerships between HBCUs and MSIs.

After Hurricanes Katrina and Maria, it became clear how the absence of individuals from minority communities in homeland security decisionmaking, such as emergency management and planning, hinders our ability to serve all affected communities equally.

Minority communities are disproportionately impacted by natural hazards and disasters. It is imperative that the students of those communities--HBCU and MSI students--are not left on the sidelines and are encouraged to contribute to such planning and equipped to respond.

Enactment of my bill will take a step in this direction, as it requires DHS to develop a strategy to strengthen its capacity to provide research and development, contracting, and internships and career opportunities to HBCUs and MSIs and their students or recent graduates.

The bill also requires the Department to do more outreach and disseminate more information to these institutions. Such information includes internships and career opportunities and how HBCUs and MSIs may qualify to participate in Federal acquisitions.

I thank my colleague from Missouri, Representative Luetkemeyer, for his support on this important measure.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on its passage.

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