Washington D.C. — This month, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) urged U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young to include robust funding for 1890 Land-Grant Institutions in the President’s 2024 budget request. In a new letter to the administration officials, the lawmakers emphasized how funding Historically Black Colleges and Universities will strengthen food and agricultural science research, extension, and teaching by building the capacities of the 1890 Institutions. Fort Valley State University (FVSU) in Fort Valley, Georgia is an 1890 Land-Grant University.
“The FY 2023 Omnibus included important investments and support for the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, building upon investments made in the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan Act,” wrote the lawmakers.“We urge you to build upon this momentum and provide the robust funding that these universities require to remain on the cutting edge of agricultural and scientific research in your FY2024 budget.”
Senators Warnock and Brown requested the administration allocate the below funding in the FY24 budget:
- $10 million for 1890 Centers of Excellence;
- $10 million for Scholarships for Students at 1890 Institutions;
- $108 million for the Evans-Allen Research Program;
- $88 million for the 1890 Extension Program;
- $30 million for 1890 Capacity Building Grants;
- $100 million for the 1890 Facilities Grants Program.
Senator Warnock is a tireless champion for 1890 Land-Grant institutions, including Fort Valley State University (FVSU) in Middle Georgia. In his first term alone, the Senator secured over $36,000,000 in federal funding for FVSU. Senators Warnock and Brown secured $215 million in federal funding for 1890 land-grant universities in the Fiscal 2023 spending bill to support minority students in agriculture and agriculture-related programs. Senator Warnock led the effort to secure federal funding in the jobs and competition bill to ensure HBCU’s like Fort Valley State University have the administrative capacity to win federal STEM grants. Thanks to Senator Warnock’s leadership, last fall, USDA announced $250 million in investments for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), including 1890 land-grant universities, to create career development opportunities in agriculture for Next Gen Scholars.
A copy of the letter is available here or below:
Dear Secretary Vilsack and Director Young:
As you work to develop the Administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget, we respectfully request that this year’s budget build on previous investments by including robust support for the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions.
In 2020, the 1890 universities celebrated the 130th anniversary of the passage of the Second Morrill Act, which established 19 additional land-grant universities. In the decades since their establishment, these universities have educated hundreds of thousands of African American students – creating the next generation of scholars and educators and serving as a gateway to success for students to whom so many doors of opportunity were previously closed.
The legacy of the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions is rooted in innovative research, extensive public outreach, and economic development initiatives, which continue to support rural and urban communities today. According to a study performed by the United Negro College Fund, 1890 institutions contribute more than $4.4 billion to their local economies and prepare thousands of students for successful careers
The FY 2023 Omnibus included important investments and support for the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, building upon investments made in the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan Act. We urge you to build upon this momentum and provide the robust funding that these universities require to remain on the cutting edge of agricultural and scientific research in your FY2024 budget.
Specifically, we ask that the FY24 budget provide the following funding levels for the 1890
Land-Grant Institutions:
- $10 million for 1890 Centers of Excellence
- $10 million for scholarships for students at 1890 institutions
- $108 million for the Evans-Allen Research Program
- $88 million for the 1890 Extension Program $30 million for 1890 Capacity Building Grants
- $100 million for the 1890 Facilities Grants Program
We appreciate your consideration of this request and your past support for our nation’s 1
We appreciate your consideration of this request and your past support for our nation’s 1890 Universities.
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