'HBCUs survived': Historically Black colleges poised to get billions in spending bill

WASHINGTON -- Historically Black Colleges and Universities are poised to receive an estimated $3 billion or more in federal funding as part of a spending deal the White House reached with members of Congress, HBCU advocates say.

The amount was less than President Joe Biden had sought, but HBCU advocacy groups expressed relief that it was more than what they were bracing for in the legislation that did not include other parts of the president’s domestic agenda.

“Free community college is gone. Family paid leave is gone. And HBCUs survived,” said Victor Santos, director of government relations for the HBCU advocacy group Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

The HBCU funding was part of a total of about $10 billion in the legislation slated for institutions that serve minorities, which also include tribal colleges and universities and schools with large Hispanic student populations.

President Joe Biden had initially wanted to provide minority-serving institutions and their students with more than $90 billion in benefits in his jobs and families plans.

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