Alma Adams

Today's hearing is an opportunity to discuss how to strengthen workers' compensation programs which play an essential role in assisting workers disabled or fallen ill from their job.

This pandemic has certainly put us in mind of all the various ways that our communities must pull together.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a number of underlying issues with our supply chain, but perhaps the clearest, the fragility of our food supply chain.

housing is infrastructure.

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and amen to that.

the Federal Government has been absent in affordable housing.

Working hard is not enough if you don't make enough.

the lack of affordable housing units harms our communities.

It is no secret, Madam Chair, that I am passionate about HBCUs.

Let me just remind you that, prior to 1976, for the previous 100 years, from 1876, it was just the reverse.

A significant piece of legislation I introduced in this Congress, H.R. 3294, the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, which really has support from conservative Senators to progressive Democrats.

We must preserve and protect HBCUs for the sake of the next generation of change-makers and for those yet unborn.

I do want to talk a little bit about the research institutions, and so Dr. Baskerville, of the 131 schools that are classified as research 1 institutions by the Carnegie Classification of Institutes of Higher Ed., none of those are HBCUs.

I just want to mention, because I have heard several of our speakers talk about not being able to find students of color, African American students.

One thing is clear, and that is the fight for colleges and universities who happen to be HBCUs is in desperate need for more persons to line up as allies.

I think that it is important for us to pay attention to this whole notion of research dollars.

I am going to yield back.

I am hoping that--and perhaps it might be instructive to not just hope but to also signify or signal to college presidents all over the place that some of that money that is free to be used without a lot of discretion, ought to go straight…

HBCUs are not like MSIs, and they have a history, a special relationship that the United States continues to acknowledge.

HBCUs believe in diversity of thought, race, ethnicity, creed, and the entire gamut of diversity.

We need them more than ever. We see what they are doing with woefully low investments.

Congress is in the midst of debating an economic package, Dr. Jones, to rebuild our country's infrastructure.

we appreciate the IGNITE Act that you have proposed. This proposed infrastructure legislative bill is a game changer for all of our HBCUs

The Centers of Excellence--and we will be partnering with the other 18 1890 institutions, so all of us will work together.

I want to acknowledge Congresswoman Alma Adams and her colleagues for seeking to address some of these facilities issues on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.