On the recordFebruary 28, 2018
Mr. President, as we close out Black History Month this week, I wanted to recognize a few people and initiatives that we are really excited about. Yesterday, I joined Congressman Mark Walker, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee in the House, to host our Second Annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities Fly In. We hosted Presidents and Administrators from HBCUs throughout the country, including four from my home State of South Carolina--South Carolina State University, Claflin University, Allen University and Benedict College. We were able to host some great panels on ensuring curricula are matched with the needs of the workforce, how to best encourage entrepreneurship among students, and what steps we are taking at the Federal level to help our HBCUs provide an invaluable education for students for generations to come. Representatives from the HBCUs heard from Google, McDonalds, Starbucks, Bank of America the Morehouse College Entrepreneurship Center, John Deere, Wal-Mart, the Center for Entrepreneurship & Economic Development, and the Koch Foundation. I also want to thank my friends Senator Lankford and Congresswoman Terri Sewell for joining us on our member panel. For decades, HBCUs provided Americans of color with educational opportunities they would not have otherwise had. For generations, they have given low-income students an education they could not otherwise afford.…





