Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7660

HBCU Empowerment and Reform Act

Expanding the Definition of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Feb 24·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committee

This bill is currently sitting in the House Committee on Education and Workforce. No action has been taken on the proposal since February 2026, which means it has been stalled for four months. The committee must review the bill before it can move forward, but most bills do not receive a vote at this stage.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This bill changes the official legal definition of a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). It moves the cutoff date for when a school must have been founded from 1964 to November 8, 1965.
The change helps schools that were started during that specific one-year window. If these schools meet all other government rules, they will now be eligible for the same federal status and support as older HBCUs.
Being recognized as an HBCU is important because it opens the door to special federal funding and grants. This money can be used for things like improving campus buildings, buying classroom equipment, and supporting student success programs.
McCormick introduced this plan to ensure that schools established around the time the original Higher Education Act was signed are not left out of important government resources.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 24, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Feb 24, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

HBCU Empowerment and Reform Act

Bill NumberHR 7660

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.