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Senator Cory Booker, the New Jersey Democrat and 2020 presidential hopeful, unveiled a plan Tuesday to protect historically black colleges and universities with $100 billion over 10 years.
Booker would pay for the plan by overhauling the tax code and repealing corporate tax cuts, according to Politico.
The price tag includes $30 billion in Education Department grants for HBCUs and minority-serving institutions to expand STEM education and improve graduation rates, as well as $30 billion in new money for HBCUs and MSIs to upgrade their infrastructures, according to a news release from Booker's campaign.
Notably, the plan would also require at least $40 billion of the $400 billion for Booker's proposed Moonshot Hubs to flow to these institutions. The hubs, which would focus on science, applied research, manufacturing and commercialization, would help place HBCUs "at the center of the fight against climate change."
The plan also includes passing the Debt-Free College Act; doubling the value of Pell Grants and expanding Pell's eligibility to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students; ensuring access to childcare at HBCUs and MSIs; requiring the Small Business Administration to create centers at HBCUs; and forgiving student loan debt for low-income students who are struggling to pay off loans, among other items.
