Trump to sign measure to bolster U.S.'s
historically black colleges
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[February 28, 2017]
By Ayesha Rascoe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President
Donald Trump will sign a measure on Tuesday aimed at boosting government
support for the nation's historically black colleges, a senior White
House official said.
Trump, a Republican, has pledged to improve the lives of black
Americans, who voted overwhelmingly in favor of his Democratic opponent
in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump's order will move the federal government's program for promoting
historically black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs, back under
direct oversight of the White House.
The move of the federal program, now housed in the Education Department,
will make these institutions "a priority again," by easing the way for
partnerships with government agencies, the official added.

The order will allow them "to serve as a strategic partner to the
president's urban agenda of creating jobs and making inner cities safe
again," the official said.
At a White House listening session on Monday with representatives of 64
of the roughly 100 such institutions in the United States, Vice
President Mike Pence stressed that the Trump administration wanted to
work with them.
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President Donald Trump speaks at the National Governors Association
meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 27, 2017.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

"You deserve far more credit than you get, and know that beginning
today, this administration is committed to making sure that our
historically black colleges and universities get the credit and the
attention they deserve," he added.
Presidents from both parties have signed executive orders backing
the federal initiative on HBCUs in various forms since 1980.
(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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