Our nation’s colleges and universities should have the most cutting-edge access to technology in order to serve their students and train them to enter the global 21st century economy.  In light of this goal, I successfully introduced a bipartisan bill with my former colleague Senator John Warner that established a program to provide federal grants to help minority serving institutions improve student access to technology, computers, and the Internet.  This measure was signed into law in August 2008 as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act.

On May 15, 2009, I along with eight of my Senate colleagues sent a letter to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Committee on Appropriations requesting $250 million in FY 2010 for the Minority Serving Institutions Digital and Wireless Technology Program.  This program is critical in bridging the digital divide in our more than 270 Hispanic Serving Institutions, more than 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and more than 30 Tribal Colleges throughout the United States.

I will continue to look for legislative opportunities to expand access to technology in our schools and universities for our students’ success in the global economy.