Timed to coincide with celebration of Martin Luther King’s birthd...

Timed to coincide with celebration of Martin Luther King’s birthday, Sen. Allen (R-Va.) introduced bill that would give $250 million in technology grants to minority schools. His proposed Digital & Wireless Network Technology Program Act (S-196) comes with notable co-sponsors, including Commerce Committee Chmn. McCain (R-Ariz.), Appropriations Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska), Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Hollings (S.C.) and Sen. Miller (D-Ga.). In effort to bridge “economic digital divide,” grants would be administered through National Science Foundation and would target historically black colleges and Hispanic-serving institutions, Allen’s office said. Grants could be used for such things as equipment and infrastructure upgrades, wireless technology development, software purchases and training. Allen highlighted recent study by Commerce Dept. and National Assn. for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education that showed most historically black colleges didn’t have high-speed Internet access and that only 3% of those colleges had financial aid to help students close “computer ownership gap.” In comments at Va. Union U. in Richmond, Allen said minority-serving colleges were facing dwindling resources from states and few had private foundations that could provide funds for their network infrastructure. “The best jobs in the future will go to those who are the best prepared. However, I am increasingly concerned that when it comes to high-technology jobs, which pay higher wages, this country runs the risk of economically limiting many college students in our society,” Allen said.