{"id":143864,"date":"2026-01-22T00:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T00:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/143864\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T00:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T00:25:12","slug":"costa-westerman-introduce-groundbreaking-legislation-to-support-fresno-state-and-regional-public-universities-nationwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/143864\/","title":{"rendered":"Costa, Westerman Introduce Groundbreaking Legislation to Support Fresno State and Regional Public Universities Nationwide"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON\u00a0– U.S. Representatives Jim Costa (CA-21) and Bruce Westerman (AR-04) have introduced the Boosting University Investments in Low-Income Districts (BUILD) Act<\/a>, a bold bipartisan plan to channel billions in federal investment through regional public universities to transform struggling communities across America<\/p>\n

“Regional Public Universities like Fresno State spur economic and community development in distressed communities along the Central Valley,”\u00a0said Representative Costa. “For far too long, these institutions have been left behind. As a Fresno State alumnus, I am proud to introduce this groundbreaking legislation to bolster our regional economy and create new opportunities for Valley families to thrive.”<\/p>\n

“Regional Public Universities across the Natural State are often the heartbeat of rural communities, acting as economic anchors that raise the standard of living and lead to stronger economies,”\u00a0said Congressman Bruce\u00a0Westerman. “The BUILD Act provides funding opportunities that ensure our regional schools like Arkansas Tech University, Southern Arkansas University, and Henderson State University, are empowered to revitalize and support our more rural communities across the Natural State. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill that champions both education and rural communities in a bipartisan manner, and I look forward to continuing to support legislation that benefits rural America.”<\/p>\n

The BUILD Act recognizes that regional public universities (RPUs) are economic engines that often lack the federal support given to large research institutions. The bill would close that gap by creating a special designation for RPUs located in economically distressed communities, making them eligible for major new federal funding.<\/p>\n

Designated universities could receive planning grants to design community-driven strategies, followed by implementation grants of $25\u201350 million over five years for projects such as:<\/p>\n

Expanding Healthcare Access \u2013 Build clinics accessible to the public and train community members to become healthcare professionals.Boosting Small Business Growth \u2013 Provide seed money to entrepreneurs and support local startups.Modernizing Broadband \u2013 Invest in municipal broadband networks and digital infrastructure.Revitalizing Communities \u2013 Renovate or construct housing, libraries, laboratories, museums, theaters, and cultural spaces.Strengthening the Workforce \u2013 Launch apprenticeships, create industry partnerships, and expand job training opportunities.<\/p>\n

This legislation would authorize up to $1.7 billion per year for five years and could benefit as many as 174 public four-year universities nationwide, including four California State University campuses: Fresno State, Cal State Los Angeles, San Diego State, and Cal Poly Pomona.<\/p>\n

“Fresno State is pivotal to the economy and society of Central California, as we educate a majority of the region\u2019s economic and social leaders.\u00a0 As Fresno State has been partnering with industry partners for over a century, the University is perfectly positioned to lead the region in fomenting economic growth through applied research. The BUILD Act would empower Fresno State to further infuse dynamic economic energy into the Valley, a region that produces 25% of our Nation\u2019s food,”\u00a0said Dr. Sa\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez-Sandoval, Ph.D., President of California State University, Fresno.<\/p>\n

“Regional public universities like Fresno State are underutilized as major economic drivers in their communities. With additional federal support, Fresno State, with its focus on applied research emphasizing local and regional needs, could play a decisive role in providing the type of small business incubation that could dramatically fuel job growth and economic development in our community,”\u00a0said Blake Zante, Executive Director of the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute.<\/p>\n

The full text of the bill is available HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The original proposal put forth by the Brookings Institute can be found\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON\u00a0– U.S. Representatives Jim Costa (CA-21) and Bruce Westerman (AR-04) have introduced the Boosting University Investments in Low-Income…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-143864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}