Harnessing Opportunity to Maximize Expansion, Capture, and Organization of Minority Innovation in the Next Generation of Research Act of 2019

Harnessing Opportunity to Maximize Expansion, Capture, and Organization of Minority Innovation in the Next Generation of Research Act of 2019

This bill establishes a commission to review the state of defense research at certain minority institutions of higher education. Such institutions are historically black colleges and universities and other higher education institutions at which at least 50% of the total student enrollment consists of students from ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering. The commission shall consider how to advance research capacity at these institutions to address U.S. national security and defense needs.

The bill also directs the Department of Defense to require that the system that monitors or records contractor past performance for a grant or contract awarded to an institution includes incentives for the award of a subgrant or subcontract to such minority institutions.