# The BEACON Act: Building Research Opportunities at Minority Colleges

This bill aims to strengthen America's defense research capabilities by tapping into the talent and resources at colleges and universities that serve minority students. Right now, most of the Pentagon's research contracts go to a small group of well-established universities, which means the Defense Department misses out on innovations and expertise available at other institutions. The BEACON Act tries to change that by creating a new research consortium and directing more federal research money toward minority-serving schools.

Here's what the bill actually does. First, it requires the Secretary of Defense to create a plan within one year for establishing something called the Minority Institute for Defense Research. This plan needs to identify which minority colleges and universities are doing the best engineering and research work, figure out what those schools would need to become top-tier research centers, and recommend how to make this happen over the next decade. The plan gets posted online so everyone can see it. The bill also sets up a grant program where the Defense Department can give money to the best minority institutions to help them build research capacity, hire and keep talented researchers, and learn how to bid on federal contracts.

The second major piece requires that whenever the Pentagon awards a big research contract to a university, that university must give at least 5 percent of the contract money to minority institutions as subcontractors. This rule doesn't kick in until October 2026, giving universities time to prepare. The practical effect is that minority-serving colleges will have more opportunities to participate in defense research, which means more funding flowing to these institutions, more research jobs for their faculty and students, and potentially stronger national security through a broader base of research talent. For students at these schools, it could mean more opportunities to work on cutting-edge defense research projects.

BEACON Act of 2021

Brown, Anthony G.

Building Equitable Access to Contribute to Our National Security Act of 2021 or the BEACON Act of 2021 This bill implements plans and requirements related to minority institutions of higher education and their contributions to national security efforts. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to submit a plan for the establishment of the Minority Institute for Defense Research. The plan must be made available on a publicly accessible DOD website. DOD is authorized to establish a program to award grants to leading minority institutions to, among other purposes, advance research capabilities relating to national security. Under the bill, certain contracts awarded to educational institutions must include a requirement to subcontract with one or more minority institutions for a total amount of at least 5% of the amount awarded in the contract.