BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A new bill is giving more universities the chance to conduct critical research into minority health disparities.

Senator Bill Cassidy led the John Lewis National Institute on the Minority Health and Health Disparities Act.

Senator Cassidy says the ultimate goal of this bill is providing quality health care to underserved communities. The bill will continue to provide grants at universities conducting minority health disparities research across the country, including Louisiana Xavier University.

“So Congress is putting money that can go to Xavier and Southern etc. But, there is a cap as to the amount the university can receive. So our John Lewis bill removes that cap,” said Cassidy.

Xavier University President Dr. Reynold Verret says minority institutions have a hard time getting federal research dollars. He says this funding will allow them to bring in more competitive faculty, equipment, and more. Verret says being able to do research in undergrad programs prepares the student for professional school.

 “The research we do at school like Xavier, it’s not separate from the instructional program. Our students enter as researchers with faculty in their research programs, as undergraduates,” said Verret.

Cassidy says this funding will benefit the recruitment and retention of people from health disparity populations.