§ 1068c. Cooperative arrangements
(a)
General authority
The Secretary may make grants to encourage cooperative arrangements—
(1)
with funds available to carry out part A of this subchapter, between institutions eligible for assistance under part A of this subchapter and between such institutions and institutions not receiving assistance under this subchapter; or
(2)
with funds available to carry out part B of this subchapter, between institutions eligible for assistance under part B of this subchapter and institutions not receiving assistance under this subchapter;
for the activities described in section
1057
(b) of this title or section
1062 of this title, as the case may be, so that the resources of the cooperating institutions might be combined and shared to achieve the purposes of such parts and avoid costly duplicative efforts and to enhance the development of part A and part B eligible institutions.
(b)
Priority
The Secretary shall give priority to grants for the purposes described under subsection (a) of this section whenever the Secretary determines that the cooperative arrangement is geographically and economically sound or will benefit the applicant institution.