21st Century Federal Writers’ Project Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9558 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9558

To establish a grant program in the National Endowment for the Arts to
                   document the American experience.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 30, 2026

Mr. Lieu (for himself, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Williams of
   Georgia, and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill; which was
          referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To establish a grant program in the National Endowment for the Arts to
                   document the American experience.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century Federal Writers'
Project Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The observance and commemoration of the 250th
        anniversary of the founding of the United States are of major
        significance to the national heritage.
            (2) The 250th anniversary of the founding of the United
        States should inspire patriotism and national unity.
            (3) Documenting the full breadth of the American
        experience, including the history, culture, customs, folklore,
        and daily life of communities across all States and regions,
        will foster mutual understanding and national unity.
            (4) Nearly a century ago, the Federal Writers' Project
        employed up to 7,700 people to document the American
        experience, producing--
                    (A) the American Guide Series, which included 48
                States, 40 cities, 18 regions and territories, and
                countless counties; and
                    (B) more than 1,000 books and pamphlets covering
                local and regional histories, folklore collections,
                humor, and nature studies.
            (5) The commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the
        United States merits a new portrait of American life, capturing
        the history, culture, agriculture, industry, infrastructure,
        and communities that define this Nation, produced by a 21st-
        Century Federal Writers' Project.
            (6) The National Endowment for the Arts is the appropriate
        Federal agency to administer a program supporting literary and
        documentary arts that capture the full diversity and vitality
        of the American experience, consistent with its mission under
        the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 951 et seq.).
            (7) American feature writers, photographers, and
        documentary artists possess skills uniquely suited to
        preserving a living record of American life for future
        generations.

SEC. 3. 21ST CENTURY FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts
(in this section referred to as the ``Chair''), with the advice of the
National Council of the Arts, shall establish a competitive grant
program (in this section referred to as the ``Program'') to provide
grants to eligible entities described in subsection (d) to document in
writing and images the history, culture, customs, folklore, and lived
experience of the American people.
    (b) Advisory Panel.--
            (1) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date
        of enactment of this Act, the Chairperson shall appoint an
        advisory panel comprising 5 members to assist in developing
        guidelines for the Program.
            (2) Members.--The advisory panel shall include--
                    (A) a member representing the literary arts,
                documentary audiovisual, or print journalism
                communities;
                    (B) the Librarian of Congress, or the Librarian's
                designee;
                    (C) a member representing a State arts agency;
                    (D) a member representing communities underserved
                by existing arts and literary programs, including rural
                and Tribal communities; and
                    (E) a member with expertise in--
                            (i) the original Federal Writers' Project;
                            (ii) involved with ongoing efforts to
                        reproduce it; and
                            (iii) with Federal experience with
                        administering nationwide programs.
            (3) Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the advisory
        panel is established, the panel shall submit to the Chairperson
        a report with recommended guidelines for the Program, including
        criteria for evaluating applications and ensuring that projects
        collectively cover the geographic and cultural breadth of the
        American experience.
            (4) Termination.--The advisory panel shall terminate not
        later than 90 days after the submission of the report under
        paragraph (3).
    (c) Grant Administration.--
            (1) Grant parameters.--The Chairperson shall determine--
                    (A) the parameters and scope of the Program; and
                    (B) the amount and duration of grant awards, except
                that no individual grant awarded for a fiscal year
                shall exceed an amount equal to 10 percent of the
                amounts appropriated under subsection (l) for such
                fiscal year.
            (2) Limitation.--Notwithstanding section 5(e) of the
        National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965
        (20 U.S.C. 954(e)), the matching requirement shall not apply to
        grants made under this section.
            (3) Editorial and curatorial role.--In administering the
        Program, the Chairperson shall--
                    (A) publish, prior to the first solicitation of
                grant applications, an editorial framework for the
                Program that--
                            (i) identifies the thematic and subject-
                        matter scope of the Program as a whole;
                            (ii) establishes standards for factual
                        accuracy, editorial consistency, fair and
                        balanced geographic and demographic coverage,
                        and attribution of individual works; and
                            (iii) identifies the intended forms of
                        publication and distribution for works produced
                        under the Program, which includes not only
                        books, but periodicals, digital media, audio
                        recordings, documentary film, and other
                        formats;
                    (B) enter into a contract or cooperative agreement
                with a qualified organization to serve as the editor-
                in-chief and executive editor for the Program. Such
                organization shall be responsible for--
                            (i) providing editorial guidance to grant
                        recipients consistent with the editorial
                        framework established under subparagraph (A);
                            (ii) reviewing and approving works prior to
                        public release to ensure compliance with
                        Program standards; and
                            (iii) reporting to the Chairperson on the
                        progress and geographic and thematic coverage
                        of the Program;
                    (C) coordinate with grant recipients to ensure that
                the subject matter of individual projects collectively
                covers the full range of topics and regions
                contemplated by the Program, avoiding duplication and
                gaps in geographic or thematic coverage;
                    (D) facilitate the production and publication of
                works developed under the Program, including by
                entering into agreements with publishers, distributors,
                or other entities to make such works available to the
                public in print and digital formats; and
                    (E) ensure that the Program as a whole replicates,
                to the greatest extent practicable, the scope,
                editorial standards, and public-facing mission of the
                original Federal Writers' Project of the 1930s and
                1940s.
    (d) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, an entity shall--
            (1) submit an application to the Chair at such time, in
        such form, and in such manner as the Chair may require; and
            (2) be one of the following:
                    (A) A nonprofit, tax-exempt organization with
                experience in literary arts, documentary arts,
                journalism, oral history, or the collection and
                dissemination of cultural or educational content.
                    (B) The fiscally sponsored projects of
                organizations under subparagraph (A).
                    (C) A State arts agency established pursuant to
                section 5(g) of the National Foundation on the Arts and
                the Humanities Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 954(g)), or a
                regional arts organization designated by the National
                Endowment for the Arts.
                    (D) A State or territorial commission established
                by State legislation or executive order for the purpose
                of commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding
                of the United States.
    (e) Use of Grant Funds.--An eligible entity receiving a grant under
this section shall use grant funds to engage individuals to produce
written, photographic, audio, or other documentary works capturing the
history, culture, customs, folklore, and lived experience of the
American people, and may use grant funds for related administrative,
training, and editorial activities directly supporting such work.
    (f) Preference for Certain Individuals.--In selecting individuals
to receive funds, a eligible entity shall give preference to
individuals with education or experience in--
            (1) literary arts, journalism, documentary arts, or oral
        history; or
            (2) occupations described in the Standard Occupational
        Classification for categories 25-0000 (Education, Training, and
        Library Occupations) and 27-0000 (Arts, Design, Entertainment,
        Sports, and Media Occupations).
    (g) Geographic and Thematic Scope.--In selecting the recipients and
evaluating applications under this section for a grant, the Chair shall
ensure that the projects funded under the Program, taken as a whole,
collectively document communities and subjects from all regions of the
United States, including--
            (1) urban, suburban, and rural communities;
            (2) Tribal communities;
            (3) each of the major geographic regions of the United
        States; and
            (4) the full range of subjects that defined the original
        Federal Writers' Project, including history, culture, customs,
        and folklore.
    (h) Repository, Archive, and Publication.--
            (1) Repository.--The Chairperson shall establish a publicly
        accessible repository of works developed through the Program.
        Grant recipients shall submit completed works to the repository
        and each such work shall include attribution to the individual
        writer, photographer, or artist who created it.
            (2) Archive.--The Chairperson shall transmit works received
        under paragraph (1) to the Librarian of Congress not later than
        90 days after their receipt. The Librarian of Congress shall
        establish an archive program within the American Folklife
        Center at the Library of Congress to collect and make publicly
        available, in both digital and print formats, the written and
        visual drafts and finished works produced under the Program,
        with attribution given to each work's Creator.
            (3) Publication.--The Chairperson shall facilitate the
        publication and public distribution of written works produced
        under the Program. In carrying out this paragraph, the
        Chairperson may--
                    (A) enter into agreements with commercial,
                nonprofit, or government publishers for the publication
                of books, anthologies, periodicals, or other print or
                digital works derived from the Program;
                    (B) use revenues derived from any such publication
                agreements, to the extent permitted by law, to support
                the ongoing activities of the Program; and
                    (C) ensure that any published works include
                attribution to individual creators and to the Program.
    (i) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) Grant recipient reporting.--The Chair shall develop
        reporting guidelines for grant recipients under this section to
        include, at a minimum, information regarding--
                    (A) the amount of funds received and expended;
                    (B) the number of individuals engaged and works
                completed under the grant;
                    (C) the geographic location and subject matter of
                works completed under the grant;
                    (D) the number of public requests to access or
                review completed works, where available;
                    (E) the number of copies of published works
                distributed or sold, where applicable, including
                through any agreements entered into under subsection
                (h)(3);
                    (F) such other data as the Chairperson considers
                important to assess Program efficacy; and
                    (G) such other data as the Chairperson considers
                important to assess Program efficacy.
            (2) Reporting to congress.--Not less than once each year
        while the program under this section is in operation, the Chair
        shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations and
        Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives and the
        Committees on Appropriations and Health, Education, Labor, and
        Pensions of the Senate summarizing--
                    (A) the data collected under paragraph (1);
                    (B) the geographic and thematic distribution of
                projects funded under the Program; and
                    (C) the Chairperson's assessment of Program
                efficacy and recommendations for improvement.
    (j) Administrative Costs.--The Chair may reserve not more than 20
percent of the funds made available to carry out the Program for
administrative costs of the National Endowment for the Arts.
    (k) Coordination With Other Federal Agencies.--The Chairperson may
enter into interagency agreements with other Federal agencies to fund
the Program and support the purposes, consistent with section 5(o) of
the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 954(o)).
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