HouseH.R. 9558119th Congress
21st Century Federal Writers’ Project Act
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[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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