[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4539 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4539

   To direct the Secretary of Education to provide grants to promote 
                   Holocaust education and awareness.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2000

Mr. Saxon (for himself and Mr. Andrews) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Education to provide grants to promote 
                   Holocaust education and awareness.

    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 ``Holocaust Education and Awareness 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Holocaust was the government-sponsored event that 
        occurred in Europe between 1933 and 1945 in which Nazis and 
        their collaborators--both to suppress dissidence and in the 
        name of racial, ethnic, and social purity--systemically 
        murdered 11 million people, including Jews, Jehovah's 
        Witnesses, Serbs, Gypsies, homosexuals, Polish intelligentsia, 
        and German opponents of Nazism.
            (2) Six States--California, Florida, Illinois, 
        Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York--currently mandate that 
        the Holocaust be taught in the educational curriculum and 10 
        States--Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, 
        Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and 
        Washington--recommend teaching the Holocaust but do not provide 
        sufficient funds to assist in training and educating teachers 
        about it.
            (3) Revisionist historians and Holocaust deniers throughout 
        the world, including those in the United States, perpetuate 
        inaccuracies and falsehoods regarding the Holocaust and thereby 
        make it more difficult for educators effectively to teach 
        students about the Holocaust.

SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR HOLOCAUST EDUCATION AND AWARENESS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Education shall devise and 
administer a program to make grants--
            (1) to provide the necessary tools and resources to educate 
        Americans regarding the Holocaust;
            (2) to dispel falsehoods circulated by Holocaust deniers; 
        and
            (3) to facilitate Holocaust awareness in communities 
        throughout the United States.
    (b) Requirements.--Such program shall--
            (1) provide for grants of not more than $10,000 each for 
        new or existing Holocaust education programs; and
            (2) condition each grant on assurance of matching funds 
        either from State or local governmental sources or from private 
        sources, or from both, combined to total not less than 50 
        percent of the amount of Federal funds to be provided by such 
        grant;and
            (3) be established in coordination with the United States 
        Holocaust Memorial Council established under chapter 23 of 
        title 36, United States Code.
    (c) Reports to Congress.--The Secretary of Education shall submit 
to the Congress a report detailing the criteria used in administering 
the grant program in subsection (a) and listing program expenditures 
and grant amounts and recipients. Such report shall be submitted not 
later than 180 days after the date on which funds are appropriated to 
carry out this Act and twice annually thereafter for the duration of 
the program.
    (d) Definitions.--In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Holocaust'' means the historical event 
        described in section 2(1); and
            (2) the term ``Holocaust education program'' means a 
        program which encourages and promotes awareness and historical 
        accuracy about the Holocaust in public and private schools, 
        community groups, State and local governments, and other 
        organizations.
    (e) Regulations Authorized.--The Secretary of Education may 
establish regulations to carry out this Act.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005, to remain 
available until expended.
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