[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3054 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3054
To establish a grant program in the Department of Labor to assist
unemployed and under employed workers following the COVID-19 pandemic.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 7, 2021
Mr. Lieu (for himself and Ms. Leger Fernandez) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and
in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a grant program in the Department of Labor to assist
unemployed and under employed workers following the COVID-19 pandemic.
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) In 1935, during the Great Depression, President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt established The Federal Writers'
Project of the New Deal Era. This program was organized to
employ writers, editors, historians, researchers, journalists,
librarians, broadcasters, photographers, and others to document
American society.
(2) The Federal Writers Project employed up to 10,000
people between its founding in 1935 during the Great Depression
and the publication of its first guides in 1943.
(3) The original Federal Writers' Project had many
successes, such as--
(A) the American Guide Series, which covered 48
States, 40 cities, 18 regions and territories and
countless counties, with John Steinbeck calling the
Series, ``the most comprehensive account of the United
States ever got together, and nothing since has even
approached it. It was compiled during the depression by
the best writers in America'';
(B) creating opportunities for writers who went on
to become some of America's greatest authors, including
Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, Saul Bellow, and Zora
Neale Hurston;
(C) developing the Slave Narrative Project, the
largest project to document the experience of formerly
enslaved people, which included oral histories and
photography telling the story of 10,000 Americans in 17
States;
(D) creating over 1,000 books and pamphlets
covering local and regional histories, folklore
collections, humor, ethnic studies, and nature studies.
(4) The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the decline of local
newspapers and other local news outlets, with more than 60
local newsrooms closing over the course of 2020 and other
newsrooms enduring cutbacks. More than 200 counties have no
daily or weekly newspaper and 68 percent of these counties are
nonmetro areas, home to small towns and rural communities.
(5) Following the death of more than 550,000 people due to
COVID-19 and more than a year of physical restrictions, the
United States has experienced a historic period with a profound
and lasting impact on society.
(6) The original Federal Writers' Project provided the
opportunity to observe and document the Great Depression.
Further, the impact of COVID-19, including the lives lost,
should be documented by a renewed Federal Writers' Project.
SEC. 3. DOL GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, working through the Employment
Training Administration, shall establish a grant program to provide
eligible entities with funds to assist individuals who are unemployed
or under employed in order to document in writing and images American
society and the broad impacts and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in
the United States.
(b) Grant Features.--In administering the grant program under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall determine the parameters of the
grant program, the amount and duration of grant awards, with an
individual grant award not to exceed 7.5 percent of the total amounts
of available grant funds, and the eligibility of individuals to receive
funds from a grant recipient (using the Standard Occupational
Classification for categories 25-000 and 27-000).
(c) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary of
Labor at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require and
be--
(1) a nonprofit institution of higher education or a
nonprofit organization each of which has experience in writing,
researching, collecting, curating, and disseminating
educational information;
(2) a newsroom that may be a nonprofit or for profit
entity;
(3) a public or nonprofit library; or
(4) a communications union or guild.
(d) Geographic Diversity.--In selecting the recipients for a grant
under this section the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable,
ensure equitable geographic distribution, including urban and rural
areas.
(e) Repository.--The Secretary shall establish a repository of
works developed through the grant program in which grantees submit
completed works from subgrantees, including giving credit to each
writer or artist. and make such works available to the public. Not
later than 90 days after receipt of a completed work, the Secretary
shall forward such work to the Librarian of Congress to archive such
material in accordance with subsection (f).
(f) Archive.--The Librarian of Congress shall establish an archive
program in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to
collect and make publicly available in a digital format, including
giving credit to each writer or artist, written and visual works
collected by the Secretary under subsection (e).
(g) Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Grantee reporting.--The Secretary shall develop
reporting guidelines for grant recipients to include, at a
minimum, information regarding--
(A) the amount of funds received by each grantee,
the amount provided to subgrantees, the number of
projects completed;
(B) the race, ethnicity, age, location in terms of
local or rural, and regional diversity of subgrantees;
(C) the number of requests made to review the
completed projects (when available); and
(D) such other data the Secretary considers
important.
(2) Reporting to congress.--Not less than once each year
while the program is in operation, the Secretary shall submit a
report summarizing the data collected under paragraph (1) to
the Committees on Appropriations and Education and Labor of the
House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations
and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate.
(h) Administrative Costs.--The Secretary may withhold 5 percent of
funds made available to carry out this program for administrative
costs. An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section may
reserve not more than 10 percent of funds received to administer its
program.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2022.
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