[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1329 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1329

To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out activities to support 
     Armenian Genocide education programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 27, 2023

Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 
                             Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out activities to support 
     Armenian Genocide education programs, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Armenian Genocide Education Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States has demonstrated a commitment to 
        remembrance and education about the Armenian Genocide of 1915-
        1923 through the United States Government's May 28, 1951, 
        written statement to the International Court of Justice 
        regarding the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of 
        the Crime of Genocide; through President Ronald Reagan's 
        Proclamation No. 4838 on April 22, 1981; by H.J. Res 148, 
        adopted on April 8, 1975; H.J. Res 247, adopted on September 
        10, 1984; H. Res. 296, adopted on October 29, 2019; S. Res. 
        150, adopted on December 12, 2019; and President Joe Biden's 
        April 24, 2021, statement recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
            (2) H. Res. 296 and S. Res. 150 cite the Ottoman Empire's 
        ``campaign of genocide against Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, 
        Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, Maronite and other Christians'', and 
        call on the United States to--
                    (A) ``reject efforts to enlist, engage, or 
                otherwise associate the United States Government with 
                denial of the Armenian Genocide or any other 
                genocide''; and
                    (B) ``encourage education and public understanding 
                of the facts of the Armenian Genocide, including the 
                United States role in the humanitarian relief effort, 
                and the relevance of the Armenian Genocide to modern-
                day crimes against humanity''.
            (3) Today, those who deny that the Ottoman Empire 
        systematically planned, organized, and implemented a campaign 
        of genocide against Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, 
        Syriac, Aramean, Maronite, and other Christians or who seek to 
        distort the true nature of these crimes continue to find 
        forums, especially online. This denial and distortion dishonors 
        those who were persecuted, murdered, dispossessed, and exiled, 
        making it even more of a national imperative to educate 
        students in the United States so that they may explore the 
        lessons that these crimes provide for all people, sensitize 
        communities to the circumstances that gave rise to these 
        crimes, and help youth be less susceptible to the falsehood of 
        genocide denial and distortion and to the destructive messages 
        of hate that arise from denial and distortion.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Armenian genocide.--The term ``Armenian Genocide'' 
        means Ottoman Turkey's systematic and deliberate state-
        sponsored mass murder, national dispossession, cultural 
        erasure, and exile of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, 
        Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians, 
        between 1915 and 1923.
            (2) Armenian genocide education program.--The term 
        ``Armenian Genocide education program'' means a program that 
        has as its specific and primary purpose the improvement of 
        awareness and understanding of the history, lessons, 
        consequences, and ongoing costs of the Armenian Genocide, and 
        which will serve as a means of promoting justice and preventing 
        genocide, hate, and bigotry against any group of people.
            (3) Denial.--The term ``denial'' refers to discourse and 
        propaganda that claims that the Armenian Genocide did not take 
        place.
            (4) Distortion.--The term ``distortion'' refers 
        specifically to any attempt to excuse or minimize, in its 
        entirety or in its principal elements, the Armenian Genocide, 
        including efforts to blame the victims for causing their own 
        genocide, or to portray the Armenian Genocide as a positive 
        historical event.
            (5) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
        agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 21 
        7801).

SEC. 4. PROGRAM DESCRIBED.

    (a) Establishment and Operation of Program.--The Librarian of 
Congress shall establish and carry out a program to support Armenian 
Genocide education programs by--
            (1) carrying out the activities described in subsection 
        (b);
            (2) entering into agreements with program participants 
        under section 5; and
            (3) providing online resources under section 6.
    (b) Activities.--The activities described in this subsection are as 
follows:
            (1) The development and national dissemination of accurate, 
        relevant, and accessible resources to promote understanding 
        about how and why the Armenian Genocide happened, which shall 
        include digital resources and may include other types of 
        resources, such as print resources and traveling exhibitions.
            (2) The development, national dissemination, and 
        implementation of principles of sound pedagogy for teaching 
        about the Armenian Genocide.
            (3) The provision of professional development services for 
        entities participating in the program under an agreement 
        entered into under section 5, such as through--
                    (A) local, regional, and national workshops and 
                teacher trainings in conjunction with genocide 
                education centers and other appropriate partners;
                    (B) engagement with local educational agencies and 
                high schools and schools that include one of the middle 
                grades that are independent of any local educational 
                agency; and
                    (C) the operation and expansion of a teacher 
                fellowship program to cultivate and support leaders in 
                Armenian Genocide education.
            (4) Engagement with State and local education leaders to 
        encourage the adoption of the resources developed and supported 
        under the program established by this Act into curricula across 
        diverse disciplines.
            (5) Evaluation and research to assess the effectiveness and 
        impact of the Armenian Genocide education programs and the 
        other activities carried out under the program established by 
        this Act, which may include the preparation and use of material 
        for the annual report required under section 8.

SEC. 5. ENGAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.

    (a) Agreements With Program Participants.--The Librarian of 
Congress may enter into agreements with eligible entities under which 
such entities may serve as program participants in the program 
established by this Act.
    (b) Contents of Agreements.--An agreement entered into under this 
section between the Librarian and an eligible entity shall include the 
following elements:
            (1) A description of the services and assistance provided 
        to the entity by the Librarian.
            (2) A description of the activities to be carried out by 
        the entity with such services and assistance.
            (3) The length of the period in which the agreement shall 
        be in effect.
            (4) Such other elements as may be agreed to by the 
        Librarian and the entity, consistent with the program 
        established by this Act.
    (c) Eligibility.--An entity is eligible to serve as a program 
participant in the program established by this Act if--
            (1) the entity is a local educational agency, a school that 
        is independent of any local educational agency, or an entity 
        that works with or for a local educational agency or a school 
        that is independent of any local educational agency; and
            (2) the entity submits to the Librarian, at such time and 
        in such form as the Librarian may require, an application 
        containing such information and assurances as the Librarian may 
        require.
    (d) Priority.--In selecting among eligible entities for 
participating in the program established under this Act, the Librarian 
shall give priority to applications from entities who are local 
educational agencies, schools that are independent of any local 
educational agency, or entities that work with or for a local 
educational agency or a school that is independent of any local 
educational agency, that do not, at the time application is made, offer 
any Armenian Genocide education program.

SEC. 6. ONLINE EDUCATION RESOURCES.

    (a) Website.--The Librarian of Congress shall maintain on the 
website of the Library of Congress a publicly available special section 
designated for Armenian Genocide education resources to improve 
awareness and understanding of this Genocide and educate individuals on 
the lessons of the Armenian Genocide as a means to raise awareness 
about the importance of preventing genocide, hate, and bigotry against 
any group of people.
    (b) Information Distribution.--The Librarian shall distribute 
information about the activities funded under this Act through the 
website of the Library of Congress, and shall respond to inquiries for 
supplementary information concerning such activities.
    (c) Best Practices.--The information distributed by the Librarian 
under this section shall include best practices for educators on how to 
teach about the Armenian Genocide.

SEC. 7. PRIVATE SUPPORT.

    (a) Acceptance of Donations.--The Librarian of Congress may 
solicit, accept, hold, administer, invest, and use donated funds and 
gifts, bequests, and devises of property, both real and personal, to 
support the activities carried out under this Act, subject to 
subsection (c).
    (b) Establishment of Separate Gift Account.--There is established 
in the Treasury (among the accounts of the Library of Congress) a gift 
account for the activities carried out under this Act.
    (c) Dedication of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law--
            (1) any funds donated to the Librarian to carry out 
        activities under this Act shall be deposited entirely into the 
        gift account established under subsection (b);
            (2) the funds contained in such account shall be used 
        solely to carry out activities under this Act; and
            (3) the Librarian may not deposit into such account any 
        funds donated to the Librarian which are not donated for the 
        exclusive purpose of carrying out activities under this Act.

SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT.

     Not later than February 1 of each year (beginning with 2024), the 
Librarian of Congress shall submit to Congress a report describing the 
activities carried out under this Act.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$2,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 
years.
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