[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1945 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1945

      To establish the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship to fund 
  international internships and research placements for early- to mid-
  career professionals to study nonviolent movements to establish and 
                 protect civil rights around the world.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 13, 2023

Mr. Hickenlooper (for himself, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Ossoff, 
 and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
           and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To establish the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship to fund 
  international internships and research placements for early- to mid-
  career professionals to study nonviolent movements to establish and 
                 protect civil rights around the world.

    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 ``John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. JOHN LEWIS CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.

    The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 115. JOHN LEWIS CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established the John Lewis Civil 
Rights Fellowship Program (referred to in this section as the 
`Fellowship Program') within the J. William Fulbright Educational 
Exchange Program.
    ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Fellowship Program are--
            ``(1) to honor the legacy of Representative John Lewis by 
        promoting a greater understanding of the history and tenets of 
        nonviolent civil rights movements; and
            ``(2) to advance foreign policy priorities of the United 
        States by promoting studies, research, and international 
        exchange in the subject of nonviolent movements that 
        established and protected civil rights around the world.
    ``(c) Administration.--The Bureau of Educational and Cultural 
Affairs (referred to in this section as the `Bureau') shall administer 
the Fellowship Program in accordance with policy guidelines established 
by the Board, in consultation with the binational Fulbright Commissions 
and United States Embassies.
    ``(d) Selection of Fellows.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Board shall annually select 
        qualified individuals to participate in the Fellowship Program. 
        The Bureau may determine the number of fellows selected each 
        year, which, whenever feasible, shall be not fewer than 25.
            ``(2) Outreach.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To the extent practicable, the 
                Bureau shall conduct outreach at institutions, 
                including--
                            ``(i) minority serving institutions, 
                        including historically Black colleges and 
                        universities; and
                            ``(ii) other appropriate institutions, as 
                        determined by the Bureau.
                    ``(B) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Historically black college and 
                        university.--The term `historically Black 
                        college and university' has the meaning given 
                        the term `part B institution' in section 322 of 
                        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        1061).
                            ``(ii) Minority serving institution.--The 
                        term `minority-serving institution' means an 
                        eligible institution under section 371(a) of 
                        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        1067q(a)).
    ``(e) Fellowship Orientation.--Annually, the Bureau shall organize 
and administer a fellowship orientation, which shall--
            ``(1) be held in Washington, DC, or at another location 
        selected by the Bureau; and
            ``(2) include programming to honor the legacy of 
        Representative John Lewis.
    ``(f) Structure.--
            ``(1) Work plan.--To carry out the purposes described in 
        subsection (b)--
                    ``(A) each fellow selected pursuant to subsection 
                (d) shall arrange an internship or research placement--
                            ``(i) with a nongovernmental organization, 
                        academic institution, or other organization 
                        approved by the Bureau; and
                            ``(ii) in a country with an operational 
                        Fulbright U.S. Student Program; and
                    ``(B) the Bureau shall, for each fellow, approve a 
                work plan that identifies the target objectives for the 
                fellow, including specific duties and responsibilities 
                relating to those objectives.
            ``(2) Conferences; presentations.--Each fellow shall--
                    ``(A) attend a fellowship orientation organized and 
                administered by the Bureau under subsection (e);
                    ``(B) not later than the date that is 1 year after 
                the end of the fellowship period, attend a fellowship 
                summit organized and administered by the Bureau, 
                which--
                            ``(i) whenever feasible, shall be held in 
                        Atlanta, Georgia, or another location of 
                        importance to the civil rights movement in the 
                        United States; and
                            ``(ii) may coincide with other events 
                        facilitated by the Bureau; and
                    ``(C) at such summit, give a presentation on 
                lessons learned during the period of fellowship.
            ``(3) Fellowship period.--Each fellowship under this 
        section shall continue for a period determined by the Bureau, 
        which, whenever feasible, shall be not fewer than 10 months.
    ``(g) Fellowship Award.--The Bureau shall provide each fellow under 
this section with an allowance that is equal to the amount needed for--
            ``(1) the reasonable costs of the fellow during the 
        fellowship period; and
            ``(2) travel and lodging expenses related to attending the 
        orientation and summit required under subsection (e)(2).
    ``(h) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
completion of the Fellowship Program by the initial cohort of fellows 
selected under subsection (d), and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
a report on the implementation of the Fellowship Program, including--
            ``(1) a description of the demographics of the cohort of 
        fellows who completed a fellowship during the preceding 1-year 
        period;
            ``(2) a description of internship and research placements, 
        and research projects selected by such cohort, under the 
        Fellowship Program, including feedback from--
                    ``(A) such cohort on implementation of the 
                Fellowship Program; and
                    ``(B) the Secretary on lessons learned; and
            ``(3) an analysis of trends relating to the diversity of 
        each cohort of fellows and the topics of projects completed 
        since the establishment of the Fellowship Program.''.

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE MUTUAL EDUCATIONAL 
              AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE ACT OF 1961.

    Section 112(a) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2460(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Program 
        established under section 115, which provides funding for 
        international internships and research placements for early- to 
        mid-career individuals from the United States to study 
        nonviolent civil rights movements in self-arranged placements 
        with universities or nongovernmental organizations in foreign 
        countries.''.
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