II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5071 

To support library infrastructure. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 19, 2020 

Mr. REED introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To support library infrastructure. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Build America’s Li5 braries Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 202 of the Mu10 seum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9101). 

11 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

12 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 


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1 section 202 of the Museum and Library Services Act 

2 (20 U.S.C. 9101). 

3 (3) LIBRARY.—The term ‘‘library’’ has the 

4 meaning given the term in section 213 of the Li5 brary Services and Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 

6 9122). 

7 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean8 ing given the term in section 213 of the Library 

9 Services and Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 9122). 

10 (5) STATE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATIVE AGEN11 CY.—The term ‘‘State library administrative agen12 cy’’ has the meaning given the term in section 213 

13 of the Library Services and Technology Act (20 

14 U.S.C. 9122). 

15 SEC. 3. BUILD AMERICA’S LIBRARIES FUND. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—From the amount appro17 priated under section 8, there is established a Build Amer18 ica’s Libraries Fund for the purpose of supporting long19 term improvements to library facilities in accordance with 

20 this Act. 

21 (b) RESERVATIONS.—From the amount available in 

22 the Build America’s Libraries Fund, the Director shall re23 serve 3 percent to award grants to Indian Tribes and to 

24 organizations that primarily serve and represent Native 

25 Hawaiians, in the same manner as the Director makes 


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1 grants under section 261 of the Library Services and 

2 Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 9161) to enable such Indian 

3 Tribes and organizations to carry out the activities de4 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (9) of section 4(c). 

5 SEC. 4. ALLOCATION TO STATES. 

6 (a) ALLOCATION TO STATES.— 

7 (1) STATE-BY-STATE ALLOCATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount 

9 available in the Build America’s Libraries Fund 

10 and not reserved under section 3(b), each State 

11 that has a plan approved by the Director under 

12 subsection (b) shall be allocated an amount in 

13 the same manner as the Director makes allot14 ments to States under section 221(b) of the Li15 brary Services and Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 

16 9131(b)), except that, for purposes of this sec17 tion, the minimum allotment for each State 

18 shall be $10,000,000, except that the minimum 

19 allotment shall be $500,000 in the case of the 

20 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

21 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

22 Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall 

23 Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 

24 and the Republic of Palau. 


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1 (B) REALLOCATION OF REMAINING

2 FUNDS.— 

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—From the remain4 der of any amounts not reserved or allo5 cated under subparagraph (A), on the date 

6 that is 1 year after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Director shall allocate to 

8 each State that has a plan approved by the 

9 Director under subsection (b), an amount 

10 that bears the same relation to such re11 mainder as the population of the State 

12 bears to the population of all States. 

13 (ii) DATA.—For the purposes of 

14 clause (i), the population of each State and 

15 of all the States shall be determined by the 

16 Director on the basis of the most recent 

17 data available from the Bureau of the Cen18 sus. 

19 (2) STATE RESERVATIONS.—A State shall re20 serve not more than 4 percent of its allocation under 

21 paragraph (1) for administrative costs and to pro22 vide technical assistance to libraries in the State. 

23 (b) STATE PLAN.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive an 

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1 istrative agency shall submit to the Director a plan 

2 that includes such information as the Director may 

3 require, including at a minimum— 

4 (A) a description of how the State will use 

5 the allocation to make long-term improvements 

6 to library facilities with a focus on underserved 

7 and marginalized communities; 

8 (B) a description regarding how the State 

9 will carry out its responsibility to provide tech10 nical assistance under subsection (a)(2); 

11 (C) a description regarding how the State 

12 will make the determinations of eligibility and 

13 priority under subsections (b) and (d) of section 

14 5; 

15 (D) a certification that the State has met 

16 the maintenance of effort requirements under 

17 section 223(c) of the Library Services and 

18 Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 9133(c)); and 

19 (E) an assurance that the State will meet 

20 the supplement not supplant requirement under 

21 section 6(c). 

22 (2) APPROVAL.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall ap24 prove a State plan submitted under paragraph 

25 (1) that meets the requirements of paragraph 


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1 (1) and provides satisfactory assurances that 

2 the provisions of such plan will be carried out. 

3 (B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each State li4 brary administrative agency receiving an alloca5 tion under this section shall make the State 

6 plan available to the public, including through 

7 electronic means. 

8 (C) ADMINISTRATION.—If the Director de9 termines that the State plan does not meet the 

10 requirements of this section, the Director 

11 shall— 

12 (i) immediately notify the State li13 brary administrative agency of such deter14 mination and the reasons for such deter15 mination; 

16 (ii) offer the State library administra17 tive agency the opportunity to revise its 

18 State plan; 

19 (iii) provide technical assistance in 

20 order to assist the State library adminis21 trative agency in meeting the requirements 

22 of this section; and 

23 (iv) provide the State library adminis24 trative agency the opportunity for a hear25 ing. 


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1 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—Each State receiving an allo2 cation under this section shall use the funds for any 1 

3 or more of the following: 

4 (1) Constructing, renovating, modernizing, or 

5 retrofitting library facilities in the State, which may 

6 include— 

7 (A) financing new library facilities; 

8 (B) making capital improvements to exist9 ing library facilities, including buildings, facili10 ties grounds, and bookmobiles; 

11 (C) enhancing library facilities to improve 

12 the overall safety and health of library patrons 

13 and staff, including improvements directly re14 lated to reducing the risk of community spread 

15 of COVID–19; and 

16 (D) addressing the vulnerability of library 

17 facilities to natural disasters. 

18 (2) Investing in infrastructure projects related 

19 to improving internet access and connectivity in li20 brary facilities and for library patrons, including 

21 projects related to high-speed broadband, technology 

22 hardware, and mobile hotspots and similar equip23 ment. 


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1 (3) Improving energy and water efficiency to 

2 lower the costs of energy and water consumption in 

3 library facilities. 

4 (4) Improving indoor air quality and ventilation 

5 in library facilities, including mechanical and non6 mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning 

7 systems, filtering and other air cleaning, fans, con8 trol systems, and window and door repair and re9 placement. 

10 (5) Reducing or eliminating the presence in li11 brary facilities of potential hazards to library staff 

12 and patrons, including— 

13 (A) toxic substances, including mercury, 

14 radon, PCBs, lead, and asbestos; or 

15 (B) mold and mildew. 

16 (6) Ensuring the safety of drinking water at 

17 the tap in library facilities, which may include test18 ing of the potability of water at the tap for the pres19 ence of lead and other contaminants. 

20 (7) Making library facilities accessible to people 

21 with disabilities, including by ensuring compliance 

22 with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 

23 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and section 504 of the Reha24 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794). 


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1 (8) Improving library facilities for the purposes 

2 of supporting place-based services or community3 based partnerships that provide library patrons with 

4 access to educational, workforce, behavioral health, 

5 mental health, and social services. 

6 (9) Assessing the condition of existing library 

7 facilities and the need for new or improved library 

8 facilities and developing facilities master plans. 

9 SEC. 5. NEED-BASED GRANTS TO LIBRARIES. 

10 (a) GRANTS TO LIBRARIES.—From the amounts allo11 cated to a State under section 4(a), the State library ad12 ministrative agency shall award grants to libraries, on a 

13 competitive basis, to carry out the activities described in 

14 paragraphs (1) through (9) of section 4(c). 

15 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

16 under this section, a library shall be— 

17 (1) a public library; 

18 (2) a tribal library; or 

19 (3) a State library or a State archive, with re20 spect to outlets and facilities that provide library 

21 service directly to the general public. 

22 (c) APPLICATION.—A library described in subsection 

23 (b) that desires to receive a grant under this section shall 

24 submit an application to the State library administrative 

25 agency at such time, in such manner, and containing such 


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1 information as the State library administrative agency 

2 may require, including— 

3 (1) the information necessary for the State to 

4 make a determination of the library’s eligibility for 

5 the grant and priority under subsection (d); and 

6 (2) a description of the projects that the library 

7 plans to carry out with the grant, in accordance with 

8 paragraphs (1) through (9) of section 4(c), includ9 ing— 

10 (A) the rationale the library used to select 

11 such project; and 

12 (B) a description of how the library took 

13 into consideration the impacts of such projects 

14 on underserved or marginalized communities, 

15 including families with incomes below the pov16 erty line (as defined under section 673(2) of the 

17 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 9902(2))). 

19 (d) PRIORITY OF GRANTS.—In awarding grants 

20 under this section, the State— 

21 (1) shall give first priority to eligible libraries 

22 that demonstrate the greatest need for such a grant 

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1 nities, including families with incomes below the pov2 erty line (as defined under section 673(2) of the 

3 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 9902(2))); and 

5 (2) may additionally give priority to eligible li6 braries that will use the grant to— 

7 (A) make health, safety, resiliency, or 

8 emergency preparedness improvements to exist9 ing library facilities that pose a severe health or 

10 safety threat to library patrons or staff, which 

11 may include a threat posed by the proximity of 

12 the facilities to toxic sites or the vulnerability of 

13 the facilities to natural disasters; 

14 (B) install or upgrade hardware that will 

15 improve access to high-speed broadband for li16 brary patrons of the library facilities; 

17 (C) improve access to existing library fa18 cilities for library patrons or staff with disabil19 ities; or 

20 (D) improve the energy efficiency of or re21 duce the carbon emissions or negative environ22 mental impacts resulting from the existing li23 brary facilities. 

24 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A library shall 

25 use a grant received under this section only to supplement 


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1 the level of Federal, State, and local public funds that 

2 would, in the absence of such grant, be made available 

3 for the activities supported by the grant, and not to sup4 plant such funds. 

5 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION AND OVERSIGHT. 

6 (a) NO PROHIBITION AGAINST CONSTRUCTION.— 

7 Section 210A of the Museum and Library Services Act 

8 (20 U.S.C. 9109) shall not apply to this Act. 

9 (b) NO MATCHING REQUIREMENT OR NON-FEDERAL

10 SHARE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 

11 State, Indian Tribe, organization, library, or other entity 

12 that receives funds under this Act shall not be required 

13 to provide matching funds or a non-Federal share toward 

14 the cost of the activities carried out with the funds. 

15 (c) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A State shall use 

16 an allocation received under section 4 only to supplement 

17 the level of Federal, State, and local public funds that 

18 would, in absence of such allocation, be made available for 

19 the activities supported by the allocation, and not to sup20 plant such funds. 

21 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—From the amount ap22 propriated under section 8, the Director may allocate not 

23 more than 3 percent of such amount for program adminis24 tration, oversight activities, research, analysis, and data 


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1 collection related to the purposes of the Build America’s 

2 Libraries Fund. 

3 (e) REPORTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act and annually 

6 thereafter until all funds provided under this Act 

7 have been expended, the Director shall issue reports 

8 to the Committee on Appropriations and the Com9 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

10 of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations 

11 and the Committee on Education and Labor of the 

12 House of Representatives detailing how funding 

13 under this Act has been spent and its impact on im14 proving library services in communities that are 

15 served, including underserved and marginalized pop16 ulations, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian com17 munities, and shall make such reports publicly avail18 able on the website of the Institute of Museum and 

19 Library Services. 

20 (2) STATE REPORT.—A State that receives 

21 funds under this Act shall, not later than 1 year 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

23 thereafter until all funds have been expended, sub24 mit a report to the Director at such time and in 

25 such manner as the Director may require. 


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1 (f) AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition on receipt of 

3 funds under this Act for a project, an entity shall 

4 ensure that all of the iron and steel products used 

5 in the project are produced in the United States. 

6 (2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) shall be 

7 waived in any case or category of cases in which the 

8 Director finds that— 

9 (A) applying subparagraph (A) would be 

10 inconsistent with the public interest; 

11 (B) iron and steel products are not pro12 duced in the United States in sufficient and 

13 reasonably available quantities and of a satis14 factory quality; or 

15 (C) inclusion of iron and steel products 

16 produced in the United States will increase the 

17 cost of the overall project by more than 25 per18 cent. 

19 (3) WAIVER.—If the Director receives a request 

20 for a waiver under this subsection, the Director shall 

21 make available to the public, on an informal basis, 

22 a copy of the request and information available to 

23 the Director concerning the request, and shall allow 

24 for informal public input on the request for at least 

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1 quest. The Director shall make the request and ac2 companying information available by electronic 

3 means. 

4 (4) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—This sub5 section shall be applied in a manner consistent with 

6 United States obligations under international agree7 ments. 

8 (5) MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT.—The Di9 rector may retain up to 0.25 percent of the funds 

10 appropriated for this Act for management and over11 sight of the requirements of this subsection. 

12 (6) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph does 

13 not apply with respect to a project if a State agency 

14 approves the engineering plans and specifications for 

15 the project, in that agency’s capacity to approve 

16 such plans and specifications prior to a project re17 questing bids, prior to the date of enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 SEC. 7. OTHER REQUIREMENTS. 

20 For fiscal year 2021 and each succeeding fiscal year, 

21 with respect to each contract or subcontract funded, in 

22 whole or in part, under a grant under this Act— 

23 (1) the provisions of subchapter IV of chapter 

24 31 of title 40, United States Code, shall apply with 

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1 tion contract or subcontract funded, in whole or in 

2 part, through such grant; and 

3 (2) the provisions of chapter 67 of title 41, 

4 United States Code, shall apply with respect to serv5 ice employees for each contract or subcontract fund6 ed, in whole or in part, under this Act, except that, 

7 for purposes of such chapter, the term ‘‘service em8 ployee’’ shall— 

9 (A) have the meaning given the term in 

10 section 6701 of such title; 

11 (B) include employees that are routine op12 erations workers or routine maintenance work13 ers; and 

14 (C) not include any employee covered 

15 under paragraph (1). 

16 SEC. 8. APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS. 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated, and there is 

18 appropriated, to carry out this Act, $5,000,000,000, for 

19 the period of fiscal years 2021 through 2023, to remain 

20 available until expended. 

Æ 


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