II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4936 

To establish a National Council on African American History and Culture 

within the National Endowment for the Humanities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 

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

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a National Council on African American History 

and Culture within the National Endowment for the 

Humanities, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘National Council on 

5 African American History and Culture Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COUNCIL ON AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND 

7 CULTURE. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

9 National Endowment for the Humanities a National 


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1 Council on African American History and Culture (re2 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Council’’). 

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

4 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Council 

5 shall be composed of 12 members appointed by the 

6 President, by and with the advice and consent of the 

7 Senate. 

8 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members of the 

9 Council shall be individuals who— 

10 (A) are selected from among private citi11 zens of the United States who are recognized 

12 for their broad knowledge of, expertise in, or 

13 commitment to the preservation and celebration 

14 of African-American history and culture; 

15 (B) are not currently employees of the 

16 Federal Government; and 

17 (C) have established records of distin18 guished service, scholarship, or creativity. 

19 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In appointing members 

20 to the Council under paragraph (1), the President— 

21 (A) shall give due regard to equitable rep22 resentation of women, people of color, and indi23 viduals with disabilities who are involved in the 

24 humanities; and 


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1 (B) shall select such members in a manner 

2 that ensures a comprehensive representation of 

3 the views of scholars and professional practi4 tioners in the humanities and of the public 

5 throughout the United States. 

6 (4) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

7 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Council 

8 shall be designated by the President from among the 

9 members of the Council. The Vice Chairperson shall 

10 act as Chairperson in the absence of the Chair11 person. 

12 (5) TERM OF OFFICE; VACANCIES; REAPPOINT13 MENT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be 

15 appointed for a term of 5 years, except as pro16 vided in subparagraphs (B) and (C). 

17 (B) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—As 

18 designated by the President at the time of the 

19 appointment, of the members first appointed to 

20 the Council under paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) 6 shall be appointed for terms of 

22 3 years; and 

23 (ii) 6 shall be appointed for terms of 

24 5 years. 


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1 (C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 

2 to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration 

3 of the term for which the member’s predecessor 

4 was appointed shall be appointed only for the 

5 remainder of that term. A member may serve 

6 after the expiration of that member’s term until 

7 a successor has taken office. 

8 (D) REAPPOINTMENT.—No member shall 

9 be eligible for reappointment during the 2-year 

10 period following the expiration of such mem11 ber’s term. 

12 (6) BASIC PAY.— 

13 (A) RATES OF PAY.—Members shall re14 ceive compensation at a rate of 50 percent of 

15 the daily rate of the highest rate of basic pay 

16 payable for the senior-level positions classified 

17 above GS–15 pursuant to section 5108 of title 

18 5, United States Code, for each day (including 

19 travel time) during which they are engaged in 

20 the actual performance of duties vested in the 

21 Council. 

22 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member 

23 shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 

24 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Oct 04, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4936.IS S4936

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1 cable provisions under subchapter 1 of chapter 

2 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (7) QUORUM.—Nine members of the Council 

4 shall constitute a quorum. The Council cannot hold 

5 hearings without a full quorum. 

6 (8) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at the 

7 call of the Chairperson but not less frequently than 

8 twice during each calendar year. 

9 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Council shall be— 

10 (1) to prepare an annual report to be submitted 

11 to the Chairperson of the National Endowment for 

12 the Humanities on the work of the National Endow13 ment to preserve and celebrate African-American 

14 history and culture; 

15 (2) to gather timely and authoritative informa16 tion concerning historical developments and cultural 

17 trends in African-American history and culture, as 

18 well as to monitor the work of museums and organi19 zations dedicated to the preservation of African20 American history and culture, and to analyze and in21 terpret such information for the purpose of deter22 mining whether national policy is necessary to fur23 ther support those efforts; 

24 (3) to evaluate the various programs and activi25 ties of the National Endowment for the Humanities 


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1 for the purpose of determining the extent to which 

2 such programs and activities are contributing, and 

3 the extent to which they are not contributing, to the 

4 successful preservation and celebration of African5 American history and culture, and to make rec6 ommendations to the President with respect to such 

7 programs and activities; 

8 (4) to develop and recommend to the Chair9 person national policies to foster and promote the 

10 understanding of African-American history, the pres11 ervation of African-American culture, and the cele12 bration of African Americans as contributors to the 

13 country’s economic, cultural, and political success; 

14 and 

15 (5) to make and furnish such studies, reports 

16 thereon, and recommendations with respect to mat17 ters of cultural preservation and African-American 

18 history as the Chairperson may request. 

19 (d) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—Section 14 of the 

20 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.; relating 

21 to termination of advisory committees) shall not apply to 

22 the Council. 

23 (e) TERMINATION.—The Council shall terminate 10 

24 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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