I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1150 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 21, 2023 

Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself, Ms. MACE, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BLUNT

ROCHESTER, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. 

GOLDMAN of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. 

PORTER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SEWELL, 

Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, 

Mr. TONKO, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. WILD, Ms. 

WILSON of Florida, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. WATERS, Mr. 

DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Ms. DELBENE, and Mr. CARBAJAL) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘John Lewis Civil 

3 Rights Fellowship Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. JOHN LEWIS CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

5 The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act 

6 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 115. JOHN LEWIS CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP PRO9 GRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

11 John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Program (referred to 

12 in this section as the ‘Fellowship Program’) within the J. 

13 William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program. 

14 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Fellowship 

15 Program are— 

16 ‘‘(1) to honor the legacy of Representative John 

17 Lewis by promoting a greater understanding of the 

18 history and tenets of nonviolent civil rights move19 ments; and 

20 ‘‘(2) to advance foreign policy priorities of the 

21 United States by promoting studies, research, and 

22 international exchange in the subject of nonviolent 

23 movements that established and protected civil 

24 rights around the world. 

25 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Bureau of Educational 

26 and Cultural Affairs (referred to in this section as the ‘BuVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Mar 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1150.IH H1150

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1 reau’) shall administer the Fellowship Program in accord2 ance with policy guidelines established by the Fulbright 

3 Foreign Scholarship Board, in consultation with the bina4 tional Fulbright Commissions and United States Embas5 sies. 

6 ‘‘(d) SELECTION OF FELLOWS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall annually 

8 select qualified individuals to participate in the Fel9 lowship Program. The Bureau may determine the 

10 number of fellows selected each year, which, when11 ever feasible, shall be not fewer than 25. 

12 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—To the extent practicable, 

13 the Bureau shall conduct outreach at institutions 

14 the Bureau determines are likely to produce a range 

15 of qualified applicants. 

16 ‘‘(e) FELLOWSHIP ORIENTATION.—The Bureau shall 

17 organize and administer a fellowship orientation that 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) be held in Washington, DC, or at another 

20 location selected by the Bureau; 

21 ‘‘(2) include programming to honor the legacy 

22 of Representative John Lewis; and 

23 ‘‘(3) be held on an annual basis. 

24 ‘‘(f) STRUCTURE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) WORK PLAN.—To carry out the purposes 

2 described in subsection (b)(2)— 

3 ‘‘(A) each fellow selected pursuant to sub4 section (d) shall arrange an internship or re5 search placement— 

6 ‘‘(i) with a nongovernmental organiza7 tion, academic institution, or other organi8 zation approved by the Bureau; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) in a country with an operational 

10 Fulbright U.S. Student Program; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the Bureau shall, for each fellow, ap12 prove a work plan that identifies the target ob13 jectives for the fellow, including specific duties 

14 and responsibilities relating to those objectives. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONFERENCES; PRESENTATIONS.—Each 

16 fellow shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) attend the fellowship orientation de18 scribed in subsection (e); 

19 ‘‘(B) not later than the date that is 1 year 

20 after the end of the fellowship period, attend a 

21 fellowship summit organized and administered 

22 by the Bureau, which, whenever feasible, shall 

23 be held in a location of importance to the civil 

24 rights movement in the United States and may 


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1 coincide with other events facilitated by the Bu2 reau; and 

3 ‘‘(C) at such summit, give a presentation 

4 on lessons learned during the period of fellow5 ship. 

6 ‘‘(3) FELLOWSHIP PERIOD.—Each fellowship 

7 under this section shall continue for a period deter8 mined by the Bureau, which, whenever feasible, shall 

9 be not shorter than 10 months. 

10 ‘‘(g) FELLOWSHIP AWARD.—The Bureau shall pro11 vide each fellow under this section with an allowance that 

12 is equal to the amount needed for— 

13 ‘‘(1) the fellow’s reasonable costs during the fel14 lowship period; and 

15 ‘‘(2) travel and lodging expenses related to at16 tending the orientation and summit required under 

17 subsection (e)(2). 

18 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of completion of the Fellowship Program by the initial co20 hort of fellows selected under subsection (d), and on an 

21 annual basis thereafter, the Secretary of State shall sub22 mit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

23 of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela24 tions of the Senate a report providing information on the 


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1 implementation of the Fellowship Program, including 

2 on— 

3 ‘‘(1) the demographics of the cohort of fellows 

4 who completed a fellowship during the preceding 1- 

5 year period; 

6 ‘‘(2) a description of internship and research 

7 placements, and research projects selected, under 

8 the Fellowship Program, including participant feed9 back on program implementation and feedback of 

10 the Department on lessons learned; 

11 ‘‘(3) a plan for factoring such lessons learned 

12 into future programming; and 

13 ‘‘(4) an analysis of trends relating to the diver14 sity of the cohorts of fellows and the topics of 

15 projects completed over the course of the Fellowship 

16 Program.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO 

18 THE MUTUAL EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 

19 EXCHANGE ACT OF 1961A. 

20 Section 112(a) of the Mutual Educational and Cul21 tural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2460(a)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

24 inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 

2 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(10) the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship 

5 Program established under section 115, which pro6 vides funding for international internships and re7 search placements for early- to mid-career individ8 uals from the United States to study nonviolent civil 

9 rights movements in self-arranged placements with 

10 universities or nongovernmental organizations in for11 eign countries.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. SUNSET. 

13 The authority to carry out the John Lewis Civil 

14 Rights Fellowship Program established under section 115 

15 of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 

16 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.), as added by section 2, 

17 shall expire on the date that is 7 years after the date of 

18 the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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