II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4196 

To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish 

an Office of Civic Bridgebuilding within the Corporation for National 

and Community Service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 18, 2024 

Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 

to establish an Office of Civic Bridgebuilding within the 

Corporation for National and Community Service, 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 ‘‘Building Civic Bridges 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING. 

2 Subtitle H of title I of the National and Community 

3 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12653 et seq.) is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘PART VI—CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING 

6 ‘‘SEC. 198T. OFFICE OF CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be in the Cor8 poration an Office of Civic Bridgebuilding (in this section 

9 referred to as the ‘Office’). The Office shall be headed by 

10 an Officer of Civic Bridgebuilding, who shall be designated 

11 by the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to section 195(b). 

12 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Officer of Civic Bridgebuilding 

13 shall carry out each of the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) Administer the grant program described in 

15 subsection (d) to support civic bridgebuilding across 

16 the United States, including by establishing stand17 ardized criteria (based on principles of scientific re18 search and input through the consultation process 

19 under subsection (c)) to track the effectiveness of 

20 projects and activities funded under such program. 

21 ‘‘(2) Support the Corporation in providing 

22 training in skills and techniques relevant to civic 

23 bridgebuilding (based on principles of scientific re24 search and input through the consultation process 

25 under subsection (c))— 


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1 ‘‘(A) for participants (including individuals 

2 who have been selected to be participants) of a 

3 program receiving funding under the authority 

4 of the national service laws; and 

5 ‘‘(B) upon request by an organization that 

6 receives funding under the authority of the na7 tional service laws or that is carrying out a pro8 gram in which participants described in sub9 paragraph (A) are participating, for such orga10 nization. 

11 ‘‘(3) Support research and evaluations on civic 

12 bridgebuilding and the dissemination of related in13 formation, including through— 

14 ‘‘(A) evaluation and oversight of the grant 

15 program described in subsection (d); 

16 ‘‘(B) as the Corporation determines nec17 essary, collaboration (including through the 

18 evaluation of the activities of the Corporation 

19 relating to civic bridgebuilding and civic en20 gagement) between the Office and— 

21 ‘‘(i) other offices (such as the Office 

22 of Research and Evaluation), teams, or in23 dividuals within the Corporation; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) other Federal agencies, including 

25 the Community Relations Service of the 


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1 Department of Justice, the United States 

2 Agency for International Development, and 

3 the United States Institute of Peace; and 

4 ‘‘(C) the establishment of a publicly avail5 able collection of publications for a research 

6 base for the purpose of assembling research fo7 cused on evaluating the extent to which civic 

8 bridgebuilding and civic engagement activities 

9 strengthen or weaken other civic bridgebuilding 

10 and civic engagement activities and outcomes in 

11 the United States. 

12 ‘‘(4) Activate and sustain a public conversation 

13 about the importance of civic bridgebuilding by con14 vening and coordinating civic bridgebuilding pro15 grams and providing resources, networking, and col16 laboration opportunities to individuals and entities in 

17 the civic bridgebuilding field for the purpose of dis18 seminating and refining best practices based on 

19 principles of scientific research and input through 

20 the consultation process under subsection (c). 

21 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION PROCESS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 

23 under this section, the Officer of Civic 

24 Bridgebuilding shall consult with members of the 

25 civic bridgebuilding field, including for purposes of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) identifying strategic priorities for the 

2 Office; 

3 ‘‘(B) developing the standardized criteria 

4 required under subsection (b)(1); 

5 ‘‘(C) supporting the development and dis6 semination of research under subsection (b)(3); 

7 ‘‘(D) developing best practices for civic 

8 bridgebuilding under subsection (b)(4); and 

9 ‘‘(E) administering the grant program de10 scribed in subsection (d). 

11 ‘‘(2) DIVERSITY IN CONSULTATION.—In car12 rying out the consultation under paragraph (1), the 

13 Officer of Civic Bridgebuilding shall consult mem14 bers of the civic bridgebuilding field who represent 

15 diverse ideological, religious, racial, regional, profes16 sional, or ethnic communities, including such mem17 bers— 

18 ‘‘(A) who represent eligible entities en19 gaged in civic bridgebuilding; 

20 ‘‘(B) who represent existing or potential 

21 programs and grantees receiving funding under 

22 the authority of the national service laws, in23 cluding State Service Commissions; 

24 ‘‘(C) who are researchers producing work 

25 based on principles of scientific research related 


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1 to civic bridgebuilding in the United States and 

2 internationally; and 

3 ‘‘(D) who represent other Federal agencies 

4 or public institutions engaged in or supporting 

5 work related to civic bridgebuilding in the 

6 United States and internationally, such as— 

7 ‘‘(i) the Community Relations Service 

8 of the Department of Justice; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the United States Agency for 

10 International Development; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the United States Institute of 

12 Peace. 

13 ‘‘(d) CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING PILOT GRANT PRO14 GRAM.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appro16 priated to carry out this subsection, the Corporation 

17 (acting through the Officer of Civic Bridgebuilding 

18 with input through the consultation process under 

19 subsection (c))— 

20 ‘‘(A) shall carry out a pilot program for a 

21 3-year period to award grants, on a competitive 

22 basis, to eligible entities to support civic 

23 bridgebuilding programs across the United 

24 States for purposes of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) reducing conflict and improving 

2 social cohesion; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) addressing a public concern such 

4 as unmet human, educational, health care, 

5 environmental, or public safety needs; and 

6 ‘‘(B) may carry out such a pilot program 

7 for additional 3-year periods. 

8 ‘‘(2) GRANT PERIOD.—A grant awarded under 

9 this subsection shall be for a 1-year period. Grants 

10 shall be awarded under this subsection in 3 grant 

11 cycles for each 3-year period of the pilot program 

12 carried out under paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

14 grant under this subsection, an eligible entity shall 

15 submit an application to the Corporation at such 

16 time, in such manner, and containing such informa17 tion and assurances as the Corporation may require, 

18 including— 

19 ‘‘(A) a description of the project that will 

20 be funded with the grant; 

21 ‘‘(B) an explanation of how that such 

22 project will— 

23 ‘‘(i) engage communities across lines 

24 of polarization; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) facilitate the establishment or 

2 continuation of civic bridgebuilding and so3 cial cohesion, which may include address4 ing the root causes of polarization and con5 flict as described in the publicly available 

6 collection of publications for a research 

7 base established under subsection 

8 (b)(3)(C); 

9 ‘‘(iii) reflect research supporting the 

10 efficacy and impact of the proposed ap11 proach for the project; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) ensure physical, social, and psy13 chological wellbeing and safety for all par14 ticipants involved in the project, including 

15 for such participants from historically 

16 marginalized communities; 

17 ‘‘(C) a description of best practices 

18 grounded in principles of scientific research for 

19 how such safety will be achieved; and 

20 ‘‘(D) an assurance that the eligible entity 

21 will report outcomes of such project to track ef22 fectiveness based on standardized criteria estab23 lished by the Office of Civic Bridgebuilding 

24 under subsection (b)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(4) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity re2 ceiving a grant under this subsection shall use the 

3 grant funds to carry out a project to advance civic 

4 bridgebuilding in communities across the United 

5 States. 

6 ‘‘(e) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comptroller 

7 General of the United States shall, not later than 18 

8 months after the end of the 3-year period of the program 

9 carried out under subsection (d)(1)(A) and, as applicable, 

10 not later than 18 months after each 3-year period of the 

11 program carried out under subsection (d)(1)(B), submit 

12 to Congress a report, which summarizes and assesses the 

13 effectiveness and impact of the activities carried out under 

14 grants awarded under subsection (d). 

15 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING.—The term ‘civic 

17 bridgebuilding’— 

18 ‘‘(A) means an activity, grounded in prin19 ciples of scientific research, that— 

20 ‘‘(i) fosters respect between diverse 

21 communities; 

22 ‘‘(ii) supports social cohesion and di23 minishes polarization; 

24 ‘‘(iii) forges a sense of common civic 

25 purpose; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) seeks to address a public con2 cern such as unmet human, educational, 

3 health care, environmental, or public safety 

4 needs; and 

5 ‘‘(B) includes— 

6 ‘‘(i) activities that take place in local 

7 communities, where individuals and insti8 tutions come together to build empathy 

9 and social cohesion, strengthen belonging, 

10 and address local issues; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) activities at the field level, where 

12 civic bridgebuilding leaders work together 

13 to share research and best practices, learn 

14 from one another, and grow other civic 

15 bridgebuilding. 

16 ‘‘(2) CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING FIELD.—The term 

17 ‘civic bridgebuilding field’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) the programs, leaders, and commu19 nity groups involved in civic bridgebuilding ac20 tivities; 

21 ‘‘(B) researchers producing work based on 

22 principles of scientific research related to civic 

23 bridgebuilding in the United States and abroad; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) Federal agencies and public institu2 tions engaged in or supporting work related to 

3 civic bridgebuilding in the United States and 

4 internationally. 

5 ‘‘(3) CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING LEADER.—The 

6 term ‘civic bridgebuilding leader’ means an indi7 vidual who leads civic bridgebuilding programs or ef8 forts. 

9 ‘‘(4) CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.—The term ‘civic en10 gagement’ means an individual or collective action 

11 designed to address a public concern such as an 

12 unmet human, educational, health care, environ13 mental, or public safety need. 

14 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en15 tity’ means a nonprofit entity, community- or faith16 based organization, institution of higher education 

17 (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), public in19 stitution, or consortium of any such entities. 

20 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC INSTITUTION.—The term ‘public 

21 institution’ means a library or unit of State, local, 

22 or special purpose government. 

23 ‘‘(7) RESEARCH BASE.—The term ‘research 

24 base’ means any publications that contain observa25 tions, analysis, and conclusions based on principles 


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1 of scientific research with respect to the challenges 

2 of political and social polarization in the United 

3 States, and practical approaches to strengthen social 

4 cohesion, foster a sense of national connection, or 

5 improve intergroup relations in divided communities. 

6 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2027.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

10 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the National 

11 and Community Service Act of 1990 is amended by insert12 ing at the end of the item relating to subtitle H of title 

13 I, the following: 

‘‘PART VI—CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING

‘‘Sec. 198T. Office of Civic Bridgebuilding.’’. 

Æ 


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