II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2858 

To direct the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Chairperson of 

the National Endowment for the Arts, to award grants for arts and 

creative workforce programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 

Mr. LUJA ́N (for himself, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. PADILLA, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) 

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

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the 

Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts, 

to award grants for arts and creative workforce programs. 

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 ‘‘Creative Economy Re5 vitalization Act’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2858 IS

1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL GRANTS FOR ARTS AND CREATIVE 

2 WORKFORCE PROGRAMS. 

3 Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Innovation and 

4 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221 et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating section 172 (29 U.S.C. 

6 3227) as section 173; and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 171 (29 U.S.C. 

8 3226) the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 172. NATIONAL GRANTS FOR ARTS AND CREATIVE 

10 WORKFORCE PROGRAMS. 

11 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts 

12 appropriated under subsection (f), Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Chairperson of the National Endowment for 

14 the Arts, shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to 

15 eligible entities to carry out the arts and creative work16 force programs described in subsection (c)(1). 

17 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

18 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 

19 Secretary and the Chairperson an application at such 

20 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 

21 the Secretary and the Chairperson may require, which 

22 shall include— 

23 ‘‘(1) a description of the arts and creative 

24 workforce program the eligible entity plans to carry 

25 out with the grant, including— 

26 ‘‘(A) cost estimates; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2858 IS

1 ‘‘(B) timelines; 

2 ‘‘(C) a description of the final product and 

3 how such product will be made accessible to the 

4 public; 

5 ‘‘(D) the proposed number of employees 

6 the program will employ, including a description 

7 of the creative workers the program will em8 ploy; 

9 ‘‘(E) the number of such proposed employ10 ees who have barriers to employment and a de11 scription of such barriers; and 

12 ‘‘(F) whether the eligible entity will be 

13 working in coordination with a State board or 

14 a local board to employ individuals under the 

15 program, and a description of such coordina16 tion; and 

17 ‘‘(2) a good-faith certification that— 

18 ‘‘(A) during the grant period and during 

19 the 2-year period beginning after the such 

20 grant period— 

21 ‘‘(i) the eligible entity will not 

22 outsource or offshore jobs for the arts and 

23 creative workforce program carried out 

24 with the grant; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2858 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) the eligible entity will not abro2 gate existing collective bargaining agree3 ments of employees of such program; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the eligible entity will remain neutral 

5 in any union organizing effort by the employees 

6 of such program during the grant period; and 

7 ‘‘(C) in carrying out such program, the eli8 gible entity will comply with the wage and safe9 ty standards described in subsections (n) and 

10 (m) of section 5 of the National Foundation on 

11 the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 954). 

13 ‘‘(c) USES OF FUNDS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ARTS AND CREATIVE WORKFORCE PRO15 GRAMS.—An eligible entity that receives a grant 

16 under this section shall use such grant to carry out 

17 an arts and creative workforce program that— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) provide art or arts programming 

20 that is publicly available and accessible to 

21 other individuals by the eligible entity; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) employ individuals in the labor 

23 market area served by the eligible entity, 

24 which may include the use of such grant to 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2858 IS

1 cover the cost of wages for such individ2 uals; and 

3 ‘‘(B) may include— 

4 ‘‘(i) outdoor events for the community 

5 (such as concerts, street fairs, art fairs, 

6 community arts events, performances, live 

7 music, or other arts-based activities); 

8 ‘‘(ii) interviews and written stories 

9 that capture and document the history of 

10 the United States— 

11 ‘‘(I) through photographs, nar12 ratives, storytelling, murals, films, 

13 plays, and other media; and 

14 ‘‘(II) that illuminate narratives 

15 of first responders during the 

16 COVID–19 pandemic, or marginalized 

17 narratives and histories of all individ18 uals, regardless of income, age, race, 

19 religion, legal status, sexual orienta20 tion, or gender identity; 

21 ‘‘(iii) temporary or permanent visual, 

22 literary, or performative public artworks 

23 celebrating community identity, such as— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2858 IS

1 ‘‘(I) two- and three-dimensional 

2 visual artworks such as murals, paint3 ed benches, sculptures, and statues; 

4 ‘‘(II) interactive or sound-based 

5 artworks; and 

6 ‘‘(III) performative artworks like 

7 concerts, readings, festivals, or dis8 plays of dance or theater; 

9 ‘‘(iv) poetry, writing, photography, 

10 theater, visual or media arts, or dance ex11 hibitions; and 

12 ‘‘(v) programs and works that support 

13 the arts in both schools and community 

14 cultural spaces (including arts-integrated 

15 teaching, place-based arts and cultural 

16 practice, intergenerational education, oral 

17 histories, and the preservation of folk tra18 ditions that elevate a community’s history 

19 and culture, including on Tribal land). 

20 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

21 Not more than 5 percent of the funds appropriated 

22 under subsection (f) for a fiscal year may be used 

23 for administrative costs by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the first 

25 grant is awarded under this section, and each year thereVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Sep 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2858.IS S2858

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 2858 IS

1 after, the Secretary shall report to Congress on the out2 comes of the programs funded under this section for the 

3 preceding year, including— 

4 ‘‘(1) the number of grants awarded for such 

5 year to eligible entities, disaggregated by the type of 

6 eligible entity listed in subsection (g)(2); and 

7 ‘‘(2) a description of each program assisted 

8 with such a grant, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) the geographic location of the pro10 gram; 

11 ‘‘(B) the length of employment of an indi12 vidual who is employed by the program; 

13 ‘‘(C) the percentage of such individuals 

14 who are in unsubsidized employment during the 

15 second quarter after exit from the program; 

16 ‘‘(D) the percentage of such individuals 

17 who are in unsubsidized employment during the 

18 fourth quarter after exit from the program; and 

19 ‘‘(E) the median earnings of such individ20 uals who are in unsubsidized employment dur21 ing the second quarter after exit from the pro22 gram. 

23 ‘‘(e) COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP.—In accordance with 

24 section 200.315 of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations 

25 (or any successor regulation), and notwithstanding section 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 2858 IS

1 2900.13 of such title (or any successor regulation), an au2 thor of a work that is created under any program funded 

3 under this section and for which copyright protection is 

4 available under title 17, United States Code, shall retain 

5 ownership of the copyright to that work for the purposes 

6 of that title. The Federal Government may— 

7 ‘‘(1) obtain, reproduce, publish, or otherwise 

8 use the work produced under this section; and 

9 ‘‘(2) authorize another to receive, reproduce, 

10 publish, or otherwise use the work for a Federal 

11 purpose. 

12 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated $300,000,000 to carry 

14 out this section for fiscal years 2022 through 2024. 

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

16 ‘‘(1) CREATIVE WORKER.—The term ‘creative 

17 worker’— 

18 ‘‘(A) means any individual who earns (or 

19 previously earned) income through creative, cul20 tural, or artistic-based pursuits to produce 

21 ideas, content, goods, and services, without re22 gard to whether such income is earned through 

23 employment as an independent contractor or as 

24 an employee for an employer; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 2858 IS

1 ‘‘(B) may include an art director, artist, 

2 animator, sculptor, writer, author, poet, photog3 rapher, musician, singer, producer, director, 

4 actor, announcer, storyteller, comedian, dancer, 

5 architect, designer, programmer, choreographer, 

6 or a technician, backstage or behind-the-scenes 

7 staff, curator, or other support staff who make 

8 creative work possible. 

9 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en10 tity’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a State; 

12 ‘‘(B) a local area (or local board); 

13 ‘‘(C) an entity described in section 166(c); 

14 ‘‘(D) a public or private nonprofit agency 

15 or organization (including a consortium of such 

16 agencies or organizations) that employs, or sup17 ports the employment of, creative workers; or 

18 ‘‘(E) a State workforce agency.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR THE NEA. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Chair21 person of the National Endowment for the Arts such sums 

22 as may be necessary for such Chairperson to provide the 

23 consultation required under section 172 of the Workforce 

24 Innovation and Opportunity Act, as amended by section 

25 2. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 2858 IS

1 SEC. 4. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 The table of contents of the Workforce Innovation 

3 and Opportunity Act is amended by striking the item re4 lating to section 172 and inserting the following: 

‘‘172. National grants for arts and creative workforce programs. 

‘‘173. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS