IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 943 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 28, 2020 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To authorize the Director of the United States Holocaust 

Memorial Museum to support Holocaust education programs, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Never Again Education 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The United States has demonstrated a com7 mitment to remembrance and education about the 

8 Holocaust through bilateral relationships and en9 gagement in international organizations such as the 

10 United Nations and the International Holocaust Re11 membrance Alliance; the United States works to 

12 promote Holocaust education as a means to under13 stand the importance of democratic principles, use 

14 and abuse of power, and to raise awareness about 

15 the importance of genocide prevention today. 

16 (2) The Congress has played a critical role in 

17 preserving the memory of the Holocaust and pro18 moting awareness, including by authorizing the 

19 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as an 

20 independent establishment of the Federal Govern21 ment to ensure that ‘‘the study of the Holocaust be22 come part of the curriculum in every school system 

23 in the country’’, as well as by establishing a national 

24 Holocaust Remembrance Day in 1978. 

25 (3) 75 years after the conclusion of World War 

26 II, with the decreasing number of eyewitnesses and 


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1 growing distance of students and their families from 

2 this history, it is important to institutionalize edu3 cation about the events of the Holocaust such as the 

4 German Nazis’ racist ideology, propaganda, and 

5 plan to lead a state to war and, with their collabo6 rators, kill millions—including the systematic mur7 der of 6,000,000 Jewish people; as well as the perse8 cution and murder of millions of others in the name 

9 of racial purity, political, ideological, and behavioral 

10 grounds, among them Roma, the disabled, the Slavs, 

11 Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and 

12 homosexuals. 

13 (4) As intolerance, antisemitism, and bigotry 

14 are promoted by hate groups, Holocaust education 

15 provides a context in which to learn about the dan16 ger of what can happen when hate goes unchal17 lenged and there is indifference in the face of the 

18 oppression of others; learning how and why the Hol19 ocaust happened is an important component of the 

20 education of citizens of the United States. 

21 (5) Today, those who deny that the Holocaust 

22 occurred or distort the true nature of the Holocaust 

23 continue to find forums, especially online; this denial 

24 and distortion dishonors those who were persecuted, 

25 and murdered, making it even more of a national 


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1 imperative to educate students in the United States 

2 so that they may explore the lessons that the Holo3 caust provides for all people, sensitize communities 

4 to the circumstances that gave rise to the Holocaust, 

5 and help youth be less susceptible to the falsehood 

6 of Holocaust denial and distortion and to the de7 structive messages of hate that arise from Holocaust 

8 denial and distortion. 

9 (6) Currently, 12 States (California, Con10 necticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michi11 gan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 

12 and Rhode Island) require by law that schools teach 

13 students about the Holocaust; more schools and 

14 teachers, including those in underserved commu15 nities, can and should deliver quality Holocaust edu16 cation. 

17 (7) For more than 30 years, the United States 

18 Holocaust Memorial Museum has worked to build 

19 and support the field of Holocaust education, and 

20 advance the quality and sustainability of Holocaust 

21 education at the local, State, and national levels, by 

22 engaging teachers and students across disciplines 

23 and grade levels. 

24 (8) The Federal Government, through support 

25 for educational activities of national museums estabVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:26 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H943.RFS H943

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1 lished under Federal law, can assist teachers in ef2 forts to incorporate historically accurate instruction 

3 on human rights atrocities, including the Holocaust, 

4 in curricula. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) ANTISEMITISM.—The term ‘‘antisemitism’’ 

8 means a certain perception of Jews, which may be 

9 expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and 

10 physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed 

11 toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals or their 

12 property, toward Jewish community institutions and 

13 religious facilities. 

14 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

15 the Director of the United States Holocaust Memo16 rial Museum. 

17 (3) ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICIPANT.—The 

18 term ‘‘eligible program participant’’ means— 

19 (A) a high school teacher, a teacher of one 

20 of the middle grades, or a school leader of a 

21 high school or a school that includes one of the 

22 middle grades (as such terms are defined in 

23 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 


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1 (B) an educational leader or expert who is 

2 not employed by a local educational agency (as 

3 defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

4 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

5 7801)) or an elementary school or secondary 

6 school (as such terms are so defined) that is 

7 independent of any local educational agency; or 

8 (C) a prospective teacher enrolled in a pro9 gram of postsecondary education coursework or 

10 preservice clinical education. 

11 (4) HOLOCAUST.—The term ‘‘the Holocaust’’ 

12 means the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored 

13 persecution and murder of 6,000,000 Jews by the 

14 Nazi regime and its allies and collaborators. During 

15 the era of the Holocaust, German authorities also 

16 targeted other groups because of their perceived ‘‘ra17 cial inferiority’’, such as Roma, the disabled, and 

18 Slavs. Other groups were persecuted on political, 

19 ideological, and behavioral grounds, among them 

20 Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and 

21 homosexuals. 

22 (5) HOLOCAUST DENIAL AND DISTORTION.— 

23 The term ‘‘Holocaust denial and distortion’’ means 

24 discourse and propaganda that deny the historical 

25 reality and the extent of the extermination of the 


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1 Jews by the Nazis and their accomplices during 

2 World War II, known as the Holocaust. Holocaust 

3 denial refers specifically to any attempt to claim that 

4 the Holocaust did not take place. Holocaust distor5 tion refers to efforts to excuse or minimize the 

6 events of the Holocaust or its principal elements, in7 cluding collaborators and allies of Nazi Germany, to 

8 blame the Jews for causing their own genocide, or 

9 to portray the Holocaust as a positive historical 

10 event. 

11 (6) HOLOCAUST EDUCATION CENTER.—The 

12 term ‘‘Holocaust education center’’ means an insti13 tution that furthers the teaching and learning about 

14 the Holocaust by offering programs for students and 

15 training for teachers and other types of professional 

16 leadership audiences. 

17 (7) HOLOCAUST EDUCATION PROGRAM.—The 

18 term ‘‘Holocaust education program’’ means a pro19 gram that has as its specific and primary purpose 

20 to improve awareness and understanding of the Hol21 ocaust and educate individuals on the lessons of the 

22 Holocaust as a means to raise awareness about the 

23 importance of preventing genocide, hate, and bigotry 

24 against any group of people. 


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1 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

3 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

4 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and each of the 4 suc5 ceeding fiscal years. 

6 (b) DONATIONS, GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES OF

7 PROPERTY.—In accordance with chapter 23 of title 36, 

8 United States Code, and in furtherance of the purposes 

9 of this Act, the Director is authorized to solicit, accept, 

10 hold, administer, invest, and use donated funds and gifts, 

11 bequests, and devises of property, both real and personal. 

12 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—The Director, using funds ap13 propriated under subsection (a) and resources received 

14 under subsection (b), and including through the engage15 ment of eligible program participants as appropriate— 

16 (1) shall develop and nationally disseminate ac17 curate, relevant, and accessible resources to promote 

18 understanding about how and why the Holocaust 

19 happened, which shall include digital resources and 

20 may include other types of resources, such as print 

21 resources and traveling exhibitions; and 

22 (2) may carry out one or more of the following 

23 Holocaust education program activities: 

24 (A) Development, dissemination, and im25 plementation of principles of sound pedagogy 

26 for teaching about the Holocaust. 


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1 (B) Provision of professional development 

2 for eligible program participants, such as 

3 through— 

4 (i) local, regional, and national work5 shops; 

6 (ii) teacher trainings in conjunction 

7 with Holocaust education centers and 

8 other appropriate partners; 

9 (iii) engagement with— 

10 (I) local educational agencies (as 

11 defined in section 8101 of the Ele12 mentary and Secondary Education 

13 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 21 7801)); 

14 and 

15 (II) high schools and schools that 

16 include one of the middle grades (as 

17 so defined) that are independent of 

18 any local educational agency; and 

19 (iv) operation and expansion of a 

20 teacher fellowship program to cultivate and 

21 support leaders in Holocaust education. 

22 (C) Engagement with State and local edu23 cation leaders to encourage the adoption of re24 sources supported under this Act into curricula 

25 across diverse disciplines. 


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1 (D) Evaluation and research to assess the 

2 effectiveness and impact of Holocaust education 

3 programs, which may include completion of the 

4 report required under section 8. 

5 (d) APPLICATIONS.—The Director may seek the en6 gagement of an eligible program participant under sub7 section (c) by requiring submission of an application to 

8 the Director at such time, in such manner, and based on 

9 such competitive criteria as the Director may require. 

10 SEC. 5. ONLINE HOLOCAUST EDUCATION RESOURCES. 

11 (a) WEBSITE.—The Director shall maintain on the 

12 website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 

13 a special section designated for Holocaust education re14 sources to improve awareness and understanding of the 

15 Holocaust and educate individuals on the lessons of the 

16 Holocaust as a means to raise awareness about the impor17 tance of preventing genocide, hate, and bigotry against 

18 any group of people. The website and resources shall be 

19 made publically available. 

20 (b) INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION.—The Director 

21 shall distribute information about the activities funded 

22 under this Act through the website of the United States 

23 Holocaust Memorial Museum, and shall respond to inquir24 ies for supplementary information concerning such activi25 ties. 


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1 (c) BEST PRACTICES.—The information distributed 

2 by the Director shall include best practices for educators. 

3 SEC. 6. UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COUNCIL. 

4 The United States Holocaust Memorial Council es5 tablished under section 2302 of title 36, United States 

6 Code, shall have governance responsibility for the pro7 grams and activities carried out under this Act in accord8 ance with chapter 23 of title 36, United States Code. 

9 SEC. 7. ENGAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICI10 PANTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible program participant 

12 shall be engaged at the discretion of the Director to par13 ticipate in Holocaust education program activities author14 ized under this Act and approved by the Director pursuant 

15 to an application described in section 4(d). 

16 (b) ENGAGEMENT PERIOD.—Engagement of eligible 

17 program participants under this Act shall be for a period 

18 determined by the Director. 

19 (c) PRIORITY.—In engaging eligible program partici20 pants under section 4, the Director shall give priority to 

21 applications from such participants who work for or with 

22 a local educational agency, or a school that is independent 

23 of any local educational agency, that does not, at the time 

24 application is made, offer any Holocaust education pro25 gramming. 


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1 SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 Not later than February 1 of each year, the Director 

3 shall submit to the Congress a report describing the activi4 ties carried out under this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 27, 

2020. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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