II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1329 

To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out activities to support 

Armenian Genocide education programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2023 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 

Administration 

A BILL 

To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out activities 

to support Armenian Genocide 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Armenian Genocide 

5 Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United States has demonstrated a com9 mitment to remembrance and education about the 


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1 Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 through the 

2 United States Government’s May 28, 1951, written 

3 statement to the International Court of Justice re4 garding the Convention on the Prevention and Pun5 ishment of the Crime of Genocide; through President 

6 Ronald Reagan’s Proclamation No. 4838 on April 

7 22, 1981; by H.J. Res 148, adopted on April 8, 

8 1975; H.J. Res 247, adopted on September 10, 

9 1984; H. Res. 296, adopted on October 29, 2019; S. 

10 Res. 150, adopted on December 12, 2019; and 

11 President Joe Biden’s April 24, 2021, statement 

12 recognizing the Armenian Genocide. 

13 (2) H. Res. 296 and S. Res. 150 cite the Otto14 man Empire’s ‘‘campaign of genocide against Arme15 nian, Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, 

16 Maronite and other Christians’’, and call on the 

17 United States to— 

18 (A) ‘‘reject efforts to enlist, engage, or oth19 erwise associate the United States Government 

20 with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any 

21 other genocide’’; and 

22 (B) ‘‘encourage education and public un23 derstanding of the facts of the Armenian Geno24 cide, including the United States role in the hu25 manitarian relief effort, and the relevance of 


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1 the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes 

2 against humanity’’. 

3 (3) Today, those who deny that the Ottoman 

4 Empire systematically planned, organized, and im5 plemented a campaign of genocide against Arme6 nian, Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, 

7 Maronite, and other Christians or who seek to dis8 tort the true nature of these crimes continue to find 

9 forums, especially online. This denial and distortion 

10 dishonors those who were persecuted, murdered, dis11 possessed, and exiled, making it even more of a na12 tional imperative to educate students in the United 

13 States so that they may explore the lessons that 

14 these crimes provide for all people, sensitize commu15 nities to the circumstances that gave rise to these 

16 crimes, and help youth be less susceptible to the 

17 falsehood of genocide denial and distortion and to 

18 the destructive messages of hate that arise from de19 nial and distortion. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.—The term ‘‘Arme23 nian Genocide’’ means Ottoman Turkey’s systematic 

24 and deliberate state-sponsored mass murder, na25 tional dispossession, cultural erasure, and exile of 


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1 millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, 

2 Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other 

3 Christians, between 1915 and 1923. 

4 (2) ARMENIAN GENOCIDE EDUCATION PRO5 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Armenian Genocide education 

6 program’’ means a program that has as its specific 

7 and primary purpose the improvement of awareness 

8 and understanding of the history, lessons, con9 sequences, and ongoing costs of the Armenian Geno10 cide, and which will serve as a means of promoting 

11 justice and preventing genocide, hate, and bigotry 

12 against any group of people. 

13 (3) DENIAL.—The term ‘‘denial’’ refers to dis14 course and propaganda that claims that the Arme15 nian Genocide did not take place. 

16 (4) DISTORTION.—The term ‘‘distortion’’ refers 

17 specifically to any attempt to excuse or minimize, in 

18 its entirety or in its principal elements, the Arme19 nian Genocide, including efforts to blame the victims 

20 for causing their own genocide, or to portray the Ar21 menian Genocide as a positive historical event. 

22 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

23 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

24 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec25 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 21 7801). 


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1 SEC. 4. PROGRAM DESCRIBED. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF PRO3 GRAM.—The Librarian of Congress shall establish and 

4 carry out a program to support Armenian Genocide edu5 cation programs by— 

6 (1) carrying out the activities described in sub7 section (b); 

8 (2) entering into agreements with program par9 ticipants under section 5; and 

10 (3) providing online resources under section 6. 

11 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities described in this sub12 section are as follows: 

13 (1) The development and national dissemination 

14 of accurate, relevant, and accessible resources to 

15 promote understanding about how and why the Ar16 menian Genocide happened, which shall include dig17 ital resources and may include other types of re18 sources, such as print resources and traveling exhibi19 tions. 

20 (2) The development, national dissemination, 

21 and implementation of principles of sound pedagogy 

22 for teaching about the Armenian Genocide. 

23 (3) The provision of professional development 

24 services for entities participating in the program 

25 under an agreement entered into under section 5, 

26 such as through— 


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1 (A) local, regional, and national workshops 

2 and teacher trainings in conjunction with geno3 cide education centers and other appropriate 

4 partners; 

5 (B) engagement with local educational 

6 agencies and high schools and schools that in7 clude one of the middle grades that are inde8 pendent of any local educational agency; and 

9 (C) the operation and expansion of a 

10 teacher fellowship program to cultivate and sup11 port leaders in Armenian Genocide education. 

12 (4) Engagement with State and local education 

13 leaders to encourage the adoption of the resources 

14 developed and supported under the program estab15 lished by this Act into curricula across diverse dis16 ciplines. 

17 (5) Evaluation and research to assess the effec18 tiveness and impact of the Armenian Genocide edu19 cation programs and the other activities carried out 

20 under the program established by this Act, which 

21 may include the preparation and use of material for 

22 the annual report required under section 8. 


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1 SEC. 5. ENGAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICI2 PANTS. 

3 (a) AGREEMENTS WITH PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.— 

4 The Librarian of Congress may enter into agreements 

5 with eligible entities under which such entities may serve 

6 as program participants in the program established by this 

7 Act. 

8 (b) CONTENTS OF AGREEMENTS.—An agreement en9 tered into under this section between the Librarian and 

10 an eligible entity shall include the following elements: 

11 (1) A description of the services and assistance 

12 provided to the entity by the Librarian. 

13 (2) A description of the activities to be carried 

14 out by the entity with such services and assistance. 

15 (3) The length of the period in which the agree16 ment shall be in effect. 

17 (4) Such other elements as may be agreed to by 

18 the Librarian and the entity, consistent with the 

19 program established by this Act. 

20 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to serve as a 

21 program participant in the program established by this 

22 Act if— 

23 (1) the entity is a local educational agency, a 

24 school that is independent of any local educational 

25 agency, or an entity that works with or for a local 


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1 educational agency or a school that is independent 

2 of any local educational agency; and 

3 (2) the entity submits to the Librarian, at such 

4 time and in such form as the Librarian may require, 

5 an application containing such information and as6 surances as the Librarian may require. 

7 (d) PRIORITY.—In selecting among eligible entities 

8 for participating in the program established under this 

9 Act, the Librarian shall give priority to applications from 

10 entities who are local educational agencies, schools that 

11 are independent of any local educational agency, or enti12 ties that work with or for a local educational agency or 

13 a school that is independent of any local educational agen14 cy, that do not, at the time application is made, offer any 

15 Armenian Genocide education program. 

16 SEC. 6. ONLINE EDUCATION RESOURCES. 

17 (a) WEBSITE.—The Librarian of Congress shall 

18 maintain on the website of the Library of Congress a pub19 licly available special section designated for Armenian 

20 Genocide education resources to improve awareness and 

21 understanding of this Genocide and educate individuals on 

22 the lessons of the Armenian Genocide as a means to raise 

23 awareness about the importance of preventing genocide, 

24 hate, and bigotry against any group of people. 


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1 (b) INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION.—The Librarian 

2 shall distribute information about the activities funded 

3 under this Act through the website of the Library of Con4 gress, and shall respond to inquiries for supplementary in5 formation concerning such activities. 

6 (c) BEST PRACTICES.—The information distributed 

7 by the Librarian under this section shall include best prac8 tices for educators on how to teach about the Armenian 

9 Genocide. 

10 SEC. 7. PRIVATE SUPPORT. 

11 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—The Librarian of 

12 Congress may solicit, accept, hold, administer, invest, and 

13 use donated funds and gifts, bequests, and devises of prop14 erty, both real and personal, to support the activities car15 ried out under this Act, subject to subsection (c). 

16 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SEPARATE GIFT AC17 COUNT.—There is established in the Treasury (among the 

18 accounts of the Library of Congress) a gift account for 

19 the activities carried out under this Act. 

20 (c) DEDICATION OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any 

21 other provision of law— 

22 (1) any funds donated to the Librarian to carry 

23 out activities under this Act shall be deposited en24 tirely into the gift account established under sub25 section (b); 


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1 (2) the funds contained in such account shall be 

2 used solely to carry out activities under this Act; and 

3 (3) the Librarian may not deposit into such ac4 count any funds donated to the Librarian which are 

5 not donated for the exclusive purpose of carrying out 

6 activities under this Act. 

7 SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT. 

8 Not later than February 1 of each year (beginning 

9 with 2024), the Librarian of Congress shall submit to 

10 Congress a report describing the activities carried out 

11 under this Act. 

12 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

14 this Act $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each of the 

15 4 succeeding fiscal years. 

Æ 


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