II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 879 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to support 

educational programs in civics and history, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2021 

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

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

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants 

to support educational programs in civics and history, 

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 ‘‘Civics Secures Democ5 racy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

7 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to support local educational agencies, ele9 mentary schools, and secondary schools in selecting 


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1 and making available to all students innovative, en2 gaging curricula and programs in civics and history 

3 that prepare them to understand American Govern4 ment and engage in American democratic practices 

5 as citizens and residents of the United States; 

6 (2) to provide resources to institutions of higher 

7 education for the purposes of offering effective pro8 fessional development opportunities to enable and 

9 encourage teachers to deliver instruction that en10 gages students in learning civics and history; 

11 (3) to provide resources to nonprofit organiza12 tions that have developed, or are developing, pro13 grams in civic education that incorporate practices 

14 that are proven to be effective in engaging students, 

15 and to assist in making such curricula and programs 

16 more widely available to schools and students, par17 ticularly in rural and inner-city urban areas that 

18 have traditionally been underserved by civic learning 

19 programs; 

20 (4) to provide resources to continue and expand 

21 research into practices, methods, and approaches 

22 that are effective in instructing elementary and sec23 ondary school students in civics and history; 

24 (5) to diversify the civics, history, and govern25 ment education workforce by offering targeted incenVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Apr 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879

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1 tives and honoring those who commit to the profes2 sion; 

3 (6) to encourage participation in the National 

4 Assessment of Educational Progress assessments in 

5 civics and history in grades 4, 8, and 12, using a 

6 methodology sufficient to provide accurate State7 level data on student proficiency in civics and history 

8 disaggregated so as to have statistical significance 

9 for every State; 

10 (7) to reauthorize and modernize the existing 

11 Federal civics education grant program for institu12 tions of higher education, including by strengthening 

13 academic independence and supporting partnerships 

14 between academic centers and local educational 

15 agencies; and 

16 (8) to strengthen and make independently sus17 tainable the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Founda18 tion Trust Fund and the James Madison Memorial 

19 Fellowship Trust Fund, which respectively support 

20 exceptional Americans who aspire to careers in pub21 lic service and as secondary school history, govern22 ment, and civics educators. 

23 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

24 shall be construed to authorize the Secretary of Education 

25 to prescribe a civics and history curriculum. 


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1 TITLE I—GRANT PROGRAM 

2 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

3 In this Act: 

4 (1) The term ‘‘civics’’, when used with respect 

5 to an educational program, means a program that 

6 addresses the following: 

7 (A) Acquisition of civic knowledge, includ8 ing an understanding of the history, heritage, 

9 civic life, and civic institutions of the United 

10 States. 

11 (B) Acquisition of civic skills, such as the 

12 ability to analyze text and determine the reli13 ability of sources and an understanding of the 

14 ways in which civic institutions operate and how 

15 individuals may be involved in civic life. 

16 (C) Acquisition of civic dispositions, values 

17 such as appreciation for free speech, civil dis18 course, tolerance and inclusion, and under19 standing perspectives that differ from one’s own 

20 as well as a disposition to be civically engaged. 

21 (D) Development of civic behaviors, includ22 ing civic habits and practices such as voting, 

23 serving on juries, engagement in deliberative 

24 discussions, volunteering, attending public 


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1 meetings, and other activities related to civic 

2 life. 

3 (2) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

4 (A) with respect to grant program under 

5 section 103, a State; 

6 (B) with respect to the grant program 

7 under section 104, a qualified nonprofit organi8 zation; 

9 (C) with respect to the grant program 

10 under section 105, an institution of higher edu11 cation; and 

12 (D) with respect to the grant program 

13 under section 106, a qualified researcher. 

14 (3) The term ‘‘evidence-based practices’’ means 

15 practices proven to contribute to the effectiveness of 

16 educational programs in civics, including— 

17 (A) innovative and engaging classroom in18 struction in civics, Government, and history; 

19 (B) service learning and student civic 

20 projects linked to classroom learning; 

21 (C) learning through participation in mod22 els and simulations of democratic processes and 

23 experiential learning; 

24 (D) guided classroom discussion of current 

25 issues and events; 


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1 (E) meaningful participation in school gov2 ernance; and 

3 (F) instruction in media literacy. 

4 (4) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 

5 has the meaning given that term in section 101 of 

6 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 1001). 

8 (5) The term ‘‘National Assessment of Edu9 cational Progress’’ means the National Assessment 

10 of Educational Progress carried out under section 

11 303(b) of the National Assessment of Educational 

12 Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9622(b)). 

13 (6) The term ‘‘qualified nonprofit organization’’ 

14 means an organization that— 

15 (A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

16 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and which is ex17 empt from taxation under section 501(a) of 

18 such Code; and 

19 (B) has experience developing curricula, in20 structional models, and other educational pro21 grams for students in elementary schools and 

22 secondary schools. 

23 (7) The term ‘‘qualified researcher’’ means— 


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1 (A) a nonprofit organization that has abil2 ity and capacity to carry out scientifically valid 

3 research; or 

4 (B) an individual affiliated with such an 

5 organization. 

6 (8) The terms ‘‘English learner’’, ‘‘elementary 

7 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

8 school’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those 

9 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

11 SEC. 102. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available 

13 under section 107 the Secretary of Education is author14 ized to carry out the civics education grant programs de15 scribed in sections 103 through 106. 

16 (b) APPLICATION.—To be considered for a grant 

17 under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit to the Sec18 retary of Education an application at such time, in such 

19 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 

20 may require. 

21 (c) GRANT DURATION.—Each grant under this Act 

22 shall be awarded for a period of not less than 3 years. 

23 (d) PRIORITY.—Except as otherwise provided in this 

24 Act, the Secretary shall prioritize the award of grants to 


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1 eligible entities that demonstrate the greatest potential 

2 to— 

3 (1) improve knowledge and engagement among 

4 students traditionally underserved by comprehensive 

5 civic education and American history programs, in6 cluding rural and inner-city urban students, English 

7 learners, students who have not completed high 

8 school, and other such students; 

9 (2) close gaps in civic knowledge and achieve10 ment among students of different income levels, ra11 cial and ethnic groups, and native languages; 

12 (3) improve performance on the National As13 sessment of Educational Progress assessments in 

14 civics and history among students in grades 4, 8, 

15 and 12; 

16 (4) integrate evidence-based practices for pro17 moting student proficiency and engagement in civics; 

18 and 

19 (5) provide cost-effective, scalable delivery of 

20 programs and services. 

21 SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES. 

22 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu23 cation is authorized to make grants to States, on a com24 petitive basis, to support educational programs in civics 

25 and history in accordance with this section. 


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1 (b) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of each grant to 

2 a State under this section shall be proportional to the 

3 amount received by all local educational agencies in the 

4 State under part A of title I of the Elementary and Sec5 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) 

6 for the previous fiscal year relative to the total such 

7 amount received by all local educational agencies in every 

8 State that receives a grant under this section. 

9 (c) STATE RESERVATION.—A State that receives a 

10 grant under this section may reserve not more than 5 per11 cent of the amount of the grant for— 

12 (1) administrative costs of carrying out the 

13 State’s responsibilities under this section; and 

14 (2) monitoring and evaluating programs and 

15 activities supported with the grant. 

16 (d) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN17 CIES.—A State that receives a grant under this section 

18 shall use not less than 95 percent of the amount of the 

19 grant to make subgrants, on a competitive or formula 

20 basis, to local educational agencies within the State to as21 sist such agencies in carrying out programs to improve 

22 the achievement of elementary and secondary school stu23 dents in the fields of civics and history. 

24 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A State shall use 

25 a grant under this section only to supplement the level 


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1 of Federal, State, and local public funds that would, in 

2 absence of such grant, be made available for the activities 

3 supported by the grant, and not to supplant such funds. 

4 (f) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—As part of the ap5 plication required under section 102(b), a State shall in6 clude a plan describing how the State intends to use the 

7 grant under this section. Each State plan shall include, 

8 at a minimum, the following: 

9 (1) An explanation of how the State will use the 

10 grant to supplement, and not supplant, other public 

11 funds provided for educational programs in civics 

12 and history. 

13 (2) Plans to address civics and history achieve14 ment gaps among students of different income lev15 els, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and native lan16 guages. 

17 (3) Plans to improve civics and history achieve18 ment among traditionally underserved students, in19 cluding rural and urban students and English learn20 ers. 

21 (4) Plans for making subgrants to local edu22 cational agencies as required under subsection (d), 

23 including— 

24 (A) details of how the State intends to dis25 tribute funding to local educational agencies, 


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1 whether by competition or through a formula2 based system; 

3 (B) how the State’s approach to distrib4 uting funds to local educational agencies will 

5 take into account requirements of paragraphs 

6 (1) through (3); 

7 (C) criteria by which local educational 

8 agencies’ applications for funding will be evalu9 ated, including how such applications will take 

10 into account the requirements of paragraphs 

11 (1) through (3); 

12 (D) how the State will ensure that local 

13 educational agencies will use grant funds to 

14 supplement, and not supplant, other public 

15 funding for educational programs in civics and 

16 history; and 

17 (E) how the State will evaluate and hold 

18 local educational agencies accountable for im19 proved student knowledge and achievement in 

20 civics and history. 

21 (5) An assurance that the State will participate 

22 in the National Assessment of Educational Progress 

23 assessments in civics and history in grades 4, 8, and 

24 12. 


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1 (6) In the case of a State applying to renew a 

2 grant previously received under this section, an eval3 uation of the effectiveness of the activities carried 

4 out using the previous grant, which shall be based 

5 on the results of the most recent National Assess6 ment of Educational Progress assessment in civics 

7 and history, to the extent the results of such assess8 ment are available at the time of the State’s applica9 tion. 

10 SEC. 104. GRANTS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. 

11 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu12 cation is authorized to make grants to qualified nonprofit 

13 organizations, on a competitive basis, to assist such orga14 nizations in developing or expanding access to evidence15 based curricula, instructional models, and other edu16 cational programs to enhance student knowledge and 

17 achievement in civics and history in elementary schools 

18 and secondary schools. 

19 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—As part of the ap20 plication required under section 102(b), a qualified non21 profit organization shall include a proposal that dem22 onstrates how the activities proposed to be carried out 

23 with the grant under this section will enhance student 

24 knowledge and achievement in civics and history in ele25 mentary schools and secondary schools. 


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1 (c) PRIORITY OF AWARDS.—In awarding grants 

2 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to 

3 qualified nonprofit organizations that propose to use the 

4 grant to develop or expand access to curricula, instruc5 tional models, and other educational programs that— 

6 (1) address the learning needs of traditionally 

7 underserved students, including rural and inner-city 

8 urban students and English learners; and 

9 (2) incorporate evidence-based practices to en10 hance student learning and engagement in civics and 

11 history. 

12 SEC. 105. GRANTS TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU13 CATION. 

14 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu15 cation is authorized to make grants to institutions of high16 er education, on a competitive basis, to assist such institu17 tions in developing and implementing programs to train 

18 elementary and secondary school teachers in methods for 

19 instructing and engaging students in civics and history. 

20 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—As part of the ap21 plication required under section 102(b), an institution of 

22 higher education shall include a proposal demonstrating 

23 that the institution— 


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1 (1) has the ability to train elementary and sec2 ondary school teachers to provide comprehensive 

3 civics education; 

4 (2) is familiar with research on practices that 

5 are proven to contribute to effective instruction in 

6 civics and history and will incorporate such research 

7 into the training provided to teachers using the 

8 grant; and 

9 (3) will use the grant to make training in civics 

10 education available to elementary and secondary 

11 school teachers in the State or geographic region 

12 served by the institution. 

13 (c) PRIORITY OF AWARDS.—In awarding grants 

14 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to in15 stitutions of higher education that propose to use the 

16 grant to carry out training programs for teachers that— 

17 (1) address the specific needs of teachers work18 ing with traditionally underserved students, includ19 ing rural and inner-city urban students and English 

20 learners; and 

21 (2) incorporate evidence-based practices for im22 proving the ability of teachers to provide effective in23 struction in civics and history. 

24 (d) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—From the amounts 

25 made available to carry out this section, 35 percent shall 


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1 be reserved to award grants, on a competitive basis, to 

2 institutions of higher education that are eligible to receive 

3 funds under— 

4 (1) part A or part B of title III of the Higher 

5 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1057 et seq., 

6 1060 et seq.); 

7 (2) part A or part B of title V of such Act (20 

8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., 1102 et seq.); or 

9 (3) subpart 4 of part A of title VII of such Act 

10 (20 U.S.C. 1136a et seq.). 

11 SEC. 106. RESEARCH GRANTS. 

12 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu13 cation is authorized to make grants, on a competitive 

14 basis, to qualified researchers to research and evaluate— 

15 (1) elementary and secondary school students’ 

16 knowledge of civics and history; and 

17 (2) effective instructional practices and educa18 tor professional development in the fields of civics 

19 and history. 

20 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—As part of the ap21 plication required under section 102(b), a qualified re22 searcher shall include a description of the project to be 

23 funded with the grant under this section. The description 

24 of the project shall include a separate section that de25 scribes how the project may directly or indirectly affect 


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1 civics education generally, which may include effects such 

2 as— 

3 (1) achieving the full participation of women, 

4 persons with disabilities, and underrepresented mi5 norities in civics and history education; 

6 (2) increasing public civic literacy and civic en7 gagement; 

8 (3) developing a diverse educator workforce; or 

9 (4) other such effects. 

10 (c) PRIORITY OF AWARDS.—In awarding grants 

11 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to 

12 qualified researchers who propose to carry out activities 

13 that will benefit historically underserved communities, in14 cluding rural and inner-city urban communities and com15 munities of English learners. 

16 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated— 

18 (1) for fiscal year 2022 and for each of the 5 

19 succeeding fiscal years— 

20 (A) $585,000,000 to carry out section 103; 

21 (B) $200,000,000 to carry out section 104; 

22 and 

23 (C) $50,000,000 to carry out section 106; 

24 and 


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1 (2) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 and for 

2 each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years to carry out— 

3 (A) section 105; and 

4 (B) section 805 of the Higher Education 

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161e). 

6 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO 

7 OTHER LAWS 

8 SEC. 201. PRINCE HALL CIVICS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

9 The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Act (20 

10 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (1) in section 802, by inserting ‘‘, and to estab12 lish the Prince Hall Civics Fellowship Program 

13 which is designed to diversify the civics and history 

14 education workforce’’ after ‘‘development’’; 

15 (2) in section 807— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘this title’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘section 804’’ each place the term appears; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘section 804’’ each place the term appears; and 

20 (3) by inserting after section 810 the following 

21 new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 810A. PRINCE HALL CIVICS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 804 

24 through 810— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the Foundation is authorized to award 

2 scholarships under an additional fellowship program 

3 to be administered by the James Madison Fellowship 

4 Program, which shall be known as the ‘Prince Hall 

5 Civics Fellowship Program’; and 

6 ‘‘(2) the terms and conditions under this sec7 tion shall apply with respect to the Prince Hall 

8 Civics Fellowship Program. 

9 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Prince Hall 

10 Civics Fellowship Program is to diversify the civics and 

11 history education workforce. 

12 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—In order to be eligible to re13 ceive a scholarship under the Prince Hall Civics Fellow14 ship Program, an individual shall submit an application 

15 to the Foundation, containing an assurance that the appli16 cant meets the following requirements: 

17 ‘‘(1) The applicant holds a valid teaching cre18 dential in the applicant’s home State and a bacca19 laureate degree or higher degree in the subject of 

20 humanities, political science, government, or Amer21 ican history, or a dual degree in one of those sub22 jects and education. 

23 ‘‘(2) The applicant will commit to 5 years of 

24 teaching in kindergarten through grade 12 and will 

25 provide verification for each year of employment. 


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1 ‘‘(d) SELECTION.—The Foundation shall, either di2 rectly or by contract, provide for the conduct of a nation3 wide competition for the purpose of selecting recipients of 

4 fellowships under the Prince Hall Civics Fellowship Pro5 gram (referred to as ‘fellows’). The Foundation shall 

6 adopt selection procedures which shall assure that— 

7 ‘‘(1) the number of recipients selected from 

8 each State is in proportion to each State’s share of 

9 funding under part A of title I of the Elementary 

10 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 6311 et seq.); and 

12 ‘‘(2) in selecting fellows, priority is given to in13 dividuals— 

14 ‘‘(A) who are teaching in communities to 

15 which the individual has ties at the time of the 

16 individual’s application for the fellowship; or 

17 ‘‘(B) are from populations underrep18 resented in the civics and history education 

19 workforce. 

20 ‘‘(e) AMOUNT OF FELLOWSHIP.—Each fellow shall 

21 receive a stipend of $5,000 for each year, not to exceed 

22 a total of 5 years, that the fellow is employed as a teacher 

23 in kindergarten through grade 12 and submits employ24 ment verification to the Foundation in the manner pre25 scribed by the Foundation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL 

2 PROGRESS. 

3 Section 303(b) of the Education Sciences Reform Act 

4 of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9622(b)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

7 through (H) as subparagraphs (E) through (I) 

8 respectively; 

9 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(D) conduct a national assessment, using 

12 a methodology sufficient to provide accurate, 

13 disaggregated, statistically significant State14 level data on student proficiency for every 

15 State, on student academic achievement in pub16 lic and private elementary schools and sec17 ondary schools at least once every 2 years, in 

18 grades 4, 8, and 12 in civics and history;’’; and 

19 (C) in subparagraph (E), as so redesig20 nated, by striking ‘‘history, geography, civics’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘geography’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

23 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘(2)(E)’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘(2)(F)’’; 

25 (B) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) 

26 as clauses (iv) and (v), respectively; 


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1 (C) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(iii) shall conduct biennial State aca4 demic assessments of student achievement 

5 in civics and history in grades 4, 8, and 

6 12, as described in paragraph (2)(D)’’; and 

7 (D) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, by 

8 striking ‘‘(2)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)(E)’’. 

9 SEC. 203. USA CIVICS ACT. 

10 Section 805 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 1161e) is amended— 

12 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘HIS13 TORY FOR FREEDOM’’ and inserting ‘‘CIVICS

14 EDUCATION PROGRAM’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘subsection (g)’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘the Secretary is author19 ized to award three-year grants, on a competi20 tive basis,’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary is au21 thorized to award grants, once every 3 years 

22 and on a competitive basis,’’; 

23 (C) by striking paragraph (1) and insert24 ing the following: 

25 ‘‘(1) American political thought and history;’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ after 

2 the semicolon; 

3 (E) by striking paragraph (3) and insert4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(3) the history, achievements, and impact of 

6 American representative democracy and constitu7 tional democracies globally; or’’; and 

8 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) the means of participation in political and 

10 civic life.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘as de13 fined in section 101.’’ and inserting ‘‘, or a 

14 partnership that includes an institution of high15 er education and one or more nonprofit organi16 zations, whose missions and demonstrated ex17 pertise are consistent with the purpose of this 

18 section.’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘that 

20 emerged’’ and all that follows through the pe21 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘founded on the 

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1 ance, and freedom of thought and inquiry.’’; 

2 and 

3 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(3) AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT AND HIS6 TORY.—The term ‘American political thought and 

7 history’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) the significant constitutional, polit9 ical, intellectual, economic, social, and foreign 

10 policy trends and issues that have shaped the 

11 course of American history; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the key episodes, turning points, 

13 texts, and figures involved in the constitutional, 

14 political, intellectual, diplomatic, social, and 

15 economic history of the United States.’’; 

16 (4) in subsection (c)(2)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘tra18 ditional’’ and all that follows through the semi19 colon and inserting ‘‘American political thought 

20 and history, free institutions, the impact of 

21 American representative democracy and con22 stitutional democracies globally, or the means of 

23 participation in political and civic life;’’; and 

24 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘, 

25 which may include the creation or use of open 


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1 educational resources’’ after ‘‘subsection 

2 (e)(1)(B)’’; 

3 (5) in subsection (d)— 

4 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) increase access to quality programming 

7 that expands knowledge of American political 

8 thought and history, free institutions, the impact of 

9 American representative democracy and constitu10 tional democracies globally, or the means of partici11 pation in political and civic life;’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘tradi13 tional American history, free institutions, or 

14 Western civilization’’ and inserting ‘‘American 

15 political thought and history, free institutions, 

16 the impact of American representative democ17 racy and constitutional democracies globally, or 

18 the means of participation in political and civic 

19 life.’’; 

20 (6) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—Funds pro24 vided under this section shall be used— 


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1 ‘‘(A) for collaboration with local edu2 cational agencies for the purpose of providing 

3 elementary school and secondary school teach4 ers an opportunity to enhance their knowledge 

5 of American political thought and history, free 

6 institutions, the impact of American representa7 tive democracy and constitutional democracies 

8 globally, or the means of participation in polit9 ical and civic life; and 

10 ‘‘(B) to carry out one or more of the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(i) Establishing or strengthening 

13 academic programs or centers focused on 

14 American political thought and history, 

15 free institutions, the impact of American 

16 representative democracy and constitu17 tional democracies globally, or the means 

18 of participation in political and civic life, 

19 which may include— 

20 ‘‘(I) design and implementation 

21 of programs of study, courses, lecture 

22 series, seminars, and symposia; 

23 ‘‘(II) development, publication, 

24 and dissemination of instructional ma25 terials; 


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1 ‘‘(III) research; 

2 ‘‘(IV) support for faculty teach3 ing in undergraduate and, if applica4 ble, graduate programs; or 

5 ‘‘(V) support for graduate and 

6 postgraduate fellowships, if applicable. 

7 ‘‘(ii) For teacher preparation initia8 tives that stress content mastery regarding 

9 American political thought and history, 

10 free institutions, the impact of American 

11 representative democracy and constitu12 tional democracies globally, or the means 

13 of participation in political and civic life. 

14 ‘‘(iii) To conduct outreach activities to 

15 ensure that information about the activi16 ties funded under this section is widely dis17 seminated— 

18 ‘‘(I) to undergraduate students 

19 (including students enrolled in teacher 

20 education programs, if applicable); 

21 ‘‘(II) to graduate students (in22 cluding students enrolled in teacher 

23 education programs, if applicable); 

24 ‘‘(III) to faculty; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) to local educational agen2 cies; and 

3 ‘‘(V) within the local community. 

4 ‘‘(2) ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.—Funds 

5 provided under this section may be used to sup6 port— 

7 ‘‘(A) collaboration with entities such as— 

8 ‘‘(i) nonprofit organizations whose 

9 missions and demonstrated expertise are 

10 consistent with the purpose of this section, 

11 for assistance in carrying out activities de12 scribed under subsection (a); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) Federal or State humanities pro14 grams, which may include those funded by 

15 the National Endowment for the Human16 ities; 

17 ‘‘(B) the creation and use of open edu18 cational resources on American political thought 

19 and history, free institutions, or the impact of 

20 American representative democracy and con21 stitutional democracies globally, or the means of 

22 participation in political and civic life; and 

23 ‘‘(C) other activities that meet the pur24 poses of this section.’’; 


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1 (7) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub2 section (g); 

3 (8) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para4 graph (7), by striking ‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’; 

5 and 

6 (9) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec9 tion shall be construed to authorize the Secretary to pre10 scribe an American political thought and history cur11 riculum.’’. 

12 SEC. 204. SUSTAINING THE TRUMAN FOUNDATION. 

13 Section 10(b) of Public Law 93–642 (20 U.S.C. 2001 

14 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(b)(1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the 

16 Treasury to invest in full the amounts appropriated to the 

17 fund. 

18 ‘‘(2) Investments of amounts appropriated to the 

19 fund shall be made in public debt securities of the United 

20 States with maturities suitable to the fund. For such pur21 pose, such obligations may be acquired— 

22 ‘‘(A) on original issue at the issue price; or 

23 ‘‘(B) by purchase of outstanding obligations at 

24 the market price. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The purposes for which obligations of the United 

2 States may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United 

3 States Code, are hereby extended to authorize the issuance 

4 at par of special obligations exclusively to the fund. Such 

5 special obligations shall bear interest at a rate equal to 

6 the average rate of interest, computed as to the end of 

7 the calendar month next preceding the date of such issue, 

8 borne by all marketable interest-bearing obligations of the 

9 United States then forming a part of the public debt, except that where such average rate is not a multiple of 1 10 ⁄8

11 of 1 percent, the rate of interest of such special obligations 

shall be the multiple of 1 12 ⁄8 of 1 percent next lower than 

13 such average rate. Such special obligations shall be issued 

14 only if the Secretary determines that the purchases of 

15 other interest-bearing obligations of the United States, or 

16 of obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest 

17 by the United States or original issue or at the market 

18 price, is not in the public interest.’’. 

19 SEC. 205. SUSTAINING THE MADISON FOUNDATION. 

20 Subsection (b) of section 811 of the James Madison 

21 Memorial Fellowship Act (20 U.S.C. 4510) is amended to 

22 read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(b)(1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the 

24 Treasury to invest in full the amounts appropriated to the 

25 fund. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Subject to paragraph (3), investments of 

2 amounts appropriated to the fund shall be made in public 

3 debt securities of the United States with maturities suit4 able to the fund. For such purpose, such obligations may 

5 be acquired (A) on original issue at the issue price, or 

6 (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations at the market 

7 price. The purposes for which obligations of the United 

8 States may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United 

9 States Code, are hereby extended to authorize the issuance 

10 at par of special obligations exclusively to the fund. Such 

11 special obligations shall bear interest at a rate equal to 

12 the average rate of interest, computed as to the end of 

13 the calendar month next preceding the date of such issue, 

14 borne by all marketable interest-bearing obligations of the 

15 United States then forming a part of the public debt, except that where such average rate is not a multiple of 1 16 ⁄8

17 of 1 percent, the rate of interest of such special obligations 

shall be the multiple of 1 18 ⁄8 of 1 percent next lower than 

19 such average rate. Such special obligations shall be issued 

20 only if the Secretary determines that the purchases of 

21 other interest-bearing obligations of the United States, or 

22 of obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest 

23 by the United States or original issue or at the market 

24 price, is not in the public interest. 


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1 ‘‘(3)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), upon receiv2 ing a determination of the Board described in subpara3 graph (B), the Secretary shall invest up to 40 percent of 

4 the fund’s assets in securities other than public debt secu5 rities of the United States, provided that the securities 

6 are traded in established United States markets. 

7 ‘‘(B) A determination described in this subparagraph 

8 is a determination by the Board that investments as de9 scribed in subparagraph (A) are necessary to enable the 

10 Foundation to carry out the purposes of this title without 

11 any diminution of the number of fellowships provided 

12 under section 804. 

13 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to 

14 limit the authority of the Board to increase the number 

15 of fellowships provided under section 804, or to increase 

16 the amount of the fellowship authorized by section 809, 

17 as the Board considers appropriate and is otherwise con18 sistent with the requirements of this title.’’. 

19 SEC. 206. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated— 

21 (1) for fiscal year 2022 and for each of the 5 

22 succeeding fiscal years, $15,000,000 to carry out 

23 section 201; 

24 (2) for fiscal year 2022, $300,000,000 for the 

25 Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation Trust 


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1 Fund, established by section 10 of Public Law 93– 

2 642 (20 U.S.C. 2009); and 

3 (3) for fiscal year 2022, $20,000,000 for the 

4 James Madison Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund, 

5 established by section 811 of the James Madison 

6 Memorial Fellowship Act (20 U.S.C. 4510). 

Æ 


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