II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4384 

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 

JUNE 13, 2022 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. KING, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. KELLY, 

and Mr. CASSIDY) 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 civics 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 civics learn19 ing 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 02:10 Jun 17, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4384.IS S4384

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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 his8 tory, disaggregated so as to have statistical signifi9 cance 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, and attending public 

25 meetings. 


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

2 (A) with respect to grant program under 

3 section 103, a State; 

4 (B) with respect to the grant program 

5 under section 104, a qualified nonprofit organi6 zation; 

7 (C) with respect to the grant program 

8 under section 105, an institution of higher edu9 cation; and 

10 (D) with respect to the grant program 

11 under section 106, a qualified researcher. 

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

13 practices proven to contribute to the effectiveness of 

14 educational programs in civics, including— 

15 (A) innovative and engaging classroom in16 struction in civics, Government, and history; 

17 (B) philanthropic and community service 

18 linked to classroom learning; 

19 (C) learning through participation in mod20 els and simulations of democratic processes; 

21 (D) meaningful participation in school gov22 ernance; and 

23 (E) instruction in media literacy through 

24 the study of common informal fallacies in logic. 


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

2 has the meaning given that term in section 101 of 

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

4 1001). 

5 (5) The term ‘‘National Assessment of Edu6 cational Progress’’ means the National Assessment 

7 of Educational Progress carried out under section 

8 303(b) of the National Assessment of Educational 

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

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

11 means an organization that— 

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

13 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and which is ex14 empt from taxation under section 501(a) of 

15 such Code; and 

16 (B) has experience developing curricula, in17 structional models, and other educational pro18 grams for students in elementary schools and 

19 secondary schools. 

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

21 (A) a nonprofit organization that has abil22 ity and capacity to carry out scientifically valid 

23 research; or 

24 (B) an individual affiliated with such an 

25 organization. 


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1 (8) The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local edu2 cational agency’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, 

3 and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

4 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

6 SEC. 102. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education is au8 thorized to carry out the civics education grant programs 

9 described in sections 103 through 106. 

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

11 under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit to the Sec12 retary of Education an application at such time, in such 

13 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 

14 may require. 

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

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

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

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

19 eligible entities that demonstrate the greatest potential 

20 to— 

21 (1) improve knowledge among students tradi22 tionally underserved by comprehensive civics edu23 cation and American history programs; 

24 (2) close gaps in civic knowledge and achieve25 ment among traditionally underserved students; 


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1 (3) improve performance on the National As2 sessment of Educational Progress assessments in 

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

4 and 12; and 

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

6 programs and services. 

7 SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES. 

8 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu9 cation is authorized to make grants to each State that has 

10 an approved application and meets the program require11 ments to enable those States to support educational pro12 grams in civics and history in accordance with this section. 

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

14 a State under this section shall be proportional to the 

15 amount received by all local educational agencies in the 

16 State under part A of title I of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) 

18 for the previous fiscal year relative to the total such 

19 amount received by all local educational agencies in every 

20 State that receives a grant under this section. 

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

22 grant under this section may reserve not more than 5 per23 cent of the amount of the grant for— 

24 (1) administrative costs of carrying out the 

25 State’s responsibilities under this section; and 


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1 (2) monitoring and evaluating programs and 

2 activities supported with the grant. 

3 (d) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN4 CIES.—A State that receives a grant under this section 

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

6 grant to make subgrants, on a competitive or formula 

7 basis, to local educational agencies within the State to as8 sist such agencies in carrying out programs to improve 

9 the achievement of elementary and secondary school stu10 dents in the fields of civics and history. 

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

12 a grant under this section only to supplement the level 

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

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

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

16 (f) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—As part of the ap17 plication required under section 102(b), a State shall in18 clude a plan describing how the State intends to use the 

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

20 at a minimum, the following: 

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

22 grant to supplement, and not supplant, other public 

23 funds provided for educational programs in civics 

24 and history. 


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1 (2) Plans to address civics and history achieve2 ment gaps among traditionally underserved students. 

3 (3) Plans to improve civics and history achieve4 ment among traditionally underserved students. 

5 (4) Plans for making subgrants to local edu6 cational agencies as required under subsection (d), 

7 including— 

8 (A) details of how the State intends to dis9 tribute funding to local educational agencies, 

10 whether by competition or through a formula11 based system; 

12 (B) how the State’s approach to distrib13 uting funds to local educational agencies will 

14 take into account requirements of paragraphs 

15 (1) through (3); 

16 (C) criteria by which local educational 

17 agencies’ applications for funding will be evalu18 ated, including how such applications will take 

19 into account the requirements of paragraphs 

20 (1) through (3); 

21 (D) how the State will ensure that local 

22 educational agencies will use grant funds to 

23 supplement, and not supplant, other public 

24 funding for educational programs in civics and 

25 history; and 


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1 (E) how the State will evaluate and hold 

2 local educational agencies accountable for im3 proved student knowledge and achievement in 

4 civics and history. 

5 (5) An assurance that the State will participate 

6 in the National Assessment of Educational Progress 

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

8 12. 

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

10 grant previously received under this section, an eval11 uation of the effectiveness of the activities carried 

12 out using the previous grant, which shall be based 

13 on the results of the most recent National Assess14 ment of Educational Progress assessment in civics 

15 and history, to the extent the results of such assess16 ment are available at the time of the State’s applica17 tion. 

18 SEC. 104. GRANTS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. 

19 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu20 cation is authorized to make grants to qualified nonprofit 

21 organizations, on a competitive basis, to assist such orga22 nizations in developing or expanding access to civics cur23 ricula, instructional models, and other educational pro24 grams to enhance student knowledge in civics and history 

25 in elementary schools and secondary schools. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—As part of the ap2 plication required under section 102(b), a qualified non3 profit organization shall include a proposal that dem4 onstrates how the activities proposed to be carried out 

5 with the grant under this section will enhance student 

6 knowledge in civics and history in elementary schools and 

7 secondary schools. 

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

9 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to 

10 qualified nonprofit organizations that propose to use the 

11 grant to develop or expand access to curricula, instruc12 tional models, and other educational programs that— 

13 (1) address the learning needs of traditionally 

14 underserved students; and 

15 (2) incorporate evidence-based practices to en16 hance student knowledge in civics and history. 

17 SEC. 105. GRANTS TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU18 CATION. 

19 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu20 cation is authorized to make grants to institutions of high21 er education, on a competitive basis, to assist such institu22 tions in developing and implementing programs to train 

23 elementary and secondary school teachers in methods for 

24 instructing students in civics and history. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—As part of the ap2 plication required under section 102(b), an institution of 

3 higher education shall include a proposal demonstrating 

4 that the institution— 

5 (1) has the ability to train elementary and sec6 ondary school teachers to provide comprehensive 

7 civics education; 

8 (2) is familiar with research on practices that 

9 are proven to contribute to effective instruction in 

10 civics and history and will incorporate such research 

11 into the training provided to teachers using the 

12 grant; and 

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

14 education available to elementary and secondary 

15 school teachers in the State or geographic region 

16 served by the institution. 

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

18 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to in19 stitutions of higher education that propose to use the 

20 grant to carry out training programs for teachers that— 

21 (1) address the specific needs of teachers work22 ing with traditionally underserved students; and 

23 (2) incorporate evidence-based practices for im24 proving the ability of teachers to provide effective in25 struction in civics and history. 


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

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

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

4 institutions of higher education that are eligible to receive 

5 funds under— 

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

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

8 1060 et seq.); 

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

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

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

12 (20 U.S.C. 1136a et seq.). 

13 SEC. 106. RESEARCH GRANTS. 

14 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu15 cation is authorized to make grants, on a competitive 

16 basis, to qualified researchers to research and evaluate— 

17 (1) elementary and secondary school students’ 

18 knowledge of civics and history; and 

19 (2) effective instructional practices and educa20 tor professional development in the fields of civics 

21 and history. 

22 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—As part of the ap23 plication required under section 102(b), a qualified re24 searcher shall include a description of the project to be 

25 funded with the grant under this section. The description 


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1 of the project shall include a separate section that de2 scribes how the project may directly or indirectly affect 

3 civics education generally, which may include effects such 

4 as— 

5 (1) achieving the full participation of women, 

6 persons with disabilities, and underrepresented mi7 norities in civics and history education; or 

8 (2) increasing student knowledge in civics and 

9 history. 

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 traditionally underserved communities. 

14 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO 

15 OTHER LAWS 

16 SEC. 201. PRINCE HALL CIVICS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

17 The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Act (20 

18 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) is amended— 

19 (1) in section 802, by inserting ‘‘, and to estab20 lish the Prince Hall Civics Fellowship Program 

21 which is designed to diversify the civics and history 

22 education workforce’’ after ‘‘development’’; 

23 (2) in section 807— 

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

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


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

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

3 (3) by inserting after section 810 the following 

4 new section: 

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

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

7 through 810— 

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

9 scholarships under an additional fellowship program 

10 to be administered by the James Madison Fellowship 

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

12 Civics Fellowship Program’; and 

13 ‘‘(2) the terms and conditions under this sec14 tion shall apply with respect to the Prince Hall 

15 Civics Fellowship Program. 

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

17 Civics Fellowship Program is to diversify the civics and 

18 history education workforce. 

19 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—In order to be eligible to re20 ceive a scholarship under the Prince Hall Civics Fellow21 ship Program, an individual shall submit an application 

22 to the Foundation, containing an assurance that the appli23 cant meets the following requirements: 

24 ‘‘(1) The applicant holds a valid teaching cre25 dential in the applicant’s home State and a baccaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 17, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4384.IS S4384

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1 laureate degree or higher degree in the subject of 

2 humanities, political science, government, or Amer3 ican history, or a dual degree in one of those sub4 jects and education. 

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

6 teaching in kindergarten through grade 12 and will 

7 provide verification for each year of employment. 

8 ‘‘(d) SELECTION.—The Foundation shall, either di9 rectly or by contract, provide for the conduct of a nation10 wide competition for the purpose of selecting recipients of 

11 fellowships under the Prince Hall Civics Fellowship Pro12 gram (referred to as ‘fellows’). The Foundation shall 

13 adopt selection procedures which shall assure that— 

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

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

16 funding under part A of title I of the Elementary 

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

18 6311 et seq.); and 

19 ‘‘(2) in selecting fellows, priority is given to in20 dividuals— 

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

22 which the individual has ties at the time of the 

23 individual’s application for the fellowship; 


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1 ‘‘(B) who are from populations underrep2 resented in the civics and history education 

3 workforce; or 

4 ‘‘(C) based on merit. 

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

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

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

8 in kindergarten through grade 12 and submits employ9 ment verification to the Foundation in the manner pre10 scribed by the Foundation.’’. 

11 SEC. 202. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL 

12 PROGRESS. 

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

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

15 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

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

18 respectively; 

19 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

20 the following: 

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

22 a methodology sufficient to provide accurate, 

23 disaggregated, statistically significant State24 level data on student proficiency for every 

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1 lic and private elementary schools and sec2 ondary schools at least once every 2 years, in 

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

4 (C) in subparagraph (E), as so redesig5 nated, by striking ‘‘history, geography, civics’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘geography’’; and 

7 (2) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

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

9 inserting ‘‘(2)(F)’’; 

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

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

12 (C) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(iii) shall conduct biennial State aca15 demic assessments of student achievement 

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

17 12, as described in paragraph (2)(D);’’; 

18 and 

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

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

21 SEC. 203. USA CIVICS ACT. 

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

23 U.S.C. 1161e) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘HIS2 TORY FOR FREEDOM’’ and inserting ‘‘CIVICS

3 AND HISTORY EDUCATION PROGRAM’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘subsection (g)’’; 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘the Secretary is author8 ized to award three-year grants, on a competi9 tive basis,’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary is au10 thorized to award grants, at the Secretary’s dis11 cretion but not less frequently than once every 

12 3 years and on a competitive basis,’’; 

13 (C) by striking paragraph (1) and insert14 ing the following: 

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

16 and 

17 (D) by striking paragraph (3) and insert18 ing the following: 

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

20 American representative democracy and constitu21 tional democracies globally.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘as de24 fined in section 101.’’ and inserting ‘‘, or a 

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1 er education and one or more nonprofit organi2 zations, whose missions and demonstrated ex3 pertise are consistent with the purpose of this 

4 section.’’; 

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

6 emerged’’ and all that follows through the pe7 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘founded on the 

8 principles of representative democracy, constitu9 tional government, individual rights, market ec10 onomics, religious freedom and religious toler11 ance, and freedom of thought and inquiry.’’; 

12 and 

13 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert14 ing the following: 

15 ‘‘(3) AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT AND HIS16 TORY.—The term ‘American political thought and 

17 history’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) the significant constitutional, polit19 ical, intellectual, economic, social, and foreign 

20 policy trends and issues that have shaped the 

21 course of American history; and 

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

23 texts, and figures involved in the constitutional, 

24 political, intellectual, diplomatic, social, and 

25 economic history of the United States.’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (c)(2)— 

2 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘tra3 ditional’’ and all that follows through the semi4 colon and inserting ‘‘American political thought 

5 and history, free institutions, or the impact of 

6 American representative democracy and con7 stitutional democracies globally;’’; and 

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

9 which may include the creation or use of open 

10 educational resources’’ after ‘‘subsection 

11 (e)(1)(B)’’; 

12 (5) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert14 ing the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) increase access to quality programming 

16 that expands knowledge of American political 

17 thought and history, free institutions, or the impact 

18 of American representative democracy and constitu19 tional democracies globally;’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘tradi21 tional American history, free institutions, or 

22 Western civilization’’ and inserting ‘‘American 

23 political thought and history, free institutions, 

24 the impact of American representative democ25 racy and constitutional democracies globally, or 


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1 the means of participation in political and civic 

2 life.’’; 

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

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—Funds pro7 vided under this section shall be used— 

8 ‘‘(A) for collaboration with local edu9 cational agencies for the purpose of providing 

10 elementary school and secondary school teach11 ers an opportunity to enhance their knowledge 

12 of American political thought and history, free 

13 institutions, or the impact of American rep14 resentative democracy and constitutional de15 mocracies globally; and 

16 ‘‘(B) to carry out one or more of the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(i) Establishing or strengthening 

19 academic programs or centers focused on 

20 American political thought and history, 

21 free institutions, or the impact of Amer22 ican representative democracy and con23 stitutional democracies globally, which may 

24 include— 


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1 ‘‘(I) design and implementation 

2 of programs of study, courses, lecture 

3 series, seminars, and symposia; 

4 ‘‘(II) development, publication, 

5 and dissemination of instructional ma6 terials; 

7 ‘‘(III) research; 

8 ‘‘(IV) support for faculty teach9 ing in undergraduate and, if applica10 ble, graduate programs; or 

11 ‘‘(V) support for graduate and 

12 postgraduate fellowships, if applicable. 

13 ‘‘(ii) For teacher preparation initia14 tives that stress content mastery regarding 

15 American political thought and history, 

16 free institutions, or the impact of Amer17 ican representative democracy and con18 stitutional democracies globally. 

19 ‘‘(iii) To conduct outreach activities to 

20 ensure that information about the activi21 ties funded under this section is widely dis22 seminated— 

23 ‘‘(I) to undergraduate students 

24 (including students enrolled in teacher 

25 education programs, if applicable); 


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1 ‘‘(II) to graduate students (in2 cluding students enrolled in teacher 

3 education programs, if applicable); 

4 ‘‘(III) to faculty; 

5 ‘‘(IV) to local educational agen6 cies; and 

7 ‘‘(V) within the local community. 

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

9 provided under this section may be used to sup10 port— 

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

12 ‘‘(i) nonprofit organizations whose 

13 missions and demonstrated expertise are 

14 consistent with the purpose of this section, 

15 for assistance in carrying out activities de16 scribed under subsection (a); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) Federal or State humanities pro18 grams, which may include those funded by 

19 the National Endowment for the Human20 ities; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the creation and use of open edu22 cational resources on American political thought 

23 and history, free institutions, or the impact of 

24 American representative democracy and con25 stitutional democracies globally.’’; 


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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. THE CIVICS ACT. 

20 Section 2233(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6663(b)) is amended 

22 by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(1) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) show potential to improve the quality 

2 of student achievement in, and teaching of, 

3 American history, civics and government, or ge4 ography, in elementary schools and secondary 

5 schools; 

6 ‘‘(B) demonstrate innovation, scalability, 

7 accountability, and a focus on underserved pop8 ulations; and 

9 ‘‘(C) include programs that educate stu10 dents about the history and principles of the 

11 Constitution of the United States, including the 

12 Bill of Rights; and 

13 ‘‘(2) may include hands-on civic engagement ac14 tivities for teachers and students.’’. 

15 TITLE III—CIVICS SECURES 

16 DEMOCRACY FUND 

17 SEC. 301. CIVICS SECURES DEMOCRACY FUND. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) The term ‘‘Civics Secures Democracy 

20 Fund’’ means the Civics Secures Democracy Fund 

21 established under subsection (b). 

22 (2) The term ‘‘COVID relief funds’’ means 

23 amounts made available under— 


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1 (A) the Coronavirus Preparedness and Re2 sponse Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 

3 (Public Law 116–123; 134 Stat 146); 

4 (B) the Families First Coronavirus Re5 sponse Act (Public Law 116–127; 134 Stat. 

6 178); 

7 (C) the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136; 

8 134 Stat. 281); 

9 (D) the Paycheck Protection Program and 

10 Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 

11 116–139; 134 Stat. 620); 

12 (E) division N of the Consolidated Appro13 priations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260); or 

14 (F) the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 

15 13 (Public Law 117–2). 

16 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

17 of Education. 

18 (b) CIVICS SECURES DEMOCRACY FUND.—There is 

19 established in the Treasury a fund to be known as the 

20 ‘‘Civics Secures Democracy Fund’’. Amounts deposited 

21 into the Civics Secures Democracy Fund pursuant to sub22 section (c) shall be available to the Secretary, without fis23 cal year limitation or need for subsequent appropriation, 

24 and shall be used as follows: 


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

2 succeeding fiscal years— 

3 (A) $585,000,000 from the Civics Secures 

4 Democracy Fund shall be made available to 

5 carry out section 103; 

6 (B) $200,000,000 from the Civics Secures 

7 Democracy Fund shall be made available to 

8 carry out section 104; and 

9 (C) $50,000,000 from the Civics Secures 

10 Democracy Fund shall be made available to 

11 carry out section 106. 

12 (2) For fiscal year 2022 and for each of the 5 

13 succeeding fiscal years, $150,000,000 shall be made 

14 available from the Civics Secures Democracy Fund 

15 to carry out section 105 of this Act and section 805 

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

17 1161e). 

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

19 succeeding fiscal years, $15,000,000 shall be made 

20 available from the Civics Secures Democracy Fund 

21 to carry out section 810A of the James Madison Me22 morial Fellowship Act (20 18 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.), 

23 as added by section 201 of this Act. 

24 (4) $300,000,000 from the Civics Secures De25 mocracy Fund shall be made available for a one-time 


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1 payment for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship 

2 Foundation Trust Fund, established by section 10 of 

3 Public Law 93–642 (20 U.S.C. 2009). 

4 (5) $20,000,000 from the Civics Secures De5 mocracy Fund shall be made available for a one-time 

6 payment for the James Madison Memorial Fellow7 ship Trust Fund, established by section 811 of the 

8 James Madison Memorial Fellowship Act (20 U.S.C. 

9 4510). 

10 (6) For fiscal years beginning after fiscal year 

11 2027— 

12 (A) amounts appropriated for any such fis13 cal year for deposit into the Civics Secures De14 mocracy Fund shall be used to carry out the 

15 provisions of law specified in paragraphs (1) 

16 through (3); and 

17 (B) the amount allocated from the Fund to 

18 carry out each such provision for a fiscal year 

19 shall be determined by the Secretary. 

20 (c) IDENTIFICATION AND USE OF EXCESS FUNDS.— 

21 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF SUFFICIENT SUMS.— 

22 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

24 Secretary of the Treasury and Director of the Office 

25 of Management and Budget, shall identify unobliVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Jun 17, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4384.IS S4384

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1 gated COVID relief funds for programs that have 

2 expired that are appropriate for transfer to the 

3 Civics Secures Democracy Fund— 

4 (A) in the amount equal to 

5 $6,320,000,000; or 

6 (B) if unobligated funds in that amount 

7 are not available and appropriate for transfer, 

8 a lesser amount not to exceed $6,320,000,000. 

9 (2) TRANSFER.—Effective on the date that is 

10 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act— 

11 (A) the unobligated COVID relief funds 

12 identified in accordance with paragraph (1) 

13 shall be transferred to and merged with the 

14 Civics Secures Democracy Fund; and 

15 (B) the provisions of law specified in sub16 paragraphs (A) through (F) of subsection 

17 (a)(2) shall no longer apply to such funds. 

18 (3) CONDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO19 PRIATIONS.—In the event the amount transferred to 

20 the Civics Secures Democracy Fund pursuant to 

21 paragraph (2) is less than $6,320,000,000, there is 

22 appropriated to the Fund an amount equal to the 

23 difference between— 

24 (A) the amount transferred to the Fund 

25 pursuant to such paragraph; and 


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1 (B) $6,320,000,000. 

Æ 


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