I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6373 

To establish the Digital Literacy and Equity Commission, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 12, 2022 

Mrs. LAWRENCE (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. 

BOWMAN, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. COSTA, and Ms. TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish the Digital Literacy and Equity Commission, 

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. ESTABLISHMENT. 

4 There is established a commission to be known as the 

5 ‘‘Digital Literacy and Equity Commission’’ (in this Act 

6 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

7 SEC. 2. DUTIES. 

8 The Commission shall conduct a study on digital lit9 eracy and equity, including— 


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1 (1) the state of digital literacy and information 

2 literacy in the United States, including— 

3 (A) Federal, State, and local programs 

4 aimed at increasing digital literacy and infor5 mation literacy; and 

6 (B) an analysis of digital literacy and in7 formation literacy in low-income areas and dis8 advantaged areas; 

9 (2) programs in other countries with the goal of 

10 increasing digital literacy and information literacy; 

11 and 

12 (3) the identification of strategies and best 

13 practices to maintain increased levels of digital lit14 eracy and information literacy in the United States. 

15 SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP. 

16 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

17 shall be composed of— 

18 (1) the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 

19 Communications and Information or the delegate of 

20 the Assistant Secretary; 

21 (2) the Chairperson of the Federal Communica22 tions Commission or the delegate of the Chairperson 

23 of the Federal Communications Commission; 


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1 (3) the Chief of the Wireless Telecommuni2 cations Bureau of the Federal Communications 

3 Commission or the delegate of the Chief; 

4 (4) the Director of the Institute of Museum and 

5 Library Services or the delegate of the Director; 

6 (5) the Secretary of Education or the delegate 

7 of the Secretary; 

8 (6) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv9 ices or the delegate of the Secretary; 

10 (7) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel11 opment or the delegate of the Secretary; 

12 (8) 3 members appointed by the Chairperson of 

13 the Commission— 

14 (A) with knowledge or expertise in digital 

15 literacy and equity; 

16 (B) from the public or private sector, in17 cluding— 

18 (i) Federal, State, or local employees; 

19 (ii) former Members of Congress; or 

20 (iii) employees of academic institu21 tions and non-governmental organizations; 

22 and 

23 (C) who represent diverse economic, pro24 fessional, and cultural backgrounds; and 


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1 (9) not more than 5 members appointed by the 

2 President, from among the heads of Federal agen3 cies, or delegates of the heads of Federal agencies, 

4 who the President determines would be beneficial to 

5 the Commission. 

6 (b) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Sec7 retary of Education or the delegate of the Secretary shall 

8 serve as the Chairperson of the Commission, and the 

9 Chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission 

10 or the delegate of the Chairperson of the Federal Commu11 nications Commission shall serve as the Vice Chairperson 

12 of the Commission. 

13 (c) MEETINGS.— 

14 (1) FIRST MEETING.—Not later than 90 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

16 Chairperson of the Commission shall hold a meeting 

17 of the Commission. 

18 (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—The Commission 

19 shall meet not less than once every 4 months at a 

20 time and place determined by the Chairperson of the 

21 Commission, and may hold such other meetings as 

22 the Chairperson of the Commission determines are 

23 necessary to carry out this Act. 

24 (3) PUBLIC ACCESS.—All meetings of the Com25 mission shall be open to the public. 


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1 (d) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

2 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num3 ber may hold hearings. 

4 SEC. 4. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

5 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 

6 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold such 

7 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 

8 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

9 considers appropriate. 

10 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem11 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 

12 Commission, take any action that the Commission is au13 thorized to take by this section. 

14 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

15 Within 2 years after the appointment of the members 

16 of the Commission, the Chairperson of the Commission 

17 shall submit to the Congress a report that contains— 

18 (1) the results of the study required by section 

19 2; 

20 (2) recommendations on how to improve and 

21 maintain the digital literacy and information literacy 

22 of individuals in the United States and education in 

23 the United States relating to digital literacy and in24 formation literacy through early education and com25 munity outreach, with a particular focus on increasVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Jan 14, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6373.IH H6373

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1 ing equity in the availability of digital literacy and 

2 information literacy resources; 

3 (3) recommendations for the Federal Govern4 ment to create and implement a method to measure 

5 digital literacy in the United States, in order to aid 

6 future efforts to address digital literacy; and 

7 (4) a plan to increase inter-agency coordination 

8 to improve digital literacy services provided by the 

9 Federal Government. 

10 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) DIGITAL LITERACY.—The term ‘‘digital lit13 eracy’’ means the ability to use information and 

14 communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, 

15 and communicate information, requiring both cog16 nitive and technical skills. 

17 (2) INFORMATION LITERACY.—The term ‘‘infor18 mation literacy’’ means— 

19 (A) the ability to recognize when informa20 tion is needed; and 

21 (B) the ability to locate, evaluate, and use 

22 needed information effectively. 

23 (3) LOW-INCOME.—The term ‘‘low-income’’ has 

24 the meaning given that term in section 1303 of the 


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1 Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 

2 (12 U.S.C. 4502). 

3 (4) DISADVANTAGED AREA.—The term ‘‘dis4 advantaged area’’ means a community with an an5 nual median household income that is less than 80 

6 percent of the statewide annual median household 

7 income, determined on the basis of the latest avail8 able decennial census of the United States. 

Æ 


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