I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3056 

To authorize the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative focusing on peace 

and nonviolence in global conflict resolution, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Mr. RANGEL, 

Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. STARK, Ms. LEE

of California, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. PAYNE, 

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. RUSH, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. 

CONYERS, Mr. HONDA, and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative 

focusing on peace and nonviolence in global conflict resolution, 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 ‘‘Gandhi-King Scholarly 

5 Exchange Initiative Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Mohandas (Mahatma) Karamchand Gandhi 

2 and Martin Luther King, Jr., were dedicated leaders 

3 of peace, civil rights, social justice, and social change 

4 in their respective communities and countries and in 

5 the world. 

6 (2) Mahatma Gandhi, who was born on October 

7 2, 1869, was murdered on January 30, 1948, after 

8 dedicating his life to the peaceful empowerment of 

9 the people of India and to their liberation from Brit10 ish occupation. 

11 (3) Martin Luther King, Jr., who was born on 

12 January 15, 1929, was murdered on April 4, 1968, 

13 after a life dedicated to peaceful movements against 

14 segregation, discrimination, racial injustice, and pov15 erty. 

16 (4) On August 22, 2011, the Dr. Martin Lu17 ther King, Jr. National Memorial opened to the pub18 lic in Washington, DC. This newest memorial on the 

19 National Mall pays tribute to Dr. King’s national 

20 and international contributions to world peace 

21 through non-violent social change. 

22 (5) Mahatma Gandhi, who employed the prin23 ciple of satyagraha, or non-violent resistance, has 

24 come to represent the moral force inspiring many 

25 civil and social rights movements around the world. 


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1 (6) King’s effective use of Gandhian principles 

2 was instrumental to the American civil rights move3 ment. 

4 (7) In February 2009, a congressional delega5 tion traveled to India to commemorate the 50th an6 niversary of the pilgrimage of Martin Luther King, 

7 Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King, to that coun8 try in 1959, and to study Gandhi’s life and work, 

9 highlighting the need for further progress in peace10 ful conflict resolution and combating poverty. 

11 (8) In February 2009, United States Special 

12 Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard 

13 Holbrooke visited India to determine how the inter14 national community can better contribute to peace 

15 and stability in Afghanistan and South Asia. 

16 (9) According to the 2011 Global Peace Index 

17 prepared by the Institute for Economics and Peace, 

18 a 25 percent reduction in violence would result in a 

19 $2 trillion economic benefit, enough to offset the re20 construction costs of the 2011 Japanese earthquake 

21 and tsunami and eliminate the public debt of Greece, 

22 Portugal, and Ireland. 

23 SEC. 3. GANDHI-KING SCHOLARLY EXCHANGE INITIATIVE. 

24 (a) INITIATIVE ESTABLISHED.—The Secretary of 

25 State is authorized to carry out, in cooperation with the 


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1 appropriate representatives of the Government of India, 

2 an initiative to be known as the ‘‘Gandhi-King Scholarly 

3 Exchange Initiative’’. The initiative shall be comprised of 

4 educational, scholarly, and professional exchange pro5 grams, including the following: 

6 (1) An annual public diplomacy forum for 

7 scholars from the United States and India that fo8 cuses on the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Mar9 tin Luther King, Jr., which shall— 

10 (A) be held alternately in the United 

11 States and in India; 

12 (B) include representatives from govern13 ments, non-governmental organizations, edu14 cational institutions, cultural organizations, and 

15 civic organizations; and 

16 (C) focus on studying the work of Gandhi 

17 and King and applying their philosophies to 

18 current issues, including the status of poverty, 

19 conflict, human rights, civil rights, peace, non20 violence, and democracy in the United States 

21 and India. 

22 (2) A professional development training initia23 tive for government employees to develop inter24 national conflict solutions based on the principles of 

25 nonviolence developed in consultation with the presiVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:24 Sep 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3056.IH H3056

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1 dent and chief executive officer of the United States 

2 Institute of Peace, the Under Secretary for Public 

3 Diplomacy and Public Affairs of the Department of 

4 State, and United States cooperating partners, 

5 which shall— 

6 (A) target Federal, State, and local gov7 ernment employees in countries with ongoing 

8 political, social, ethnic, or violent conflict; 

9 (B) include a specific focus on the success 

10 of nonviolent movements in conflict resolution; 

11 (C) develop a curriculum for teaching con12 flict resolution and make such curriculum avail13 able to participating government employees; and 

14 (D) be made publically available through a 

15 variety of media. 

16 (3) An undergraduate, graduate, and post-grad17 uate student exchange for students to— 

18 (A) study the history and legacies of Mar19 tin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi; 

20 (B) visit historic sites in India and the 

21 United States that were integral to the Amer22 ican civil rights movement and the Indian inde23 pendence movement; and 


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1 (C) research and develop papers on the im2 portance of peace, nonviolence, and reconcili3 ation in current conflict regions. 

4 (b) UNITED STATES COOPERATING PARTNERS DE5 FINED.—The term ‘‘United States cooperating partners’’ 

6 means— 

7 (1) an institution of higher education (as such 

8 term is defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), including, 

10 to the maximum extent practicable, an historically 

11 Black college or university that is a part B institu12 tion (as such term is defined in section 322(2) of 

13 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1061(2))) or an Hispanic-serv14 ing institution (as such term is defined in section 

15 502(5) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(5))); 

16 (2) a combination of institutions of higher edu17 cation (as that term is defined in section 103 of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 1003(2))); 

20 (3) a nongovernmental organization incor21 porated in the United States; or 

22 (4) a consortium consisting of two or more such 

23 institutions of higher education, higher education as24 sociations, or nongovernmental organizations. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

4 State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

5 and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

6 Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations 

7 and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a re8 port on the Secretary’s plan to carry out the initiative au9 thorized under section 3. 

10 (b) PERIODIC UPDATES.—Upon the request of the 

11 committees referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

12 shall submit to such committees an update on the Sec13 retary’s progress in implementing the plan referred to in 

14 subsection (a). 

15 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 To carry out this Act, there are authorized to be ap17 propriated to the Secretary of State such sums as may 

18 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2017. 

19 Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 

20 appropriations under this section are in addition to 

21 amounts otherwise available for such purpose. 

Æ 


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