I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3054 
To establish a grant program in the Department of Labor to assist 
unemployed and under employed workers following the COVID–19 pandemic. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2021 
Mr. LIEU (for himself and Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and 
in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program in the Department of Labor 
to assist unemployed and under employed workers fol-
lowing the COVID–19 pandemic. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Federal 
Writers’ Project Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) In 1935, during the Great Depression, 
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established 
The Federal Writers’ Project of the New Deal Era. 
This program was organized to employ writers, edi-
tors, historians, researchers, journalists, librarians, 
broadcasters, photographers, and others to document 
American society. 
(2) The Federal Writers Project employed up to 
10,000 people between its founding in 1935 during 
the Great Depression and the publication of its first 
guides in 1943. 
(3) The original Federal Writers’ Project had 
many successes, such as— 
(A) the American Guide Series, which cov-
ered 48 States, 40 cities, 18 regions and terri-
tories and countless counties, with John 
Steinbeck calling the Series, ‘‘the most com-
prehensive account of the United States ever 
got together, and nothing since has even ap-
proached it. It was compiled during the depres-
sion by the best writers in America’’; 
(B) creating opportunities for writers who 
went on to become some of America’s greatest 
authors, including Ralph Ellison, Richard 
Wright, Saul Bellow, and Zora Neale Hurston; 
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(C) developing the Slave Narrative Project, 
the largest project to document the experience 
of formerly enslaved people, which included oral 
histories and photography telling the story of 
10,000 Americans in 17 States; 
(D) creating over 1,000 books and pam-
phlets covering local and regional histories, folk-
lore collections, humor, ethnic studies, and na-
ture studies. 
(4) The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the 
decline of local newspapers and other local news out-
lets, with more than 60 local newsrooms closing over 
the course of 2020 and other newsrooms enduring 
cutbacks. More than 200 counties have no daily or 
weekly newspaper and 68 percent of these counties 
are nonmetro areas, home to small towns and rural 
communities. 
(5) Following the death of more than 550,000 
people due to COVID-19 and more than a year of 
physical restrictions, the United States has experi-
enced a historic period with a profound and lasting 
impact on society. 
(6) The original Federal Writers’ Project pro-
vided the opportunity to observe and document the 
Great Depression. Further, the impact of COVID- 
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19, including the lives lost, should be documented by 
a renewed Federal Writers’ Project. 
SEC. 3. DOL GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, 
working through the Employment Training Administra-
tion, shall establish a grant program to provide eligible 
entities with funds to assist individuals who are unem-
ployed or under employed in order to document in writing 
and images American society and the broad impacts and 
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. 
(b) GRANT FEATURES.—In administering the grant 
program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall deter-
mine the parameters of the grant program, the amount 
and duration of grant awards, with an individual grant 
award not to exceed 7.5 percent of the total amounts of 
available grant funds, and the eligibility of individuals to 
receive funds from a grant recipient (using the Standard 
Occupational Classification for categories 25-000 and 27- 
000). 
(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, an entity shall submit an applica-
tion to the Secretary of Labor at such time and in such 
manner as the Secretary may require and be— 
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(1) a nonprofit institution of higher education 
or a nonprofit organization each of which has experi-
ence in writing, researching, collecting, curating, and 
disseminating educational information; 
(2) a newsroom that may be a nonprofit or for 
profit entity; 
(3) a public or nonprofit library; or 
(4) a communications union or guild. 
(d) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—In selecting the re-
cipients for a grant under this section the Secretary shall, 
to the extent practicable, ensure equitable geographic dis-
tribution, including urban and rural areas. 
(e) REPOSITORY.—The Secretary shall establish a re-
pository of works developed through the grant program 
in which grantees submit completed works from sub-
grantees, including giving credit to each writer or artist. 
and make such works available to the public. Not later 
than 90 days after receipt of a completed work, the Sec-
retary shall forward such work to the Librarian of Con-
gress to archive such material in accordance with sub-
section (f). 
(f) ARCHIVE.—The Librarian of Congress shall es-
tablish an archive program in the American Folklife Cen-
ter at the Library of Congress to collect and make publicly 
available in a digital format, including giving credit to 
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each writer or artist, written and visual works collected 
by the Secretary under subsection (e). 
(g) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) GRANTEE REPORTING.—The Secretary shall 
develop reporting guidelines for grant recipients to 
include, at a minimum, information regarding— 
(A) the amount of funds received by each 
grantee, the amount provided to subgrantees, 
the number of projects completed; 
(B) the race, ethnicity, age, location in 
terms of local or rural, and regional diversity of 
subgrantees; 
(C) the number of requests made to review 
the completed projects (when available); and 
(D) such other data the Secretary con-
siders important. 
(2) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.—Not less than 
once each year while the program is in operation, 
the Secretary shall submit a report summarizing the 
data collected under paragraph (1) to the Commit-
tees on Appropriations and Education and Labor of 
the House of Representatives and the Committees 
on Appropriations and Health, Education, Labor 
and Pensions of the Senate. 
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(h) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary may 
withhold 5 percent of funds made available to carry out 
this program for administrative costs. An eligible entity 
that receives a grant under this section may reserve not 
more than 10 percent of funds received to administer its 
program. 
(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $60,000,000 for fiscal year 
2022. 
Æ 
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