I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1150 
To establish the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship to fund international 
internships and research placements for early- to mid-career professionals 
to study nonviolent movements to establish and protect civil rights around 
the world. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 21, 2023 
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself, Ms. MACE, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BLUNT 
ROCHESTER, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 
COHEN, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. 
GOLDMAN of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. JOHNSON of 
Georgia, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. 
PORTER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SEWELL, 
Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, 
Mr. TONKO, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. WILD, Ms. 
WILSON of Florida, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. WATERS, Mr. 
DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. GREEN of 
Texas, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. 
PRESSLEY, Ms. DELBENE, and Mr. CARBAJAL) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To establish the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship to fund 
international internships and research placements for 
early- to mid-career professionals to study nonviolent 
movements to establish and protect civil rights around 
the world. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘John Lewis Civil 
Rights Fellowship Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. JOHN LEWIS CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 
The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 115. JOHN LEWIS CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP PRO-
GRAM. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 
John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Program (referred to 
in this section as the ‘Fellowship Program’) within the J. 
William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Fellowship 
Program are— 
‘‘(1) to honor the legacy of Representative John 
Lewis by promoting a greater understanding of the 
history and tenets of nonviolent civil rights move-
ments; and 
‘‘(2) to advance foreign policy priorities of the 
United States by promoting studies, research, and 
international exchange in the subject of nonviolent 
movements that established and protected civil 
rights around the world. 
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Bureau of Educational 
and Cultural Affairs (referred to in this section as the ‘Bu-
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reau’) shall administer the Fellowship Program in accord-
ance with policy guidelines established by the Fulbright 
Foreign Scholarship Board, in consultation with the bina-
tional Fulbright Commissions and United States Embas-
sies. 
‘‘(d) SELECTION OF FELLOWS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall annually 
select qualified individuals to participate in the Fel-
lowship Program. The Bureau may determine the 
number of fellows selected each year, which, when-
ever feasible, shall be not fewer than 25. 
‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—To the extent practicable, 
the Bureau shall conduct outreach at institutions 
the Bureau determines are likely to produce a range 
of qualified applicants. 
‘‘(e) FELLOWSHIP ORIENTATION.—The Bureau shall 
organize and administer a fellowship orientation that 
shall— 
‘‘(1) be held in Washington, DC, or at another 
location selected by the Bureau; 
‘‘(2) include programming to honor the legacy 
of Representative John Lewis; and 
‘‘(3) be held on an annual basis. 
‘‘(f) STRUCTURE.— 
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‘‘(1) WORK PLAN.—To carry out the purposes 
described in subsection (b)(2)— 
‘‘(A) each fellow selected pursuant to sub-
section (d) shall arrange an internship or re-
search placement— 
‘‘(i) with a nongovernmental organiza-
tion, academic institution, or other organi-
zation approved by the Bureau; and 
‘‘(ii) in a country with an operational 
Fulbright U.S. Student Program; and 
‘‘(B) the Bureau shall, for each fellow, ap-
prove a work plan that identifies the target ob-
jectives for the fellow, including specific duties 
and responsibilities relating to those objectives. 
‘‘(2) CONFERENCES; PRESENTATIONS.—Each 
fellow shall— 
‘‘(A) attend the fellowship orientation de-
scribed in subsection (e); 
‘‘(B) not later than the date that is 1 year 
after the end of the fellowship period, attend a 
fellowship summit organized and administered 
by the Bureau, which, whenever feasible, shall 
be held in a location of importance to the civil 
rights movement in the United States and may 
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coincide with other events facilitated by the Bu-
reau; and 
‘‘(C) at such summit, give a presentation 
on lessons learned during the period of fellow-
ship. 
‘‘(3) FELLOWSHIP
PERIOD.—Each fellowship 
under this section shall continue for a period deter-
mined by the Bureau, which, whenever feasible, shall 
be not shorter than 10 months. 
‘‘(g) FELLOWSHIP AWARD.—The Bureau shall pro-
vide each fellow under this section with an allowance that 
is equal to the amount needed for— 
‘‘(1) the fellow’s reasonable costs during the fel-
lowship period; and 
‘‘(2) travel and lodging expenses related to at-
tending the orientation and summit required under 
subsection (e)(2). 
‘‘(h) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of completion of the Fellowship Program by the initial co-
hort of fellows selected under subsection (d), and on an 
annual basis thereafter, the Secretary of State shall sub-
mit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions of the Senate a report providing information on the 
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implementation of the Fellowship Program, including 
on— 
‘‘(1) the demographics of the cohort of fellows 
who completed a fellowship during the preceding 1- 
year period; 
‘‘(2) a description of internship and research 
placements, and research projects selected, under 
the Fellowship Program, including participant feed-
back on program implementation and feedback of 
the Department on lessons learned; 
‘‘(3) a plan for factoring such lessons learned 
into future programming; and 
‘‘(4) an analysis of trends relating to the diver-
sity of the cohorts of fellows and the topics of 
projects completed over the course of the Fellowship 
Program.’’. 
SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO 
THE MUTUAL EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1961A. 
Section 112(a) of the Mutual Educational and Cul-
tural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2460(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
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(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(10) the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship 
Program established under section 115, which pro-
vides funding for international internships and re-
search placements for early- to mid-career individ-
uals from the United States to study nonviolent civil 
rights movements in self-arranged placements with 
universities or nongovernmental organizations in for-
eign countries.’’. 
SEC. 4. SUNSET. 
The authority to carry out the John Lewis Civil 
Rights Fellowship Program established under section 115 
of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.), as added by section 2, 
shall expire on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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