Title: Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative Act of 2017
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative Act of 2017
This bill authorizes the Department of State to carry out, in cooperation with the government of India, the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative comprised of educational, scholarly, and professional exchange programs, including:

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3909 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3909

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

                            October 2, 2017

Mr. Lewis of Georgia 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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange 
Initiative Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Mohandas (Mahatma) Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther 
        King, Jr., were dedicated leaders of peace, civil rights, 
        social justice, and social change in their respective 
        communities and countries and in the world.
            (2) Mahatma Gandhi, who was born on October 2, 1869, was 
        murdered on January 30, 1948, after dedicating his life to the 
        peaceful empowerment of the people of India and to their 
        liberation from British occupation.
            (3) Martin Luther King, Jr., who was born on January 15, 
        1929, was murdered on April 4, 1968, after a life dedicated to 
        peaceful movements against segregation, discrimination, racial 
        injustice, and poverty.
            (4) On August 22, 2011, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
        National Memorial opened to the public in Washington, DC. This 
        newest memorial on the National Mall pays tribute to Dr. King's 
        national and international contributions to world peace through 
        nonviolent social change.
            (5) Mahatma Gandhi, who employed the principle of 
        satyagraha, or nonviolent resistance, has come to represent the 
        moral force inspiring many civil and social rights movements 
        around the world.
            (6) King's effective use of Gandhian principles was 
        instrumental to the American civil rights movement.
            (7) In February 2009, a congressional delegation traveled 
        to India to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the pilgrimage 
        of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King, 
        to that country in 1959, and to study Gandhi's life and work, 
        highlighting the need for further progress in peaceful conflict 
        resolution and combating poverty.
            (8) According to the 2017 Global Peace Index prepared by 
        the Institute for Economics and Peace, the economic impact of 
        violence on the global economy in 2016 was $14.3 trillion, 
        which equals 12.6 percent of the world's gross domestic 
        product.

SEC. 3. GANDHI-KING SCHOLARLY EXCHANGE INITIATIVE.

    (a) Initiative Established.--The Secretary of State is authorized 
to carry out, in cooperation with the appropriate representatives of 
the Government of India, an initiative to be known as the ``Gandhi-King 
Scholarly Exchange Initiative''. The initiative shall be comprised of 
educational, scholarly, and professional exchange programs, including 
the following:
            (1) An annual public diplomacy forum for scholars from the 
        United States and India that focuses on the legacies of Mahatma 
        Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., which shall--
                    (A) be held alternately in the United States and in 
                India;
                    (B) include representatives from governments, 
                nongovernmental organizations, educational 
                institutions, cultural organizations, and civic 
                organizations; and
                    (C) focus on studying the work of Gandhi and King, 
                and applying their philosophies to current issues, 
                including the status of poverty, conflict, human 
                rights, civil rights, peace, nonviolence, and democracy 
                in the United States and India.
            (2) A professional development training initiative for 
        government employees to develop international conflict 
        solutions based on the principles of nonviolence developed in 
        consultation with the president and chief executive officer of 
        the United States Institute of Peace, the Under Secretary for 
        Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs of the Department of State, 
        and United States cooperating partners, which shall--
                    (A) target Federal, State, and local government 
                employees in countries with ongoing political, social, 
                ethnic, or violent conflict;
                    (B) include a specific focus on the success of 
                nonviolent movements in conflict resolution;
                    (C) develop a curriculum for teaching conflict 
                resolution and make such curriculum available to 
                participating government employees; and
                    (D) be made publically available through a variety 
                of media.
            (3) An undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate student 
        exchange for students to--
                    (A) study the history and legacies of Martin Luther 
                King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi;
                    (B) visit historic sites in India and the United 
                States that were integral to the American civil rights 
                movement and the Indian independence movement; and
                    (C) research and develop papers on the importance 
                of peace, nonviolence, and reconciliation in current 
                conflict regions.
    (b) United States Cooperating Partners Defined.--The term ``United 
States cooperating partners'' means--
            (1) an institution of higher education (as such term is 
        defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
        (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), including, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, a historically Black college or university that is 
        a part B institution (as such term is defined in section 322(2) 
        of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1061(2))) or a Hispanic-serving 
        institution (as such term is defined in section 502(a)(5) of 
        such Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5)));
            (2) a combination of institutions of higher education (as 
        such term is defined in section 103(2) of the Higher Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003(2)));
            (3) a nongovernmental organization incorporated in the 
        United States; or
            (4) a consortium consisting of two or more such 
        institutions of higher education, higher education 
        associations, or nongovernmental organizations.

SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Initial Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report on the Secretary's 
plan to carry out the initiative authorized under section 3.
    (b) Periodic Updates.--Upon the request of the committees referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall submit to such 
committees an update on the Secretary's progress in implementing the 
plan referred to in such subsection.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    To carry out this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated to 
the Secretary of State such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 
years 2018 through 2023. Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authorization of appropriations under this section are in addition to 
amounts otherwise available for such purpose.
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