Title: John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Act of 2022
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Act of 2022
This bill establishes the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Program within the J. William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program (commonly referred to as the Fulbright Program).
The fellowship program shall honor the legacy of Representative John Lewis and promote studies, research, and international exchange in the subject of nonviolent civil rights movements around the world.
The Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board shall annually select at least 25 qualified individuals when feasible to serve as fellows in the fellowship program. Each fellow shall (1) work in an internship or research position with an approved organization in a country with an operational Fulbright U.S. Student Program, and (2) receive an award sufficient to cover the fellow's reasonable costs during the fellowship period and certain travel and lodging expenses related to the program.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8681 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8681

      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

                             August 5, 2022

   Ms. Williams of Georgia (for herself, Ms. Mace, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. 
  Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Evans, and Ms. Dean) 
 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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship 
Act of 2022''.

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 PROGRAM.

    ``(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 movements; and
            ``(2) to promote 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 `Bureau') shall administer 
the Fellowship Program in accordance with policy guidelines established 
by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, in consultation with the 
binational Fulbright Commissions and United States Embassies.
    ``(d) Selection of Fellows.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Board shall annually select 
        qualified individuals to participate in the Fellowship Program. 
        The Board may determine the number of fellows selected each 
        year, which shall be not fewer than 25 whenever feasible.
            ``(2) Outreach.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Bureau should conduct 
                outreach at organizations described in subparagraph 
                (B)--
                            ``(i) to broaden the pool of qualified 
                        applicants; and
                            ``(ii) to facilitate, to the extent 
                        practicable, diversity within each cohort of 
                        fellows.
                    ``(B) Organizations described.--The organizations 
                described in this subparagraph are--
                            ``(i) minority serving institutions, 
                        including historically Black colleges and 
                        universities; and
                            ``(ii) other appropriate institutions, as 
                        determined by the Board.
                    ``(C) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Diversity.--The term `diversity' 
                        means diversity of individuals based on factors 
                        including race, color, religion, sex, 
                        pregnancy, gender identity, national origin, 
                        political affiliation, sexual orientation, 
                        marital status, disability, genetic 
                        information, age, parental status, or military 
                        service.
                            ``(ii) Historically black college and 
                        university.--The term `historically Black 
                        college and university' has the meaning given 
                        the term `part B institution' in section 322 of 
                        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        1061).
                            ``(iii) Minority serving institution.--The 
                        term `minority-serving institution' means an 
                        eligible institution under section 371(a) of 
                        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        1067q(a)).
    ``(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 not later than 30 days 
        before the commencement of the fellowship program.
    ``(f) Structure.--
            ``(1) Work plan.--To carry out the purposes described in 
        subsection (b)(2)--
                    ``(A) each fellow selected pursuant to subsection 
                (d) shall arrange an internship or research placement--
                            ``(i) with a nongovernmental organization, 
                        academic institution, or other organization 
                        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, approve a 
                work plan that identifies the target objectives for the 
                fellow, including specific duties and responsibilities 
                relating to those objectives.
            ``(2) Conferences; presentations.--Each fellow shall--
                    ``(A) attend the fellowship orientation described 
                in subsection (e);
                    ``(B) not later than the date that is one year 
                after the end of the fellowship period, attend a 
                fellowship summit organized and administered by the 
                Bureau, which shall be held in Atlanta, Georgia, or at 
                another location of importance to the civil rights 
                movement in the United States and selected by the 
                Bureau; and
                    ``(C) at such summit, give a presentation on 
                lessons learned during the period of fellowship.
            ``(3) Fellowship period.--Each fellowship under this 
        section shall continue for a period determined by the Bureau, 
        which shall be not shorter than 10 months whenever feasible.
    ``(g) Fellowship Award.--The Bureau shall provide each fellow under 
this section with an allowance that is equal to the amount needed for--
            ``(1) the fellow's reasonable costs during the fellowship 
        period; and
            ``(2) travel and lodging expenses related to attending the 
        orientation and summit required under subsection (e)(2).
    ``(h) Briefing.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
selection of the initial cohort of fellows under subsection (d), and on 
an annual basis thereafter, the Secretary of State shall brief Congress 
on the state of the Fellowship Program, including--
            ``(1) the demographics of the cohort of fellows who 
        completed a fellowship during the preceding 1-year period;
            ``(2) an analysis of the diversity of the Fellowship 
        Program based on the demographics of each cohort of fellows who 
        completed a fellowship by the date of the briefing; and
            ``(3) an analysis of trends relating to the diversity of 
        the cohorts of fellows over the course of the Fellowship 
        Program.''.

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE MUTUAL EDUCATIONAL 
              AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE ACT OF 1961.

    Section 112(a) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2460(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (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 provides funding for 
        international internships and research placements for early- to 
        mid-career individuals from the United States to study 
        nonviolent civil rights movements in self-arranged placements 
        with universities or nongovernmental organizations in foreign 
        countries.''.
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