Library Stabilization Fund Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7486 To establish a Library Stabilization Fund to respond to and accelerate the recovery from coronavirus. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 2, 2020 Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. RYAN, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. SOTO, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. COHEN, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. MENG, and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a Library Stabilization Fund to respond to and accelerate the recovery from coronavirus. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Library Stabilization 4 Fund Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7486.IH H7486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7486 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) CORONAVIRUS.—The term ‘‘coronavirus’’ 3 means the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 4 (2) DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS.—The term 5 ‘‘digital literacy skills’’ has the meaning given the 6 term in section 202 of the Museum and Library 7 Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9101). 8 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ has the 9 meaning given the term in section 202 of the Mu- 10 seum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9101). 11 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 12 has the meaning given the term in section 202 of the 13 Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9101). 14 (5) LIBRARY.—The term ‘‘library’’ has the 15 meaning given the term in section 213 of the Li- 16 brary Services and Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 17 9122). 18 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 19 ing given the term in section 213 of the Library 20 Services and Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 9122). 21 (7) STATE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATIVE AGEN- 22 CY.—The term ‘‘State library administrative agen- 23 cy’’ has the meaning given the term in section 213 24 of the Library Services and Technology Act (20 25 U.S.C. 9122). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7486.IH H7486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7486 IH SEC. 3. LIBRARY STABILIZATION FUND. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—From the amount appro- 2 priated under section 8, there is established a Library Sta- 3 bilization Fund to respond to and accelerate the recovery 4 from the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus and 5 to address the social inequities that have been exacerbated 6 during the crisis. 7 (b) ALLOCATIONS.—From the amount available in 8 the Library Stabilization Fund, the Director shall allo- 9 cate— 10 (1) not less than $1,715,000,000 to the States; 11 (2) not less than $45,000,000 to Indian Tribes 12 and to organizations that primarily serve and rep- 13 resent Native Hawaiians; and 14 (3) not less than $200,000,000 to carry out ac- 15 tivities strengthening the ability of libraries to pro- 16 vide services to communities affected by coronavirus. 17 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds provided under sub- 18 section (b) may be used to provide support to libraries— 19 (1) to continue to provide library services to 20 their communities, including by supporting general 21 operations, paying staff, ensuring the ongoing 22 functionality of libraries (including by purchasing 23 deep cleaning services and coronavirus response sup- 24 plies), and supporting the continued development of, 25 and training of library staff on, best practices for 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7486.IH H7486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7486 IH the safe handling of library materials and ways to 1 sustain reopening and operations; 2 (2) to safely provide access to computers, print- 3 ers, copiers, and other technology (including new 4 and emerging technologies) in libraries, to expand 5 digital network access, purchase and lend internet 6 accessible devices (such as laptops and hotspots), 7 and purchase and lend digital resources, and to pro- 8 vide technical support services for users in the li- 9 brary and for those using borrowed devices remotely; 10 (3) to strengthen and expand services and re- 11 sources relating to early education and literacy, dis- 12 tance learning and education (including through 13 partnerships with public schools to ensure continuity 14 of education and address learning loss), adult edu- 15 cation, job searches and resume building, workforce 16 development and skills training, economic and busi- 17 ness development, health information, digital literacy 18 skills, and financial literacy; and 19 (4) to ensure access to government and commu- 20 nity services, cultural resources, and related func- 21 tions and activities. 22 (d) ADMINISTRATION AND OVERSIGHT.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount available 24 in the Library Stabilization Fund, the Director may 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7486.IH H7486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7486 IH allocate not more than 2 percent of such amount for 1 program administration, oversight activities, re- 2 search, analysis, and data collection related to pre- 3 venting, preparing for, and responding to 4 coronavirus. 5 (2) REPORTS.—From the research, analysis, 6 and data collection carried out under paragraph (1), 7 including what is gathered from entities receiving 8 funding under this Act, the Director shall issue re- 9 ports to the Committee on Appropriations of the 10 Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the 11 House of Representatives detailing how funding 12 under this Act has been spent and its impact on im- 13 proving library services in communities that are 14 served. 15 (e) NO MATCHING REQUIREMENT OR NONFEDERAL 16 SHARE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 17 State, Indian Tribe, organization, library, or other entity 18 that receives a grant under this Act shall not be required 19 to provide matching funds or a nonfederal share toward 20 the cost of the activities carried out with the grant funds. 21 SEC. 4. STATE EMERGENCY LIBRARY RELIEF FUND. 22 (a) GRANTS.—From the funds allocated under sec- 23 tion 3(b)(1), the Director shall make Emergency Library 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7486.IH H7486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7486 IH Relief grants to each State library administrative agency 1 with an approved 5-year plan. 2 (b) ALLOTMENTS.—The Director shall make grants 3 under subsection (a) from allotments to States in the same 4 manner as the Director makes allotments to States under 5 section 221(b) of the Library Services and Technology Act 6 (20 U.S.C. 9131(b)), except that, for purposes of this sec- 7 tion, the minimum allotment for each State shall be 8 $10,000,000, except that the minimum allotment shall be 9 $500,000 in the case of the United States Virgin Islands, 10 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North- 11 ern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 12 the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of 13 Palau. 14 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—A State library administrative 15 agency that receives a grant under this section shall— 16 (1) use the grant funds in accordance with sec- 17 tion 3(c); and 18 (2) prioritize support through grants to librar- 19 ies in communities that the State library administra- 20 tive agency determines have been most significantly 21 impacted by the coronavirus. 22 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—Not more than 4 percent of 23 the total amount of funds received under this section by 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7486.IH H7486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7486 IH a State library administrative agency may be used for ad- 1 ministrative costs. 2 SEC. 5. NATIVE AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICES RELIEF 3 FUND. 4 From the funds allocated under section 3(b)(2), the 5 Director shall make Emergency Library Relief grants to 6 Indian Tribes and to organizations that primarily serve 7 and represent Native Hawaiians in the same manner as 8 the Director makes grants under section 261 of the Li- 9 brary Services and Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 9161) to 10 enable the Tribes and organizations to carry out the activi- 11 ties described in section 3(c). 12 SEC. 6. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT. 13 With respect to amounts made available under sec- 14 tions (4) and (5), the Director shall waive the require- 15 ment, if requested by the entities funded under these sec- 16 tions, under section 223(c) of the Museum and Library 17 Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9133(c)) relating to maintenance 18 of effort. 19 SEC. 7. STRENGTHENING THE ABILITY OF LIBRARIES TO 20 PROVIDE SERVICES TO COMMUNITIES AF- 21 FECTED BY CORONAVIRUS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the funds allocated under 23 section 3(b)(3), the Director shall carry out activities 24 strengthening the ability of libraries to provide services to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7486.IH H7486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7486 IH communities affected by the coronavirus and in accord- 1 ance with the support described in section 3(c). 2 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—The Director may carry out 3 the activities described in this section by entering into ar- 4 rangements, including grants, contracts, cooperative 5 agreements, and other forms of assistance, with libraries, 6 library consortia and associations, institutions of higher 7 education, and other entities that the Director determines 8 appropriate. 9 (c) PRIORITY.—The Director shall prioritize support 10 under this section through grants to libraries in commu- 11 nities that the Director determines have been most signifi- 12 cantly impacted by coronavirus. 13 (d) APPLICATIONS.—Not later than 45 days after the 14 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue a 15 notice inviting applications for grants, contracts, coopera- 16 tive agreements, and other forms of assistance under this 17 section. 18 (e) ALLOCATIONS.—The Director— 19 (1) shall allocate not less than half the funds 20 made available to carry out this section not later 21 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 22 Act; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7486.IH H7486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7486 IH (2) may make additional allocations on a rolling 1 basis based on the best available data at the time of 2 the allocation. 3 (f) REPORT.—An entity with whom the Director has 4 entered into an arrangement under this section shall sub- 5 mit a report to the Director, at such time and in such 6 manner as the Director may require, that describes the 7 use of funds provided under this section. 8 SEC. 8. APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 10 priated, and there is appropriated, $2,000,000,000, to re- 11 main available through September 30, 2021, to carry out 12 this Act. 13 (b) DESIGNATED FOR AN EMERGENCY.—The amount 14 under subsection (a) is designated by the Congress as 15 being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 16 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 17 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7486.IH H7486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS