Armenian Genocide Education Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1329 To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out activities to support Armenian Genocide education programs, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 27, 2023 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration A BILL To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out activities to support Armenian Genocide education programs, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Armenian Genocide 4 Education Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The United States has demonstrated a com- 8 mitment to remembrance and education about the 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1329 IS Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 through the 1 United States Government’s May 28, 1951, written 2 statement to the International Court of Justice re- 3 garding the Convention on the Prevention and Pun- 4 ishment of the Crime of Genocide; through President 5 Ronald Reagan’s Proclamation No. 4838 on April 6 22, 1981; by H.J. Res 148, adopted on April 8, 7 1975; H.J. Res 247, adopted on September 10, 8 1984; H. Res. 296, adopted on October 29, 2019; S. 9 Res. 150, adopted on December 12, 2019; and 10 President Joe Biden’s April 24, 2021, statement 11 recognizing the Armenian Genocide. 12 (2) H. Res. 296 and S. Res. 150 cite the Otto- 13 man Empire’s ‘‘campaign of genocide against Arme- 14 nian, Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, 15 Maronite and other Christians’’, and call on the 16 United States to— 17 (A) ‘‘reject efforts to enlist, engage, or oth- 18 erwise associate the United States Government 19 with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any 20 other genocide’’; and 21 (B) ‘‘encourage education and public un- 22 derstanding of the facts of the Armenian Geno- 23 cide, including the United States role in the hu- 24 manitarian relief effort, and the relevance of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1329 IS the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes 1 against humanity’’. 2 (3) Today, those who deny that the Ottoman 3 Empire systematically planned, organized, and im- 4 plemented a campaign of genocide against Arme- 5 nian, Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, 6 Maronite, and other Christians or who seek to dis- 7 tort the true nature of these crimes continue to find 8 forums, especially online. This denial and distortion 9 dishonors those who were persecuted, murdered, dis- 10 possessed, and exiled, making it even more of a na- 11 tional imperative to educate students in the United 12 States so that they may explore the lessons that 13 these crimes provide for all people, sensitize commu- 14 nities to the circumstances that gave rise to these 15 crimes, and help youth be less susceptible to the 16 falsehood of genocide denial and distortion and to 17 the destructive messages of hate that arise from de- 18 nial and distortion. 19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 20 In this Act: 21 (1) ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.—The term ‘‘Arme- 22 nian Genocide’’ means Ottoman Turkey’s systematic 23 and deliberate state-sponsored mass murder, na- 24 tional dispossession, cultural erasure, and exile of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1329 IS millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, 1 Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other 2 Christians, between 1915 and 1923. 3 (2) ARMENIAN GENOCIDE EDUCATION PRO- 4 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Armenian Genocide education 5 program’’ means a program that has as its specific 6 and primary purpose the improvement of awareness 7 and understanding of the history, lessons, con- 8 sequences, and ongoing costs of the Armenian Geno- 9 cide, and which will serve as a means of promoting 10 justice and preventing genocide, hate, and bigotry 11 against any group of people. 12 (3) DENIAL.—The term ‘‘denial’’ refers to dis- 13 course and propaganda that claims that the Arme- 14 nian Genocide did not take place. 15 (4) DISTORTION.—The term ‘‘distortion’’ refers 16 specifically to any attempt to excuse or minimize, in 17 its entirety or in its principal elements, the Arme- 18 nian Genocide, including efforts to blame the victims 19 for causing their own genocide, or to portray the Ar- 20 menian Genocide as a positive historical event. 21 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 22 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 23 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 24 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 21 7801). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1329 IS SEC. 4. PROGRAM DESCRIBED. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF PRO- 2 GRAM.—The Librarian of Congress shall establish and 3 carry out a program to support Armenian Genocide edu- 4 cation programs by— 5 (1) carrying out the activities described in sub- 6 section (b); 7 (2) entering into agreements with program par- 8 ticipants under section 5; and 9 (3) providing online resources under section 6. 10 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities described in this sub- 11 section are as follows: 12 (1) The development and national dissemination 13 of accurate, relevant, and accessible resources to 14 promote understanding about how and why the Ar- 15 menian Genocide happened, which shall include dig- 16 ital resources and may include other types of re- 17 sources, such as print resources and traveling exhibi- 18 tions. 19 (2) The development, national dissemination, 20 and implementation of principles of sound pedagogy 21 for teaching about the Armenian Genocide. 22 (3) The provision of professional development 23 services for entities participating in the program 24 under an agreement entered into under section 5, 25 such as through— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1329 IS (A) local, regional, and national workshops 1 and teacher trainings in conjunction with geno- 2 cide education centers and other appropriate 3 partners; 4 (B) engagement with local educational 5 agencies and high schools and schools that in- 6 clude one of the middle grades that are inde- 7 pendent of any local educational agency; and 8 (C) the operation and expansion of a 9 teacher fellowship program to cultivate and sup- 10 port leaders in Armenian Genocide education. 11 (4) Engagement with State and local education 12 leaders to encourage the adoption of the resources 13 developed and supported under the program estab- 14 lished by this Act into curricula across diverse dis- 15 ciplines. 16 (5) Evaluation and research to assess the effec- 17 tiveness and impact of the Armenian Genocide edu- 18 cation programs and the other activities carried out 19 under the program established by this Act, which 20 may include the preparation and use of material for 21 the annual report required under section 8. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1329 IS SEC. 5. ENGAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICI- 1 PANTS. 2 (a) AGREEMENTS WITH PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.— 3 The Librarian of Congress may enter into agreements 4 with eligible entities under which such entities may serve 5 as program participants in the program established by this 6 Act. 7 (b) CONTENTS OF AGREEMENTS.—An agreement en- 8 tered into under this section between the Librarian and 9 an eligible entity shall include the following elements: 10 (1) A description of the services and assistance 11 provided to the entity by the Librarian. 12 (2) A description of the activities to be carried 13 out by the entity with such services and assistance. 14 (3) The length of the period in which the agree- 15 ment shall be in effect. 16 (4) Such other elements as may be agreed to by 17 the Librarian and the entity, consistent with the 18 program established by this Act. 19 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to serve as a 20 program participant in the program established by this 21 Act if— 22 (1) the entity is a local educational agency, a 23 school that is independent of any local educational 24 agency, or an entity that works with or for a local 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1329 IS educational agency or a school that is independent 1 of any local educational agency; and 2 (2) the entity submits to the Librarian, at such 3 time and in such form as the Librarian may require, 4 an application containing such information and as- 5 surances as the Librarian may require. 6 (d) PRIORITY.—In selecting among eligible entities 7 for participating in the program established under this 8 Act, the Librarian shall give priority to applications from 9 entities who are local educational agencies, schools that 10 are independent of any local educational agency, or enti- 11 ties that work with or for a local educational agency or 12 a school that is independent of any local educational agen- 13 cy, that do not, at the time application is made, offer any 14 Armenian Genocide education program. 15 SEC. 6. ONLINE EDUCATION RESOURCES. 16 (a) WEBSITE.—The Librarian of Congress shall 17 maintain on the website of the Library of Congress a pub- 18 licly available special section designated for Armenian 19 Genocide education resources to improve awareness and 20 understanding of this Genocide and educate individuals on 21 the lessons of the Armenian Genocide as a means to raise 22 awareness about the importance of preventing genocide, 23 hate, and bigotry against any group of people. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1329 IS (b) INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION.—The Librarian 1 shall distribute information about the activities funded 2 under this Act through the website of the Library of Con- 3 gress, and shall respond to inquiries for supplementary in- 4 formation concerning such activities. 5 (c) BEST PRACTICES.—The information distributed 6 by the Librarian under this section shall include best prac- 7 tices for educators on how to teach about the Armenian 8 Genocide. 9 SEC. 7. PRIVATE SUPPORT. 10 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—The Librarian of 11 Congress may solicit, accept, hold, administer, invest, and 12 use donated funds and gifts, bequests, and devises of prop- 13 erty, both real and personal, to support the activities car- 14 ried out under this Act, subject to subsection (c). 15 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SEPARATE GIFT AC- 16 COUNT.—There is established in the Treasury (among the 17 accounts of the Library of Congress) a gift account for 18 the activities carried out under this Act. 19 (c) DEDICATION OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any 20 other provision of law— 21 (1) any funds donated to the Librarian to carry 22 out activities under this Act shall be deposited en- 23 tirely into the gift account established under sub- 24 section (b); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1329 IS (2) the funds contained in such account shall be 1 used solely to carry out activities under this Act; and 2 (3) the Librarian may not deposit into such ac- 3 count any funds donated to the Librarian which are 4 not donated for the exclusive purpose of carrying out 5 activities under this Act. 6 SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT. 7 Not later than February 1 of each year (beginning 8 with 2024), the Librarian of Congress shall submit to 9 Congress a report describing the activities carried out 10 under this Act. 11 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 12 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 13 this Act $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each of the 14 4 succeeding fiscal years. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1329.IS S1329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS