What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new National Council on African American History and Culture within the National Endowment for the Humanities. The council will study, report on and recommend policies to preserve and celebrate African American history and culture. The council will exist for 10 years from when the bill becomes law.
Who It Affects
The President and Senate (who appoint council members), the National Endowment for the Humanities, museums and cultural organizations that preserve African American history, and the general public interested in African American cultural preservation.
Key Provisions
• The council will have 12 members appointed by the President with Senate approval, all of whom must be private citizens not currently working for the federal government with recognized expertise in or commitment to African American history and culture (Sec. 2(b)(1), (b)(2)).
• Members serve five-year terms, except the first six appointees serve three years and the first six appointees serve five years as designated by the President, and no member can be reappointed within two years after their term ends (Sec. 2(b)(5)).
• The council must prepare annual reports to the National Endowment for the Humanities chairperson about the endowment's work preserving African American history and culture (Sec. 2(c)(1)).
• The council will gather information about African American historical developments and cultural trends, monitor museums and organizations dedicated to African American history, and make recommendations about whether national policy is needed to support these efforts (Sec. 2(c)(2)).
• The council will evaluate National Endowment for the Humanities programs to determine how well they support preserving and celebrating African American history and culture, and recommend policies to promote understanding of African American history and recognition of African Americans' contributions to the country (Sec. 2(c)(3), (c)(4)).
What Changes
The National Endowment for the Humanities will have a new council inside it focused specifically on African American history and culture. This council will advise the endowment through annual reports and policy recommendations.
Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 727
To establish a National Council on African American History and Culture
within the National Endowment for the Humanities, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 1, 2023
Mr. MFUME (for himself, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. NORTON,
Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. BROWN, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. WATSON COLE-
MAN, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. CARSON, Mr.
COHEN, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms.
TITUS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. JOHNSON of
Georgia, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis-
sissippi, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr.
MCGOVERN, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. PLASKETT, Mr.
CLEAVER, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. BUSH, Mr.
DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. IVEY, Ms. TLAIB, Mr.
CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms.
JACOBS, Mr. NADLER, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms.
BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. STE-
VENS, and Ms. MENG) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To establish a National Council on African American History
and Culture within the National Endowment for the
Humanities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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•HR 727 IH
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Council on
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African American History and Culture Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. COUNCIL ON AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND
4
CULTURE.
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(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
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National Endowment for the Humanities a National
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Council on African American History and Culture (re-
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ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Council’’).
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(b) MEMBERSHIP.—
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(1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Council
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shall be composed of 12 members appointed by the
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President, by and with the advice and consent of the
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Senate.
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(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members of the
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Council shall be individuals who—
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(A) are selected from among private citi-
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zens of the United States who are recognized
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for their broad knowledge of, expertise in, or
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commitment to the preservation and celebration
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of African-American history and culture;
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(B) are not currently employees of the
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Federal Government; and
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(C) have established records of distin-
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guished service, scholarship, or creativity.
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•HR 727 IH
(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In appointing members
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to the Council under paragraph (1), the President—
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(A) shall give due regard to equitable rep-
3
resentation of women, people of color, and indi-
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viduals with disabilities who are involved in the
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humanities; and
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(B) shall select such members in a manner
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that ensures a comprehensive representation of
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the views of scholars and professional practi-
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tioners in the humanities and of the public
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throughout the United States.
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(4) CHAIRPERSON; VICE
CHAIRPERSON.—The
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Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Council
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shall be designated by the President from among the
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members of the Council. The Vice Chairperson shall
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act as Chairperson in the absence of the Chair-
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person.
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(5) TERM OF OFFICE; VACANCIES; REAPPOINT-
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MENT.—
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(A) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be
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appointed for a term of five years, except as
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provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C).
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(B) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—As
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designated by the President at the time of the
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•HR 727 IH
appointment, of the members first appointed to
1
the Council under paragraph (1)—
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(i) six shall be appointed for terms of
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three years; and
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(ii) six shall be appointed for terms of
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five years.
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(C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed
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to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration
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of the term for which the member’s predecessor
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was appointed shall be appointed only for the
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remainder of that term. A member may serve
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after the expiration of that member’s term until
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a successor has taken office.
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(D) REAPPOINTMENT.—No member shall
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be eligible for reappointment during the two-
15
year period following the expiration of such
16
member’s term.
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(6) BASIC PAY.—
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(A) RATES
OF
PAY.—Members shall re-
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ceive compensation at a rate of 50 percent of
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the daily rate of the highest rate of basic pay
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payable for the senior-level positions classified
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above GS–15 pursuant to section 5108 of title
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5, United States Code, for each day (including
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travel time) during which they are engaged in
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•HR 727 IH
the actual performance of duties vested in the
1
Council.
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(B) TRAVEL
EXPENSES.—Each member
3
shall receive travel expenses, including per diem
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in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with appli-
5
cable provisions under subchapter 1 of chapter
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57 of title 5, United States Code.
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(7) QUORUM.—Nine members of the Council
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shall constitute a quorum. The Council cannot hold
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hearings without a full quorum.
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(8) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at the
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call of the Chairperson but not less frequently than
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twice during each calendar year.
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(c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Council shall be—
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(1) to prepare an annual report to be submitted
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to the Chairperson of the National Endowment for
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the Humanities on the work of the National Endow-
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ment to preserve and celebrate African-American
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history and culture;
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(2) to gather timely and authoritative informa-
20
tion concerning historical developments and cultural
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trends in African-American history and culture, as
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well as to monitor the work of museums and organi-
23
zations dedicated to the preservation of African-
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American history and culture, and to analyze and in-
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•HR 727 IH
terpret such information for the purpose of deter-
1
mining whether national policy is necessary to fur-
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ther support those efforts;
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(3) to evaluate the various programs and activi-
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ties of the National Endowment for the Humanities
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for the purpose of determining the extent to which
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such programs and activities are contributing, and
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the extent to which they are not contributing, to the
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successful preservation and celebration of African-
9
American history and culture, and to make rec-
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ommendations to the President with respect to such
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programs and activities;
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(4) to develop and recommend to the Chair-
13
person national policies to foster and promote the
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understanding of African-American history, the pres-
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ervation of African-American culture, and the cele-
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bration of African Americans as contributors to the
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country’s economic, cultural, and political success;
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and
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(5) to make and furnish such studies, reports
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thereon, and recommendations with respect to mat-
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ters of cultural preservation and African-American
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history as the Chairperson may request.
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(d) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—Section 14 of the
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Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.; relating
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•HR 727 IH
to termination of advisory committees) shall not apply to
1
the Council.
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(e) TERMINATION.—The Council shall terminate 10
3
years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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Æ
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