| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 2585 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out activities to support |
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| 6 | 6 | | Armenian Genocide education programs, and for other purposes. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 8 | 8 | | APRIL1, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Ms. T |
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| 10 | 10 | | ITUS(for herself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. LIEU, and Mr. VALADAO) intro- |
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| 11 | 11 | | duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House |
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| 12 | 12 | | Administration |
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| 13 | 13 | | A BILL |
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| 14 | 14 | | To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out activities |
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| 15 | 15 | | to support Armenian Genocide education programs, and |
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| 16 | 16 | | for other purposes. |
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| 17 | 17 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 18 | 18 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 19 | 19 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 20 | 20 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Armenian Genocide 4 |
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| 21 | 21 | | Education Act’’. 5 |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Congress finds the following: 7 |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) The United States has demonstrated a com-8 |
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| 25 | 25 | | mitment to remembrance and education about the 9 |
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| 27 | 27 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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| 28 | 28 | | •HR 2585 IH |
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| 29 | 29 | | Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 through the 1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | United States Government’s May 28, 1951, written 2 |
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| 31 | 31 | | statement to the International Court of Justice re-3 |
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| 32 | 32 | | garding the Convention on the Prevention and Pun-4 |
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| 33 | 33 | | ishment of the Crime of Genocide; through President 5 |
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| 34 | 34 | | Ronald Reagan’s Proclamation No. 4838 on April 6 |
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| 35 | 35 | | 22, 1981; by H.J. Res 148, adopted on April 8, 7 |
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| 36 | 36 | | 1975; H.J. Res 247, adopted on September 10, 8 |
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| 37 | 37 | | 1984; H. Res. 296, adopted on October 29, 2019; S. 9 |
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| 38 | 38 | | Res. 150, adopted on December 12, 2019; and 10 |
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| 39 | 39 | | President Joe Biden’s April 24, 2021, statement 11 |
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| 40 | 40 | | recognizing the Armenian Genocide. 12 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (2) H. Res. 296 and S. Res. 150 cite the Otto-13 |
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| 42 | 42 | | man Empire’s ‘‘campaign of genocide against Arme-14 |
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| 43 | 43 | | nian, Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, 15 |
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| 44 | 44 | | Maronite and other Christians’’, and call on the 16 |
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| 45 | 45 | | United States to— 17 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (A) ‘‘reject efforts to enlist, engage, or oth-18 |
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| 47 | 47 | | erwise associate the United States Government 19 |
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| 48 | 48 | | with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any 20 |
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| 49 | 49 | | other genocide’’; and 21 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (B) ‘‘encourage education and public un-22 |
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| 51 | 51 | | derstanding of the facts of the Armenian Geno-23 |
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| 52 | 52 | | cide, including the United States role in the hu-24 |
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| 53 | 53 | | manitarian relief effort, and the relevance of 25 |
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| 55 | 55 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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| 56 | 56 | | •HR 2585 IH |
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| 57 | 57 | | the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes 1 |
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| 58 | 58 | | against humanity’’. 2 |
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| 59 | 59 | | (3) Today, those who deny that the Ottoman 3 |
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| 60 | 60 | | Empire systematically planned, organized, and im-4 |
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| 61 | 61 | | plemented a campaign of genocide against Arme-5 |
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| 62 | 62 | | nian, Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, 6 |
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| 63 | 63 | | Maronite, and other Christians or who seek to dis-7 |
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| 64 | 64 | | tort the true nature of these crimes continue to find 8 |
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| 65 | 65 | | forums, especially online. This denial and distortion 9 |
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| 66 | 66 | | dishonors those who were persecuted, murdered, dis-10 |
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| 67 | 67 | | possessed, and exiled, making it even more of a na-11 |
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| 68 | 68 | | tional imperative to educate students in the United 12 |
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| 69 | 69 | | States so that they may explore the lessons that 13 |
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| 70 | 70 | | these crimes provide for all people, sensitize commu-14 |
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| 71 | 71 | | nities to the circumstances that gave rise to these 15 |
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| 72 | 72 | | crimes, and help youth be less susceptible to the 16 |
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| 73 | 73 | | falsehood of genocide denial and distortion and to 17 |
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| 74 | 74 | | the destructive messages of hate that arise from de-18 |
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| 75 | 75 | | nial and distortion. 19 |
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| 76 | 76 | | SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 20 |
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| 77 | 77 | | In this Act: 21 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (1) A |
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| 79 | 79 | | RMENIAN GENOCIDE .—The term ‘‘Arme-22 |
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| 80 | 80 | | nian Genocide’’ means Ottoman Turkey’s systematic 23 |
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| 81 | 81 | | and deliberate state-sponsored mass murder, na-24 |
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| 82 | 82 | | tional dispossession, cultural erasure, and exile of 25 |
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| 85 | 85 | | •HR 2585 IH |
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| 86 | 86 | | millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, 1 |
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| 87 | 87 | | Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other 2 |
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| 88 | 88 | | Christians, between 1915 and 1923. 3 |
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| 89 | 89 | | (2) A |
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| 90 | 90 | | RMENIAN GENOCIDE EDUCATION PRO -4 |
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| 91 | 91 | | GRAM.—The term ‘‘Armenian Genocide education 5 |
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| 92 | 92 | | program’’ means a program that has as its specific 6 |
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| 93 | 93 | | and primary purpose the improvement of awareness 7 |
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| 94 | 94 | | and understanding of the history, lessons, con-8 |
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| 95 | 95 | | sequences, and ongoing costs of the Armenian Geno-9 |
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| 96 | 96 | | cide, and which will serve as a means of promoting 10 |
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| 97 | 97 | | justice and preventing genocide, hate, and bigotry 11 |
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| 98 | 98 | | against any group of people. 12 |
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| 99 | 99 | | (3) D |
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| 100 | 100 | | ENIAL.—The term ‘‘denial’’ refers to dis-13 |
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| 101 | 101 | | course and propaganda that claims that the Arme-14 |
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| 102 | 102 | | nian Genocide did not take place. 15 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (4) D |
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| 104 | 104 | | ISTORTION.—The term ‘‘distortion’’ refers 16 |
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| 105 | 105 | | specifically to any attempt to excuse or minimize, in 17 |
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| 106 | 106 | | its entirety or in its principal elements, the Arme-18 |
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| 107 | 107 | | nian Genocide, including efforts to blame the victims 19 |
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| 108 | 108 | | for causing their own genocide, or to portray the Ar-20 |
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| 109 | 109 | | menian Genocide as a positive historical event. 21 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (5) L |
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| 111 | 111 | | OCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY .—The term 22 |
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| 112 | 112 | | ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 23 |
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| 113 | 113 | | such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and 24 |
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| 116 | 116 | | •HR 2585 IH |
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| 117 | 117 | | Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 21 1 |
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| 118 | 118 | | 7801). 2 |
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| 119 | 119 | | SEC. 4. PROGRAM DESCRIBED. 3 |
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| 120 | 120 | | (a) E |
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| 121 | 121 | | STABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF PRO-4 |
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| 122 | 122 | | GRAM.—The Librarian of Congress shall establish and 5 |
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| 123 | 123 | | carry out a program to support Armenian Genocide edu-6 |
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| 124 | 124 | | cation programs by— 7 |
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| 125 | 125 | | (1) carrying out the activities described in sub-8 |
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| 126 | 126 | | section (b); 9 |
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| 127 | 127 | | (2) entering into agreements with program par-10 |
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| 128 | 128 | | ticipants under section 5; and 11 |
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| 129 | 129 | | (3) providing online resources under section 6. 12 |
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| 130 | 130 | | (b) A |
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| 131 | 131 | | CTIVITIES.—The activities described in this sub-13 |
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| 132 | 132 | | section are as follows: 14 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (1) The development and national dissemination 15 |
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| 134 | 134 | | of accurate, relevant, and accessible resources to 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | promote understanding about how and why the Ar-17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | menian Genocide happened, which shall include dig-18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | ital resources and may include other types of re-19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | sources, such as print resources and traveling exhibi-20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | tions. 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | (2) The development, national dissemination, 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | and implementation of principles of sound pedagogy 23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | for teaching about the Armenian Genocide. 24 |
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| 145 | 145 | | •HR 2585 IH |
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| 146 | 146 | | (3) The provision of professional development 1 |
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| 147 | 147 | | services for entities participating in the program 2 |
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| 148 | 148 | | under an agreement entered into under section 5, 3 |
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| 149 | 149 | | such as through— 4 |
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| 150 | 150 | | (A) local, regional, and national workshops 5 |
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| 151 | 151 | | and teacher trainings in conjunction with geno-6 |
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| 152 | 152 | | cide education centers and other appropriate 7 |
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| 153 | 153 | | partners; 8 |
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| 154 | 154 | | (B) engagement with local educational 9 |
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| 155 | 155 | | agencies and high schools and schools that in-10 |
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| 156 | 156 | | clude one of the middle grades that are inde-11 |
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| 157 | 157 | | pendent of any local educational agency; and 12 |
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| 158 | 158 | | (C) the operation and expansion of a 13 |
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| 159 | 159 | | teacher fellowship program to cultivate and sup-14 |
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| 160 | 160 | | port leaders in Armenian Genocide education. 15 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (4) Engagement with State and local education 16 |
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| 162 | 162 | | leaders to encourage the adoption of the resources 17 |
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| 163 | 163 | | developed and supported under the program estab-18 |
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| 164 | 164 | | lished by this Act into curricula across diverse dis-19 |
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| 165 | 165 | | ciplines. 20 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (5) Evaluation and research to assess the effec-21 |
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| 167 | 167 | | tiveness and impact of the Armenian Genocide edu-22 |
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| 168 | 168 | | cation programs and the other activities carried out 23 |
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| 169 | 169 | | under the program established by this Act, which 24 |
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| 172 | 172 | | •HR 2585 IH |
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| 173 | 173 | | may include the preparation and use of material for 1 |
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| 174 | 174 | | the annual report required under section 8. 2 |
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| 175 | 175 | | SEC. 5. ENGAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICI-3 |
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| 176 | 176 | | PANTS. 4 |
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| 177 | 177 | | (a) A |
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| 178 | 178 | | GREEMENTSWITHPROGRAMPARTICIPANTS.— 5 |
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| 179 | 179 | | The Librarian of Congress may enter into agreements 6 |
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| 180 | 180 | | with eligible entities under which such entities may serve 7 |
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| 181 | 181 | | as program participants in the program established by this 8 |
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| 182 | 182 | | Act. 9 |
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| 183 | 183 | | (b) C |
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| 184 | 184 | | ONTENTS OFAGREEMENTS.—An agreement en-10 |
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| 185 | 185 | | tered into under this section between the Librarian and 11 |
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| 186 | 186 | | an eligible entity shall include the following elements: 12 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (1) A description of the services and assistance 13 |
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| 188 | 188 | | provided to the entity by the Librarian. 14 |
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| 189 | 189 | | (2) A description of the activities to be carried 15 |
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| 190 | 190 | | out by the entity with such services and assistance. 16 |
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| 191 | 191 | | (3) The length of the period in which the agree-17 |
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| 192 | 192 | | ment shall be in effect. 18 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (4) Such other elements as may be agreed to by 19 |
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| 194 | 194 | | the Librarian and the entity, consistent with the 20 |
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| 195 | 195 | | program established by this Act. 21 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (c) E |
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| 197 | 197 | | LIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to serve as a 22 |
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| 198 | 198 | | program participant in the program established by this 23 |
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| 199 | 199 | | Act if— 24 |
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| 202 | 202 | | •HR 2585 IH |
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| 203 | 203 | | (1) the entity is a local educational agency, a 1 |
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| 204 | 204 | | school that is independent of any local educational 2 |
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| 205 | 205 | | agency, or an entity that works with or for a local 3 |
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| 206 | 206 | | educational agency or a school that is independent 4 |
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| 207 | 207 | | of any local educational agency; and 5 |
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| 208 | 208 | | (2) the entity submits to the Librarian, at such 6 |
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| 209 | 209 | | time and in such form as the Librarian may require, 7 |
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| 210 | 210 | | an application containing such information and as-8 |
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| 211 | 211 | | surances as the Librarian may require. 9 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (d) P |
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| 213 | 213 | | RIORITY.—In selecting among eligible entities 10 |
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| 214 | 214 | | for participating in the program established under this 11 |
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| 215 | 215 | | Act, the Librarian shall give priority to applications from 12 |
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| 216 | 216 | | entities who are local educational agencies, schools that 13 |
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| 217 | 217 | | are independent of any local educational agency, or enti-14 |
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| 218 | 218 | | ties that work with or for a local educational agency or 15 |
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| 219 | 219 | | a school that is independent of any local educational agen-16 |
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| 220 | 220 | | cy, that do not, at the time application is made, offer any 17 |
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| 221 | 221 | | Armenian Genocide education program. 18 |
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| 222 | 222 | | SEC. 6. ONLINE EDUCATION RESOURCES. 19 |
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| 223 | 223 | | (a) W |
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| 224 | 224 | | EBSITE.—The Librarian of Congress shall 20 |
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| 225 | 225 | | maintain on the website of the Library of Congress a pub-21 |
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| 226 | 226 | | licly available special section designated for Armenian 22 |
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| 227 | 227 | | Genocide education resources to improve awareness and 23 |
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| 228 | 228 | | understanding of this Genocide and educate individuals on 24 |
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| 229 | 229 | | the lessons of the Armenian Genocide as a means to raise 25 |
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| 232 | 232 | | •HR 2585 IH |
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| 233 | 233 | | awareness about the importance of preventing genocide, 1 |
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| 234 | 234 | | hate, and bigotry against any group of people. 2 |
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| 235 | 235 | | (b) I |
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| 236 | 236 | | NFORMATION DISTRIBUTION.—The Librarian 3 |
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| 237 | 237 | | shall distribute information about the activities funded 4 |
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| 238 | 238 | | under this Act through the website of the Library of Con-5 |
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| 239 | 239 | | gress, and shall respond to inquiries for supplementary in-6 |
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| 240 | 240 | | formation concerning such activities. 7 |
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| 241 | 241 | | (c) B |
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| 242 | 242 | | ESTPRACTICES.—The information distributed 8 |
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| 243 | 243 | | by the Librarian under this section shall include best prac-9 |
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| 244 | 244 | | tices for educators on how to teach about the Armenian 10 |
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| 245 | 245 | | Genocide. 11 |
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| 246 | 246 | | SEC. 7. PRIVATE SUPPORT. 12 |
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| 247 | 247 | | (a) A |
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| 248 | 248 | | CCEPTANCE OFDONATIONS.—The Librarian of 13 |
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| 249 | 249 | | Congress may solicit, accept, hold, administer, invest, and 14 |
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| 250 | 250 | | use donated funds and gifts, bequests, and devises of prop-15 |
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| 251 | 251 | | erty, both real and personal, to support the activities car-16 |
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| 252 | 252 | | ried out under this Act, subject to subsection (c). 17 |
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| 253 | 253 | | (b) E |
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| 254 | 254 | | STABLISHMENT OF SEPARATEGIFTAC-18 |
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| 255 | 255 | | COUNT.—There is established in the Treasury (among the 19 |
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| 256 | 256 | | accounts of the Library of Congress) a gift account for 20 |
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| 257 | 257 | | the activities carried out under this Act. 21 |
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| 258 | 258 | | (c) D |
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| 259 | 259 | | EDICATION OFFUNDS.—Notwithstanding any 22 |
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| 260 | 260 | | other provision of law— 23 |
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| 261 | 261 | | (1) any funds donated to the Librarian to carry 24 |
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| 262 | 262 | | out activities under this Act shall be deposited en-25 |
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| 265 | 265 | | •HR 2585 IH |
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| 266 | 266 | | tirely into the gift account established under sub-1 |
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| 267 | 267 | | section (b); 2 |
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| 268 | 268 | | (2) the funds contained in such account shall be 3 |
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| 269 | 269 | | used solely to carry out activities under this Act; and 4 |
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| 270 | 270 | | (3) the Librarian may not deposit into such ac-5 |
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| 271 | 271 | | count any funds donated to the Librarian which are 6 |
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| 272 | 272 | | not donated for the exclusive purpose of carrying out 7 |
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| 273 | 273 | | activities under this Act. 8 |
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| 274 | 274 | | SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT. 9 |
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| 275 | 275 | | Not later than February 1 of each year (beginning 10 |
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| 276 | 276 | | with 2026), the Librarian of Congress shall submit to the 11 |
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| 277 | 277 | | Congress a report describing the activities carried out 12 |
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| 278 | 278 | | under this Act. 13 |
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| 279 | 279 | | SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 14 |
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| 280 | 280 | | There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 15 |
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| 281 | 281 | | this Act $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and each of the 16 |
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| 282 | 282 | | 4 succeeding fiscal years. 17 |
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| 283 | 283 | | Æ |
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