“To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out activities to support Armenian Genocide education programs, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings recognizing the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923, including U.S. government actions such as the 1951 International Court of Justice statement, President Reagan's 1981 proclamation, specified House and Senate resolutions from 1975, 1984, 2019, and President Biden's 2021 statement. The findings cite prior resolutions identifying the Ottoman Empire's campaign of genocide against Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians; rejecting U.S. association with genocide denial; encouraging education on the genocide, U.S. humanitarian relief efforts, and its relevance to modern crimes against humanity; and emphasizing the need to combat ongoing online denial and distortion through U.S. student education to promote understanding and resistance to hate.
This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including "(1) Armenian Genocide," meaning Ottoman Turkey’s systematic and deliberate state-sponsored mass murder, national dispossession, cultural erasure, and exile of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians between 1915 and 1923; "(2) Armenian Genocide education program," meaning a program with the specific and primary purpose of improving awareness and understanding of the history, lessons, consequences, and ongoing costs of the Armenian Genocide to promote justice and prevent genocide, hate, and bigotry; "(3) denial," meaning discourse and propaganda claiming the Armenian Genocide did not take place; "(4) distortion," meaning any attempt to excuse or minimize the Armenian Genocide in whole or principal part, including blaming victims or portraying it positively; and "(5) local educational agency," having the meaning given in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
This section directs the Librarian of Congress to establish and carry out a program to support Armenian Genocide education programs through (1) the activities described in subsection (b), (2) agreements with program participants under section 5, and (3) online resources under section 6. Subsection (b) specifies the activities as (1) developing and nationally disseminating resources—such as digital materials, print resources, and traveling exhibitions—on how and why the Armenian Genocide occurred; (2) developing, disseminating, and implementing sound pedagogical principles for teaching about the Armenian Genocide; (3) providing professional development services to participants, including workshops, teacher trainings, engagement with local educational agencies and middle/high schools, and a teacher fellowship program; (4) engaging state and local education leaders to incorporate program resources into curricula across disciplines; and (5) conducting evaluations and research on program effectiveness and impact, including for the annual report under section 8.
This section authorizes the Librarian of Congress to enter into agreements with eligible entities to serve as program participants. Agreements must specify (1) services and assistance provided by the Librarian, (2) activities to be carried out by the entity, (3) the agreement's duration, and (4) other elements consistent with the program. Eligible entities are local educational agencies, independent schools, or entities working with them that submit required applications; the Librarian must prioritize those not currently offering Armenian Genocide education programs.
This section directs the Librarian of Congress to maintain a publicly available special section on the Library of Congress website designated for Armenian Genocide education resources to improve awareness and understanding of the genocide and educate individuals on its lessons for preventing genocide, hate, and bigotry. The section further requires the Librarian to distribute information about activities funded under this Act through the website, respond to inquiries for supplementary information, and include best practices for educators on teaching about the Armenian Genocide.
This section authorizes the Librarian of Congress to solicit, accept, hold, administer, invest, and use donated funds, gifts, bequests, and devises of property (real and personal) to support activities under this Act and establishes a dedicated gift account in the Treasury for such purposes. It further requires that donations for these activities be deposited entirely into the account, limits account funds solely to those activities, and prohibits depositing unrelated donations into the account.