Building Civic Bridges Act
This bill establishes an office and pilot grant program within the Corporation for National and Community Service to support civic bridge building, which aims to address local issues and polarization within communities.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6843 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6843
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish an
Office of Civic Bridgebuilding within the Corporation for National and
Community Service, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 25, 2022
Mr. Kilmer (for himself, Mr. Barr, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Timmons, Mr.
Jeffries, Mr. Reed, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Katko, Mr. Jones, Mr.
Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Upton, Mr. Deutch, Miss Gonzalez-Colon,
Mrs. Murphy of Florida, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Phillips, and
Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish an
Office of Civic Bridgebuilding within the Corporation for National and
Community Service, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Building Civic Bridges Act''.
SEC. 2. CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING.
Subtitle H of title I of the National and Community Service Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12653 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``PART VI--CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING
``SEC. 198T. OFFICE OF CIVIC BRIDGEBUILDING.
``(a) Establishment and Duties.--Subject to the requirements of
section 195(b), the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation may
designate an Officer of Civic Bridgebuilding within the Corporation to
administer an Office of Civic Bridgebuilding (in this section referred
to as the `Office') to carry out the following:
``(1) Administer the grant program described in subsection
(c) to support civic bridgebuilding across the Nation,
including establishing standardized criteria to track the
effectiveness of projects and activities funded under such
program, which shall be based on principles of scientific
research.
``(2) Support the Corporation in providing training in
civic bridgebuilding skills and techniques (with the
consideration and input of best practices collected by the
Office)--
``(A) for participants (including individuals who
have been selected to be participants) of a program
receiving assistance under a national service law; and
``(B) upon request, for an organization that
receives assistance under a national service law or
that is carrying out a program in which participants
described in subparagraph (A) are participating.
``(3) Select the members of the Advisory Committee under
subsection (b).
``(4) Support research and evaluations on civic
bridgebuilding and the dissemination of that information,
including through--
``(A) evaluation and oversight of the grant program
described in subsection (c);
``(B) collaboration (including through the
evaluation of the activities of the Corporation
relating to civic bridgebuilding and civic engagement)
between the Office and other offices (such as the
Office of Research and Evaluation), teams, or
individuals within the Corporation as the Corporation
determines necessary; and
``(C) the creation of a public research base that
monitors national metrics for civic bridgebuilding and
convenes research focused on evaluating the extent to
which civic bridgebuilding and civic engagement
activities strengthen or weaken such bridgebuilding and
engagement in the United States.
``(5) Activate a public conversation about the importance
of civic bridgebuilding by convening and coordinating civic
bridgebuilding programs, providing resources, networking, and
collaboration opportunities to the field, which may include--
``(A) network cultivation to strengthen the
community of those involved, interested, or engaged in
the civic bridgebuilding field, including through
activities such as--
``(i) in-person and virtual events for the
public to showcase impactful practices, bring
civic bridgebuilding leaders together, present
relevant research, and explore emerging civic
bridgebuilding needs;
``(ii) organizing peer-learning
opportunities to facilitate conversations
within the field of civic bridgebuilding;
``(iii) organizing and distributing lists
of civic bridgebuilding leaders, organizations,
and groups in the civic bridgebuilding field;
and
``(iv) coordinating national communications
among civic bridgebuilding leaders, including
through the promotion of civic bridgebuilding
programs and sharing stories of local impact;
and
``(B) developing or distributing resources to
expand best practices in the civic bridgebuilding
field, including through--
``(i) the curation of a digital resource
hub focused on sharing resources from entities
that receive grants under subsection (c), other
civic bridgebuilding leaders and programs, or
the research base; and
``(ii) the production of new resources,
trainings, or best practices based on learnings
from the civic bridgebuilding field.
``(b) Advisory Committee.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established within the
Office of Civic Bridgebuilding an Advisory Committee (in this
subsection referred to as the `Committee').
``(2) Members.--
``(A) Selection.--The Officer of Civic
Bridgebuilding shall select 9 members of an Advisory
Committee, including a Chairperson of the Committee,
and ensure that such Committee is comprised of civic
bridgebuilding leaders who represent diverse
ideological, religious, racial, regional, or ethnic
communities, and with relevant experience and expertise
from the civic bridgebuilding field.
``(B) Terms of service.--A member of the Committee
shall serve for a term of 3 years.
``(3) Duties.--The Advisory Committee shall carry out the
following:
``(A) Provide advice and consultation to the
Officer of Civic Bridgebuilding on the priorities and
administration of such Office.
``(B) Conduct an annual review of grants awarded
under subsection (c), with a focus to diversity,
equity, and inclusion, and identifying any gaps or
needs that emerged from previous application cycles.
``(C) Conduct an annual review of the process of
awarding grants under subsection (c), including rubrics
or metrics for grant selection used by the Officer of
Civic Bridgebuilding.
``(D) Review the analysis provided under the peer
review process under subsection (c)(5).
``(c) Civic Bridgebuilding Pilot Grant Program.--
``(1) In general.--From the amounts appropriated to carry
out this subsection, the Corporation (acting through the
Officer of Civic Bridgebuilding and in consultation with the
Advisory Committee established under subsection (b)) shall
carry out a pilot program for a 3-year period (with the
possibility of renewal for additional 3-year periods) to award
grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to support
civic bridgebuilding programs across the Nation.
``(2) Grant period.--A grant awarded under this subsection
shall be for a 1-year period. There shall be 3 grant cycles
under the 3-year pilot program.
``(3) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this subsection, an eligible entity shall submit an application
to the Corporation at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Corporation may require, including--
``(A) a description of the project that will be
funded with the grant;
``(B) an assurance that such project will--
``(i) provide evidence of engaging diverse
communities;
``(ii) facilitate the creation or endurance
of civic bridgebuilding or address the root
causes of polarization as articulated in the
research base;
``(iii) cite research supporting the
efficacy and impact of the proposed approach
for the project; and
``(iv) ensure physical, social, and
psychological safety for all participants
involved in the project and provide a
description of evidence-based best practices
for how this goal will be achieved; and
``(C) an assurance that the eligible entity will
report outcomes of such project to track effectiveness
based on standardized criteria established by the
Office of Civic Bridgebuilding under subsection (a)(1)
or will evaluate the impact of such project based on
principles of scientific research.
``(4) Uses of funds.--An eligible entity receiving a grant
under this subsection shall use such grant to carry out a
project to advance civic bridgebuilding in communities across
the Nation or address the root causes of polarization as
articulated in the research base.
``(5) Peer review process.--The Corporation shall establish
a peer review process which shall include consultation with
research communities in the civic bridgebuilding field to
analyze the process of awarding grants (and the grants that are
awarded) under this subsection.
``(d) Comptroller General.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall, on an annual basis, submit to Congress a report, which
summarizes and assesses the effectiveness and impact of the activities
carried out under grants awarded under subsection (c).
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Civic bridgebuilding.--The term `civic
bridgebuilding'--
``(A) means activities that foster respect between
diverse communities, strengthen relationships across
lines of difference, and forge a sense of common civic
purpose, and which seeks to solve community problems
and diminish polarization; and
``(B) includes--
``(i) activities that take place in local
communities, where individuals and institutions
come together to build empathy, strengthen
belonging, and address local issues; and
``(ii) activities at the field level, where
civic bridgebuilding leaders work together to
share research and best practices, learn from
one another, and grow civic bridgebuilding
efforts.
``(2) Civic bridgebuilding leader.--The term `civic
bridgebuilding leader' means an individual who leads civic
bridgebuilding programs or efforts.
``(3) Civic bridgebuilding program.--The term `civic
bridgebuilding program' means a program, project, or activity
which embodies or works to achieves the goals of civic
bridgebuilding.
``(4) Civic engagement.--The term `civic engagement' means
an individual or collective action designed to address a public
concern or an unmet human, educational, health care,
environmental, or public safety need.
``(5) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means a
nonprofit entity, public institution, elementary school,
secondary school, institution of higher education, religious
group, or consortium of any such entities.
``(6) Public institution.--The term `public institution'
means a library, unit of local government, or other entity
expending public funds or performing public functions.
``(7) Research.--The term `research' means research which
embodies principles of scientific research.
``(8) Research base.--The term `research base' means any
publications that contain observations, analysis, and
conclusions based on principles of scientific research with
respect to the challenges of political and social polarization
in the United States, and practical approaches to strengthen
social cohesion, foster a sense of national connection, or
improve intergroup relations in divided communities.
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2023 through 2025.''.
SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents in section 1(b) of the National and Community
Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 note) is amended by inserting at
the end of the item relating to subtitle H of title I, the following:
``Part VI--Civic Bridgebuilding
``Sec. 198T. Office of Civic Bridgebuilding.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line