Empowering Young Readers Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7327 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7327

 To require the Secretary of Education to establish a pilot program to 
award grants to eligible organizations to carry out activities related 
                to book access, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 3, 2026

Mrs. Foushee (for herself and Ms. Adams) introduced the following bill; 
     which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Education to establish a pilot program to 
award grants to eligible organizations to carry out activities related 
                to book access, 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 ``Empowering Young Readers Act of 
2026''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR BOOK ACCESS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall establish a 
pilot program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 
organizations to carry out the activities described in subsection (c).
    (b) Application.--An eligible organization desiring a grant under 
this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
reasonably require, including--
            (1) information about past work the eligible organization 
        has performed related to book access;
            (2) a comprehensive strategic plan for how the eligible 
        organization would use a grant under this section to carry out 
        one or more of the activities described in subsection (c), 
        including a description of how such activities would address 
        the needs of the community served by the eligible organization; 
        and
            (3) a letter from a leader in the community served by the 
        eligible organization in support of the eligible organization 
        and the comprehensive strategic plan.
    (c) Activities.--Grant funds awarded under this section shall be 
used by an eligible entity to carry out one or more of the following 
activities:
            (1) Purchasing or otherwise acquiring new or used books for 
        distribution to children.
            (2) Distributing new or used books to children, including 
        through delivery or in-person events.
            (3) Donating new or used books to public libraries.
            (4) Hosting or organizing literacy-related programming for 
        children and their families, including book fairs, reading 
        hours, book drives, and story times.
            (5) Any other activity the Secretary determines appropriate 
        related to book access.
    (d) Grant Amounts and Duration.--A grant under this section--
            (1) shall be in an amount that is not more than $200,000; 
        and
            (2) shall be for a period of 2 years.
    (e) Viewpoint-Neutral.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall ensure that applications submitted pursuant to 
subsection (b) are reviewed based on viewpoint-neutral criteria.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the grant period of the 
final grant awarded pursuant to this section expires, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot program, which shall 
include--
            (1) qualitative data with respect to the activities carried 
        out by grant recipients, including the number of books provided 
        to children and their families; and
            (2) to the extent data is available, information about how 
        child literacy rates in communities served by eligible 
        organizations changed during and after such activities were 
        carried out.
    (g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
as restricting, infringing upon, or otherwise interfering with the 
ability of a public library or other entity to reject all or part of a 
donation of books.
    (h) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Child.--The term ``child'' means an individual under 19 
        years of age.
            (2) Eligible organization.--The term ``eligible 
        organization'' means--
                    (A) a nongovernmental organization; or
                    (B) a nonprofit organization.
    (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for fiscal year 
2026, to remain available through fiscal year 2027.
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