,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gahi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #aa1 #bjbj,mr4 
,tipton 7for himself and ,ms4 ,sherrill7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was referred to the ,committee on       
,foreign ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to       
establish a youth study abroad program  
in the ,department of ,state for ,united
 ,states secondary school students to   
study in ,normandy1 ,france1 to learn   
about the relationship between the      
,united ,states and ,france1 the ,world 
,war ,,ii military operation known as   
,operation ,overlord1 and for other     
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,operation ,overlord
 ,study ,abroad ,program ,act of #bjbj4 
#b4 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3 7#a7 ,the ,united ,states and
 ,france have shared close cultural1    
economic1 social1 and diplomatic        
relations since #aggf when ,french      
forces supported the ,american ,colonies
 during the ,revolutionary ,war to gain 

freedom from ,great ,britain4  7#b7     
,world ,war ,,ii cemented this positive 
relationship between the ,united ,states
 and ,france4  7#c7 ,on ,june #f1 #aidd1
 the ,united ,states1 as a member of the
 ,allied ,forces1 led the military      
operation known as ,operation ,overlord4
  7#d7 ,operation ,overlord consisted of
 a series of prolonged parachute and    
glider landings1 large naval            
bombardments1 massive air attacks1 and  
amphibious landings on the beaches of   
,normandy known as ,utah1 ,omaha1 ,gold1
 ,juno1 and ,sword4  7#e7 ,over         
#b1jjj1jjj military service members of  
the ,allied ,forces landed in ,france   
during ,operation ,overlord1 which      
resulted in approximately #bbf1jjj      
casualties4 ,of those casualties1       
approximately #aec1jjj were injured1 and
 #gb1jjj were either killed or declared 
missing in action4  7#f7 ,operation     
,overlord resulted in a victory for the 
,allied ,forces as they forced ,nazi    
,germany to withdraw from ,normandy and 

move eastward toward ,paris4  7#g7 ,june
 #f1 #bjbj1 is the #gfth anniversary of 
the start of ,operation ,overlord4  #c4 
,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of 
,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,united       
,states owes to the generation of       
,americans known as the ,greatest       
,generation an immense level of respect 
and gratitude for risking their lives by
 serving in the ,allied ,forces to      
defeat ,nazi ,germany2  7#b7 it is vital
 that the stories of the men and women  
who fought in ,operation ,overlord are  
not forgotten1 allowing our youth to    
remember some of the greatest acts of   
heroism recorded in human history2 and  
7#c7 the ,united ,states hopes to       
maintain strong ties with the           
,government of ,france and ensure the   
lessons learned from ,operation         
,overlord are not forgotten4  #d4       
,operation ,overlord academic study     
abroad program  7a7 ,in general ,the    
,secretary of ,state1 in cooperation    
with the ,government of ,france1 may    

establish in the ,department of ,state a
 #b-week academic study abroad program  
7referred to in this section as the     
study abroad program71 during either the
 month of ,july or ,august1 in          
,normandy1 ,france1 for eligible        
individuals to learn about the          
historical relationship between the     
,united ,states and ,france by-- 7#a7   
attending a secondary school or         
post-secondary school in ,france for the
 duration of the study abroad program   
with academic course work emphasizing-- 
7,a7 the history1 constitution1 and     
political development of ,france2 and   
7,b7 the relationship between the       
,united ,states and ,france during      
,world ,war ,,ii1 focusing on the       
military operation known as ,operation  
,overlord2 and  7#b7 visiting historical
 sites4  7b7 ,eligibility  7#a7 ,in     
general ,to be eligible to participate  
in this study abroad program1 an        
individual shall-- 7,a7 be a citizen of 
the ,united ,states between #af to #ah  

years of age2  7,b7 be a freshman1      
sophomore1 or junior at the time such   
individual submits an application for   
participation in the study abroad       
program2  7,c7 have an overall grade    
point average of at least #b4h on a #d4j
 scale at the time of the submission of 
the application2  7,d7 provide at least 
#a letter of recommendation from a      
secondary school teacher who knows the  
individual2  7,e7 agree to participate  
in the presentation under subsection    
7f72  7,f7 either be enrolled in1 or    
have completed1 at least one college    
preparatory history course2 and  7,g7   
satisfy any other qualifications the    
,secretary of ,state determines         
appropriate4  7#b7 ,preference          
,preference for participation in the    
study abroad program shall be given to  
individuals who speak the ,french       
language conversationally4  7c7         
,selection  7#a7 ,number of eligible    
individuals ,the ,secretary shall select
 not more than #ajj eligible individuals

 for participation in the study abroad  
program from a compiled list of eligible
 individuals nominated by ,united       
,states ,senators pursuant to paragraph 
7#b74  7#b7 ,nomination by ,senators    
,each ,united ,states ,senator shall    
nominate and submit to the ,secretary   
the name of one eligible individual from
 their ,state to participate in the     
study abroad program4  7d7 ,use of funds
 ,funds donated pursuant to subsection  
7h7 and appropriated under subsection   
7i7 to carry out the study abroad       
program shall be used for the following 
purposes3 7#a7 ,room and board4  7#b7   
,round trip international airfare1      
including airport transfers4  7#c7      
,entrance fees to all sites1 museums1   
and historic attractions4  7#d7         
,transportation while outside of the    
,united ,states4  7#e7 ,any tuition and 
academic materials required by the host 
secondary school or post-secondary      
school in ,france4  7#f7 ,gratuities to 
guides1 drivers1 porters1 and servers4  

7#g7 ,backpack1 luggage tags1 and       
customized name badge4  7#h7 ,pre-tour  
required readings and books4  7e7       
,application ,to be eligible to         
participate in the study abroad program1
 an eligible individual shall submit to 
the ,secretary of ,state an application 
at such time1 in such manner1 and       
containing such information as the      
,secretary of ,state may require4  7f7  
,presentation  7#a7 ,in general ,as a   
condition on participation in the study 
abroad program1 not later than #b months
 after the study abroad program has     
concluded1 each individual participating
 in the study abroad program under this 
section shall present to one history    
teacher from their school a #cj-minute  
presentation on their study abroad      
experience4  7#b7 ,verification required
 ,not later than #cj days after the     
completion of the presentation required 
under paragraph 7#a71 each individual   
participating in the study abroad       
program under this section shall submit 

to the ,secretary-- 7,a7 a digital copy 
of all presentation materials used by   
the individual for purposes of the      
presentation2 and  7,b7 a letter signed 
by a history teacher who witnessed the  
presentation4  7g7 ,annual report  7#a7 
,in general ,not later than #ij days    
after the conclusion of the scholarship 
program each year1 the ,secretary of    
,state shall submit to the ,committee on
 ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of     
,representatives and the ,committee on  
,foreign ,relations of the ,senate a    
report on the study abroad program4     
7#b7 ,matters included ,each report     
required under paragraph 7#a7 shall     
include information relating to the     
following3 7,a7 ,the implementation of  
the study abroad program4  7,b7 ,a      
financial report1 including-- 7i7 the   
number and amount of charitable         
contributions to the study abroad       
program2 and  7ii7 a comparison of such 
contributions from the preceding year of
 the study abroad program4  7,c7 ,the   

number of participants4  7,d7 ,the names
 and locations of the secondary schools 
and post-secondary schools in ,france   
attended by the participants4  7,e7 ,a  
description of the academic curricula4  
7,f7 ,a description of any other        
activities the participants carried out 
during their participation4  7h7        
,acceptance and use of donations ,the   
,secretary of ,state may accept and use 
donations to carry out the study abroad 
program4 ,amounts received by the       
,secretary of ,state in the form of     
donations shall be expended prior to the
 use of funds appropriated under        
subsection 7i74 ,the ,secretary of      
,state may reject a gift under this     
section when the rejection is in the    
interest of the ,government4  7i7       
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated such  
sums as may be necessary to carry out   
the study abroad program for each of    
fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe4