,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #decj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #ad1     
#bjbb,mr4 ,coons 7for himself and ,mr4  
,sasse7 introduced the following bill2  
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,health1 ,education1     
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
amend the ,national and ,community      
,service ,act of #aiij to establish an  
,office of ,civic ,bridgebuilding within
 the ,corporation for ,national and     
,community ,service1 and for other      
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,building ,civic    
,bridges ,act4  #b4 ,civic              
,bridgebuilding ,subtitle ,h of title ,i
 of the ,national and ,community        
,service ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#abfec et seq47 is amended by adding at 
the end the following3  ,,vi ,civic     
,bridgebuilding  #aih,t4 ,office of     
,civic ,bridgebuilding  7a7             
,establishment ,there shall be in the   
,corporation an ,office of ,civic       

,bridgebuilding 7in this section        
referred to as the ,office74 ,the       
,office shall be headed by an ,officer  
of ,civic ,bridgebuilding1 who shall be 
designated by the ,chief ,executive     
,officer pursuant to section #aie7;b74  
7b7 ,duties ,the ,officer of ,civic     
,bridgebuilding shall carry out each of 
the following3 7#a7 ,administer the     
grant program described in subsection   
7d7 to support civic bridgebuilding     
across the ,united ,states1 including by
 establishing standardized criteria     
7based on principles of scientific      
research7 to track the effectiveness of 
projects and activities funded under    
such program4  7#b7 ,support the        
,corporation in providing training in   
skills and techniques relevant to civic 
bridgebuilding 7with the consideration  
of best practices collected by the      
,office1 including through input from   
the ,advisory ,committee under          
subsection 7c77-- 7,a7 for participants 
7including individuals who have been    

selected to be participants7 of a       
program receiving funding under a       
national service law2 and  7,b7 upon    
request by an organization that receives
 funding under a national service law or
 that is carrying out a program in which
 participants described in subparagraph 
7,a7 are participating1 for such        
organization4  7#c7 ,select the members 
of the ,advisory ,committee under       
subsection 7c74  7#d7 ,support research 
and evaluations on civic bridgebuilding 
and the dissemination of related        
information1 including through-- 7,a7   
evaluation and oversight of the grant   
program described in subsection 7d72    
7,b7 as the ,corporation determines     
necessary1 collaboration 7including     
through the evaluation of the activities
 of the ,corporation relating to civic  
bridgebuilding and civic engagement7    
between the ,office and other offices   
7such as the ,office of ,research and   
,evaluation71 teams1 or individuals     
within the ,corporation2 and  7,c7 the  

establishment of a publicly available   
collection of publications for a        
research base for the purposes of       
monitoring national metrics for civic   
bridgebuilding and assembling research  
focused on evaluating the extent to     
which civic bridgebuilding and civic    
engagement activities strengthen or     
weaken other civic bridgebuilding and   
civic engagement activities and outcomes
 in the ,united ,states4  7#e7 ,activate
 a public conversation about the        
importance of civic bridgebuilding by   
convening and coordinating civic        
bridgebuilding programs and providing   
resources1 networking1 and collaboration
 opportunities to individuals and       
entities in the civic bridgebuilding    
field1 such as through-- 7,a7 network   
cultivation to strengthen the community 
of those involved1 interested1 or       
engaged in the civic bridgebuilding     
field1 including through activities such
 as-- 7i7 in-person and virtual events  
for the public to showcase impactful    

practices1 bring civic bridgebuilding   
leaders together1 present relevant      
research1 and explore emerging needs    
that would benefit from civic           
bridgebuilding2  7ii7 organizing        
peer-learning opportunities to          
facilitate conversations within the     
civic bridgebuilding field2  7iii7      
organizing and distributing lists of    
civic bridgebuilding leaders and        
organizations and groups in the civic   
bridgebuilding field2 and  7iv7         
coordinating national communications    
among civic bridgebuilding leaders1     
including through the promotion of civic
 bridgebuilding programs and sharing    
stories of local impact2 and  7,b7      
developing or distributing resources to 
expand best practices in the civic      
bridgebuilding field1 including         
through-- 7i7 the curation of a digital 
resource hub focused on sharing         
resources from entities that receive    
grants under subsection 7d71 civic      
bridgebuilding leaders1 civic           

bridgebuilding programs1 or the publicly
 available collection of publications   
for a research base established under   
paragraph 7#d77;,c72 and  7ii7 the      
production of new resources1 training1  
or best practices based on lessons from 
the civic bridgebuilding field4  7c7    
,advisory ,committee  7#a7              
,establishment ,there is established    
within the ,office of ,civic            
,bridgebuilding an ,advisory ,committee4
  7#b7 ,members  7,a7 ,selection ,the   
,advisory ,committee shall be composed  
of #i members selected by the ,officer  
of ,civic ,bridgebuilding1 including a  
member designated by the ,officer of    
,civic ,bridgebuilding as the           
,chairperson of the ,advisory           
,committee1 and such members shall be   
civic bridgebuilding leaders-- 7i7 who  
represent diverse ideological1          
religious1 racial1 regional1 or ethnic  
communities2 and  7ii7 with relevant    
experience and expertise from the civic 
bridgebuilding field4  7,b7 ,terms of   

service ,a member of the ,advisory      
,committee shall serve for a term of #c 
years4  7#c7 ,duties ,the ,advisory     
,committee shall carry out each of the  
following3 7,a7 ,provide advice and     
consultation to the ,officer of ,civic  
,bridgebuilding on the priorities and   
administration of the ,office4  7,b7    
,conduct an annual review of grants     
awarded under subsection 7d71 with a    
focus on diversity1 equity1 and         
inclusion1 and identifying any gaps or  
needs that emerged in an application    
cycle4  7,c7 ,conduct an annual review  
of the process of awarding grants under 
subsection 7d71 including a review of   
rubrics or metrics for selection of     
grant recipients used by the ,officer of
 ,civic ,bridgebuilding4  7,d7 ,review  
the analysis provided under the peer    
review process under subsection 7d77#e74
  7d7 ,civic bridgebuilding pilot grant 
program  7#a7 ,in general ,from the     
amounts appropriated to carry out this  
subsection1 the ,corporation 7acting    

through the ,officer of ,civic          
,bridgebuilding and in consultation with
 the ,advisory ,committee established   
under subsection 7c77-- 7,a7 shall carry
 out a pilot program for a #c-year      
period to award grants1 on a competitive
 basis1 to eligible entities to support 
civic bridgebuilding programs across the
 ,united ,states2 and  7,b7 may carry   
out such a pilot program for additional 
#c-year periods4  7#b7 ,grant period ,a 
grant awarded under this subsection     
shall be for a #a-year period4 ,grants  
shall be awarded under this subsection  
in #c grant cycles for each #c-year     
period of the program carried out under 
paragraph 7#a74  7#c7 ,application ,to  
be eligible to receive a grant under    
this subsection1 an eligible entity     
shall submit an application to the      
,corporation at such time1 in such      
manner1 and containing such information 
and assurances as the ,corporation may  
require1 including-- 7,a7 a description 
of the project that will be funded with 

the grant2  7,b7 an explanation of how  
that such project will-- 7i7 engage     
diverse communities2  7ii7 facilitate   
the establishment or continuation of    
civic bridgebuilding1 which may include 
addressing the root causes of           
polarization as articulated in the      
publicly available collection of        
publications for a research base        
established under subsection            
7b77#d77;,c72  7iii7 reflect research   
supporting the efficacy and impact of   
the proposed approach for the project2  
and  7iv7 ensure physical1 social1 and  
psychological safety for all            
participants involved in the project2   
7,c7 a description of evidence-based    
best practices for how such safety will 
be achieved2 and  7,d7 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 
7b77#a7 or will evaluate the impact of  

such project based on principles of     
scientific research4  7#d7 ,uses of     
funds ,an eligible entity receiving a   
grant under this subsection shall use   
the grant funds to carry out a project  
to advance civic bridgebuilding in      
communities across the ,united ,states1 
which may include addressing the root   
causes of polarization as articulated in
 the publicly available collection of   
publications for a research base        
established under subsection            
7b77#d77;,c74  7#e7 ,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  
7and the grants that are awarded7 under 
this subsection4  7e7 ,comptroller      
,general ,the ,comptroller ,general of  
the ,united ,states shall1 on an annual 
basis1 submit to ,congress a report1    
which summarizes and assesses the       
effectiveness and impact of the         

activities carried out under grants     
awarded under subsection 7d74  7f7      
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,civic bridgebuilding ,the term civic   
bridgebuilding-- 7,a7 means an activity 
that-- 7i7 fosters respect between      
diverse communities2  7ii7 strengthens  
relationships across lines of           
difference2  7iii7 forges a sense of    
common civic purpose2 and  7iv7 seeks to
 solve a community problem and diminish 
polarization2 and  7,b7 includes-- 7i7  
activities that take place in local     
communities1 where individuals and      
institutions come together to build     
empathy1 strengthen belonging1 and      
address local issues2 and  7ii7         
activities at the field level1 where    
civic bridgebuilding leaders work       
together to share research and best     
practices1 learn from one another1 and  
grow other civic bridgebuilding4  7#b7  
,civic bridgebuilding leader ,the term  
civic bridgebuilding leader means an    
individual who leads civic              

bridgebuilding programs or efforts4     
7#c7 ,civic engagement ,the term civic  
engagement means an individual or       
collective action designed to address a 
public concern or an unmet human1       
educational1 health care1 environmental1
 or public safety need4  7#d7 ,eligible 
entity ,the term eligible entity means a
 nonprofit entity1 public institution1  
elementary school1 secondary school1    
institution of higher education1        
religious group1 or consortium of any   
such entities4  7#e7 ,public institution
 ,the term public institution means a   
library or unit of ,state1 local1 or    
special purpose government4  7#f7       
,research ,the term research means      
research which embodies principles of   
scientific research4  7#g7 ,research    
base ,the term research base means any  
publications that contain observations1 
analysis1 and conclusions based on      
principles of scientific research with  
respect to the challenges of political  
and social polarization in the ,united  

,states1 and practical approaches to    
strengthen social cohesion1 foster a    
sense of national connection1 or improve
 intergroup relations in divided        
communities4  7g7 ,authorization of     
appropriations ,there are authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out this       
section #be1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal  
years #bjbc through #bjbe4  4  #c4      
,table of contents ,the table of        
contents in section #a7;b7 of the       
,national and ,community ,service ,act  
of #aiij is amended by inserting at the 
end of the item relating to subtitle ,h 
of title ,i1 the following3  ,part      
,,vi--,civic ,bridgebuilding ,sec4      
#aih,t4 ,office of ,civic               
,bridgebuilding4  4