,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gcbg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #c1        
#bjbf,mrs4 ,foushee 7for herself and    
,ms4 ,adams7 introduced the following   
bill2 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 access1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,empowering ,young  
,readers ,act of #bjbf4  #b4 ,pilot     
program for book access  7a7 ,in general
 ,not later than #ahj days after the    
date of enactment of this ,act1 the     
,secretary of ,education shall establish
 a pilot program to award grants1 on a  
competitive basis1 to eligible          
organizations to carry out the          
activities described in subsection 7c74 
7b7 ,application ,an eligible           
organization desiring a grant under this

 section shall submit an application to 
the ,secretary at such time1 in such    
manner1 and containing such information 
as the ,secretary may reasonably        
require1 including-- 7#a7 information   
about past work the eligible            
organization has performed related to   
book access2  7#b7 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 
7c71 including a description of how such
 activities would address the needs of  
the community served by the eligible    
organization2 and  7#c7 a letter from a 
leader in the community served by the   
eligible organization in support of the 
eligible organization and the           
comprehensive strategic plan4  7c7      
,activities ,grant funds awarded under  
this section shall be used by an        
eligible entity to carry out one or more
 of the following activities3 7#a7      
,purchasing or otherwise acquiring new  

or used books for distribution to       
children4  7#b7 ,distributing new or    
used books to children1 including       
through delivery or in-person events4   
7#c7 ,donating new or used books to     
public libraries4  7#d7 ,hosting or     
organizing literacy-related programming 
for children and their families1        
including book fairs1 reading hours1    
book drives1 and story times4  7#e7 ,any
 other activity the ,secretary          
determines appropriate related to book  
access4  7d7 ,grant amounts and duration
 ,a grant under this section-- 7#a7     
shall be in an amount that is not more  
than #bjj1jjj2 and  7#b7 shall be for a 
period of #b years4  7e7                
,viewpoint-,neutral ,in awarding grants 
under this section1 the ,secretary shall
 ensure that applications submitted     
pursuant to subsection 7b7 are reviewed 
based on viewpoint-neutral criteria4    
7f7 ,report ,not later than #f months   
after the grant period of the final     
grant awarded pursuant to this section  

expires1 the ,secretary shall submit to 
,congress a report on the pilot program1
 which shall include-- 7#a7 qualitative 
data with respect to the activities     
carried out by grant recipients1        
including the number of books provided  
to children and their families2 and     
7#b7 to the extent data is available1   
information about how child literacy    
rates in communities served by eligible 
organizations changed during and after  
such activities were carried out4  7g7  
,rule of construction ,nothing in this  
section may be construed as restricting1
 infringing upon1 or otherwise          
interfering with the ability of a public
 library or other entity to reject all  
or part of a donation of books4  7h7    
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,child ,the term child means an         
individual under #ai years of age4  7#b7
 ,eligible organization ,the term       
eligible organization means-- 7,a7 a    
nongovernmental organization2 or  7,b7 a
 nonprofit organization4  7i7           

,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to     
carry out this subsection #aj1jjj1jjj   
for fiscal year #bjbf1 to remain        
available through fiscal year #bjbg4