21st Century Federal Writers’ Project Act
Latest action: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. (2026-06-30)
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What this bill does
This bill would create a competitive grant program within the National Endowment for the Arts to document American history, culture, customs, folklore, and daily life through writing, photography, and other media, modeled on the 1930s-40s Federal Writers' Project. It ties the effort to the 250th anniversary of the United States and directs that completed works be archived at the Library of Congress and published for public access.
Who it affects
It would most directly affect nonprofits, state arts agencies, and anniversary commissions that could receive grants, along with writers, photographers, journalists, and documentary artists hired to produce the works.
Key points
- Directs the NEA to set up the grant program within 180 days and appoint a 5-member advisory panel to help write the guidelines.
- Eligible grantees include arts/journalism nonprofits, state arts agencies, regional arts organizations, and state 250th-anniversary commissions, with no local matching funds required.
- Grantees must prefer hiring people with backgrounds in literary arts, journalism, documentary arts, oral history, or related education/media occupations.
- Projects taken together must cover all U.S. regions and community types, including urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities.
- Completed works go into a public repository and the Library of Congress archive, with the NEA able to arrange publication; up to 20% of funds can go to NEA administrative costs.
Plain-English summary generated by AI from the official record. Neutral by design; verify against the official text linked above.
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If you support this
Supporting the bill means backing the creation of a federally funded grant program that pays writers, photographers, and artists to document American life and make those works publicly available.
If you oppose this
Opposing the bill means rejecting the creation of this new NEA grant program and the federal spending and administration it would require.
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