20 U.S.C. § 956 : US Code - Section 956: National Endowment for the Humanities

Search 20 U.S.C. § 956 : US Code - Section 956: National Endowment for the Humanities

(a) Establishment
There is established within the Foundation the National Endowment
for the Humanities.
(b) Chairperson of the Endowment; appointment, term, reappointment;
vacancy; expiration of term
(1) The Endowment shall be headed by a chairperson, who shall be
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate.
(2) The term of office of the Chairperson shall be four years,
and the Chairperson shall be eligible for reappointment. The
provisions of this paragraph shall apply to any person appointed to
fill a vacancy in the office of the Chairperson. Upon expiration of
the Chairperson's term of office the Chairperson shall serve until
the Chairperson's successor shall have been appointed and shall
have qualified.
(c) Functions of the Endowment; publications; traditionally
underrepresented recipients of financial assistance
The Chairperson, with the advice of the National Council on the
Humanities (hereinafter established), is authorized to enter into
arrangements, including contracts, grants, loans, and other forms
of assistance, to -
(1) develop and encourage the pursuit of a national policy for
the promotion of progress and scholarship in the humanities;
(2) initiate and support research and programs to strengthen
the research and teaching potential of the United States in the
humanities by making arrangements with individuals or groups to
support such activities; any loans made by the Endowment shall be
made in accordance with terms and conditions approved by the
Secretary of the Treasury;
(3) initiate and support training and workshops in the
humanities by making arrangements with institutions or
individuals (fellowships awarded to individuals under this
authority may be for the purpose of study or research at
appropriate nonprofit institutions selected by the recipient of
such aid, for stated periods of time);
(4) initiate and support programs and research which have
substantial scholarly and cultural significance and that reach,
or reflect the diversity and richness of our American cultural
heritage, including the culture of, a minority, inner city,
rural, or tribal community;
(5) foster international programs and exchanges;
(6) foster the interchange of information in the humanities;
(7) foster, with groups, education in, and public understanding
and appreciation of the humanities;
(8) support the publication of scholarly works in the
humanities;
(9) insure that the benefit of its programs will also be
available to our citizens where such programs would otherwise be
unavailable due to geographic or economic reasons; and
(10) foster programs and projects that provide access to, and
preserve materials important to research, education, and public
understanding of, the humanities.
In the case of publications under clause (8) of this subsection
such publications may be supported without regard for the
provisions of section 501 of title 44 only if the Chairperson
consults with the Joint Committee on Printing of the Congress and
the Chairperson submits to the Committee on Labor and Human
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Education and Labor of
the House of Representatives a report justifying any exemption from
such section 501. In selecting individuals and groups of
exceptional talent as recipients of financial assistance to be
provided under this subsection, the Chairperson shall give
particular regard to scholars, and educational and cultural
institutions, that have traditionally been underrepresented.
(d) Coordination and development of Endowment programs with other
Federal and non-Federal programs
The Chairperson shall coordinate the programs of the National
Endowment for the Humanities, insofar as practicable, with existing
Federal programs, designated State humanities agencies and with
those undertaken by other public agencies or private groups, and
shall develop the programs of the Endowment with due regard to the
contribution to the objectives of this subchapter which can be made
by other Federal agencies under existing programs.
(e) Limitation on amount of grant for workshop activities for which
an admission or other charge is made to the general public
The total amount of any grant under subsection (c)(3) of this
section to any group engaging in workshop activities for which an
admission or other charge is made to the general public shall not
exceed 30 per centum of the total cost of such activities.
(f) Grants-in-aid programs; designation of State administrative
agency; matching funds; applications and plans; allotments; cost
limitations; grants to regional groups; non-Federal funding;
definitions; suspension of grants; single entity limitation
(1) The Chairperson, with the advice of the National Council on
the Humanities, is authorized, in accordance with the provisions of
this subsection, to establish and carry out a program of grants-in-
aid in each of the several States in order to support not more
than 50 per centum of the cost of existing activities which meet
the standards enumerated in subsection (c) of this section, and in
order to develop a program in the humanities in such a manner as
will furnish adequate programs in the humanities in each of the
several States.
(2)(A) Whenever a State desires to designate or to provide for
the establishment of a State agency as the sole agency for the
administration of the State plan, such State shall designate the
humanities council in existence on the date the State agency is
established as the State agency, and shall match from State funds a
sum equal to 50 per centum of that portion of Federal financial
assistance received by such State under this subsection which is
described in the first sentence of paragraph (4) relating to the
minimum State grant, or 25 per centum of the total amount of
Federal financial assistance received by such State under this
subsection, whichever is greater, for the fiscal year involved. In
any State in which the State selects the option described in this
subparagraph, the State shall submit, before the beginning of each
fiscal year, an application for grants and accompany such
application with a plan which the Chairperson finds -
(i) designates or provides for the establishment of a State
agency (hereinafter in this section referred to as the "State
agency") as the sole agency for the administration of the State
plan;
(ii) provides that the chief executive officer of the State
will appoint new members to the State humanities council
designated under the provisions of this subparagraph, as
vacancies occur as a result of the expiration of the terms of
members of such council, until the chief executive officer has
appointed all of the members of such council;
(iii) provides, from State funds, an amount equal to 50 per
centum of that portion of Federal financial assistance received
by such State under this subsection which is described in the
first sentence of paragraph (4) relating to the minimum State
grant, or 25 per centum of the total amount of Federal financial
assistance received by such State under this subsection,
whichever is greater, for the fiscal year involved;
(iv) provides that funds paid to the State under this
subsection will be expended solely on programs approved by the
State agency which carry out the objectives of subsection (c) of
this section and which are designed to bring the humanities to
the public;
(v) provides assurances that State funds will be newly
appropriated for the purpose of meeting the requirements of this
subparagraph;
(vi) provides that the State agency will make such reports, in
such form and containing such information, as the Chairperson may
require, including a description of the progress made toward
achieving the goals of the State plan;
(vii) provides -
(I) assurances that the State agency has held, after
reasonable notice, public meetings in the State to allow
scholars, interested organizations, and the public to present
views and make recommendations regarding the State plan; and
(II) a summary of such recommendations and of the response of
the State agency to such recommendations; and
(viii) contains -
(I) a description of the level of participation during the
most recent preceding year for which information is available
by scholars and scholarly organizations in programs receiving
financial assistance under this subsection;
(II) for the most recent preceding year for which information
is available, a description of the extent to which the programs
receiving financial assistance under this subsection are
available to all people and communities in the State; and
(III) a description of programs receiving financial
assistance under this subsection that exist or are being
developed to secure wider participation of scholars and
scholarly organizations identified under subclause (I) of this
clause or that address the availability of the humanities to
all people or communities identified under subclause (II) of
this clause.
No application may be approved unless the accompanying plan
satisfies the requirements specified in this subsection.
(B) In any State in which the chief executive officer of the
State fails to submit an application under subparagraph (A), the
grant recipient in such State shall -
(i) establish a procedure which assures that six members of the
governing body of such grant recipient shall be appointed by an
appropriate officer or agency of such State, except that in no
event may the number of such members exceed 25 per centum of the
total membership of such governing body; and
(ii) provide, from any source, an amount equal to the amount of
Federal financial assistance received by such grant recipient
under this subsection for the fiscal year involved.
(3) Whenever a State selects to receive Federal financial
assistance under this subsection for any fiscal year under
paragraph (2)(B), any appropriate entity desiring to receive such
assistance shall submit an application for such assistance at such
time as shall be specified by the Chairperson. Each such
application shall be accompanied by a plan which the Chairperson
finds -
(A) provides assurances that the grant recipient will comply
with the requirements of paragraph (2)(B);
(B) provides that funds paid to the grant recipient will be
expended solely on programs which carry out the objectives of
subsection (c) of this section;
(C) establishes a membership policy which is designed to assure
broad public representation with respect to programs administered
by such grant recipient;
(D) provides a nomination process which assures opportunities
for nomination to membership from various groups within the State
involved and from a variety of segments of the population of such
State, and including individuals who by reason of their
achievement, scholarship, or creativity in the humanities, are
especially qualified to serve;
(E) provides for a membership rotation process which assures
the regular rotation of the membership and officers of such grant
recipient;
(F) establishes reporting procedures which are designed to
inform the chief executive officer of the State involved, and
other appropriate officers and agencies, of the activities of
such grant recipient;
(G) establishes procedures to assure public access to
information relating to such activities;
(H) provides that such grant recipient will make reports to the
Chairperson, in such form, at such times, and containing such
information, as the Chairperson may require, including a
description of the progress made toward achieving the goals of
the plan;
(I) provides -
(i) assurances that the grant recipient has held, after
reasonable notice, public meetings in the State to allow
scholars, interested organizations, and the public to present
views and make recommendations regarding the plan; and
(ii) a summary of such recommendations and of the response of
the grant recipient to such recommendations; and
(J) contains -
(i) a description of the level of participation during the
most recent preceding year for which information is available
by scholars and scholarly organizations in programs receiving
financial assistance under this subsection;
(ii) for the most recent preceding year for which information
is available, a description of the extent to which the programs
receiving financial assistance under this subsection are
available to all people and communities in the State; and
(iii) a description of programs receiving financial
assistance under this subsection that exist or are being
developed to secure wider participation of scholars and
scholarly organizations identified under clause (i) of this
subparagraph or that address the availability of the humanities
to all people or communities identified under clause (ii) of
this subparagraph.
No application may be approved unless the accompanying plan
satisfies the requirements specified in this subsection.
(4) Of the sums available to carry out this subsection for any
fiscal year, each State and each grant recipient which has a plan
approved by the Chairperson shall be allotted at least $200,000. If
the sums appropriated are insufficient to make the allotments under
the preceding sentence in full, such sums shall be allotted among
such States and grant recipients in equal amounts. In any case
where the sums available to carry out this subsection for any
fiscal year are in excess of the amount required to make the
allotments under the first sentence of this paragraph -
(A) 34 per centum of the amount of such excess for such fiscal
year shall be available to the Chairperson for making grants
under this subsection to States and regional groups and entities
applying for such grants;
(B) 44 per centum of the amount of such excess for such fiscal
year shall be allotted in equal amounts among the States and
grant recipients which have plans approved by the Chairperson;
and
(C) 22 per centum of the amount of such excess for such fiscal
year shall be allotted among the States and grant recipients
which have plans approved by the Chairperson in amounts which
bear the same ratio to such excess as the population of the State
for which the plan is approved (or, in the case of a grant
recipient other than a State, the population of the State in
which such grant recipient is located) bears to the population of
all the States.
(5)(A) The amount of each allotment to a State for any fiscal
year under this subsection shall be available to each State or
grant recipient, which has a plan or application approved by the
Chairperson in effect on the first day of such fiscal year, to pay
not more than 50 per centum of the total cost of any project or
production described in paragraph (1). The amount of any allotment
made under paragraph (4) for any fiscal year -
(i) which exceeds $125,000, but
(ii) which does not exceed 20 per centum of such allotment,
shall be available, at the discretion of the Chairperson, to pay up
to 100 per centum of the cost of programs under this subsection if
such programs would otherwise be unavailable to the residents of
that State.
(B) Any amount allotted to a State under the first sentence of
paragraph (4) for any fiscal year which is not obligated by the
State agency or grant recipient prior to sixty days prior to the
end of the fiscal year for which such sums are appropriated shall
be available to the Chairperson for making grants to regional
groups.
(C) Funds made available under this subsection shall not be used
to supplant non-Federal funds.
(D) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "regional group"
means any multistate group, whether or not representative of
contiguous States.
(E) For purposes of paragraph (4)(B), the term "State" and the
term "grant recipient" include, in addition to the several States
of the Union, only those special jurisdictions specified in section
952(g) of this title which have a population of 200,000 or more,
according to the latest decennial census.
(6) All amounts allotted or made available under paragraph (4)
for a fiscal year which are not granted to any entity during such
fiscal year shall be available to the National Endowment for the
Humanities for the purpose of carrying out subsection (c) of this
section.
(7) Whenever the Chairperson, after reasonable notice and
opportunity for hearing, finds that -
(A) a group or grant recipient is not complying substantially
with the provisions of this subsection;
(B) a State agency or grant recipient is not complying
substantially with terms and conditions of its State plan or
grant recipient application approved under this subsection; or
(C) any funds granted to any group or State agency or grant
recipient under this subsection have been diverted from the
purposes for which they are allotted or paid,
the Chairperson shall immediately notify the Secretary of the
Treasury and the group, State agency, or grant recipient with
respect to which such finding was made that no further grants will
be made under this subsection to such group, State agency, or grant
recipient until there is no longer a default or failure to comply
or the diversion has been corrected, or, if the compliance or
correction is impossible, until such group, State agency, or grant
recipient repays or arranges the repayment of the Federal funds
which have been improperly diverted or expended.
(8) Except as provided in the third sentence of paragraph (4),
and paragraphs (5) and (6), the Chairperson may not make grants
under this subsection to more than one entity in any State.
(g) Payment of performers and supporting personnel; standards,
regulations, and procedures
It shall be a condition of the receipt of any grant under this
section that the group, individual, or State agency or entity
receiving such grant furnish adequate assurances to the Secretary
of Labor that (1) all professional performers and related or
supporting professional personnel employed on projects or
productions which are financed in whole or in part under this
section will be paid, without subsequent deduction or rebate on any
account, not less than the minimum compensation as determined by
the Secretary of Labor to be the prevailing minimum compensation
for persons employed in similar activities; and (2) no part of any
project or production which is financed in whole or in part under
this section will be performed or engaged in under working
conditions which are unsanitary or hazardous or dangerous to the
health and safety of the employees engaged in such project or
production. Compliance with the safety and sanitary laws of the
State in which the performance or part thereof is to take place
shall be prima facie evidence of compliance. The Secretary of Labor
shall prescribe standards, regulations, and procedures necessary to
carry out this subsection.
(h) Program of contracts or grants-in-aid to public agencies and
private nonprofit organizations; limitation on payments
(1) The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities,
with the advice of the National Council on the Humanities, is
authorized, in accordance with the provisions of this subsection,
to establish and carry out a program of contracts with, or grants-
in-aid to, public agencies and private nonprofit organizations for
the purpose of -
(A) enabling cultural organizations and institutions to
increase the levels of continuing support and to increase the
range of contributors to the program of such organizations or
institutions;
(B) providing administrative and management improvements for
cultural organizations and institutions, particularly in the
field of long-range financial planning;
(C) enabling cultural organizations and institutions to
increase audience participation in, and appreciation of, programs
sponsored by such organizations and institutions;
(D) stimulating greater cooperation among cultural
organizations and institutions especially designed to serve
better the communities in which such organizations or
institutions are located;
(E) fostering greater citizen involvement in planning the
cultural development of a community; and
(F) for bicentennial programs, assessing where our society and
Government stand in relation to the founding principles of the
Republic, primarily focused on projects which will bring together
the public and private citizen sectors in an effort to find new
processes for solving problems facing our Nation in its third
century.
(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph,
the total amount of any payment made under this subsection for a
program or project may not exceed 50 per centum of the cost of such
program or project.
(B) The Chairperson, with the advice of the Council, may waive
all or part of the requirement of matching funds provided in
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, but only for the purposes
described in clause (F) of paragraph (1), whenever he determines
that highly meritorious proposals for grants and contracts under
such clause, could not otherwise be supported from non-Federal
sources or from Federal sources other than funds authorized by
section 960(a)(3) of this title, unless such matching requirement
is waived. Such waiver may not exceed 15 per centum of the amount
appropriated in any fiscal year and available to the National
Endowment for the Humanities for the purpose of this subsection.
(3) In carrying out the program authorized by this subsection,
the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities shall
have the same authority as is established in subsection (c) of this
section and section 959 of this title.
(i) Interagency agreements
The Chairperson may enter into interagency agreements to promote
or assist with the humanities-related activities of other Federal
agencies, on either a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, and
may use funds authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of
subsection (c) of this section for the costs of such activities.
(j) Payment of wages at prevailing rates; authority of Secretary of
Labor
It shall be a condition of the receipt of any grant under this
section that the group or individual of exceptional talent or the
State, State agency, or entity receiving such grant furnish
adequate assurances to the Secretary of Labor that all laborers and
mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors on construction
projects assisted under this section shall be paid wages at rates
not less than those prevailing on similar construction in the
locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance
with sections 3141-3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40. The Secretary
of Labor shall have, with respect to the labor standards specified
in this subsection, the authority and functions set forth in
Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 and section 3145 of title
40.
(k) National information and data collection system on humanities,
scholars, educational and cultural groups, and audiences;
development and implementation plan; state of the humanities
reports
The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities
shall, in ongoing consultation with State and local agencies, other
relevant organizations, and relevant Federal agencies, continue to
develop and implement a practical system of national information
and data collection and public dissemination on the humanities,
scholars, educational and cultural groups, and their audiences.
Such system shall include cultural and financial trends in the
various humanities fields, trends in audience participation, and
trends in humanities education on national, regional, and State
levels. Such system shall be used, along with a summary of the data
submitted with plans under subsection (f) of this section, to
prepare a report on the state of the humanities in the Nation. The
state of the humanities report shall include a description of the
availability of the Endowment's programs to emerging and culturally
diverse scholars, cultural and educational organizations, and
communities and of the participation of such scholars,
organizations, and communities in such programs. The state of the
humanities report shall be submitted to the President and the
Congress, and provided the States, not later than October 1, 1992,
and quadrennially thereafter.
(l) Eligibility of group for financial assistance
Any group shall be eligible for financial assistance under this
section only if -
(1) no part of its net earnings inures to the benefit of any
private stockholder or stockholders, or individual or
individuals; and
(2) donations to such group are allowable as a charitable
contribution under the standards of section 170(c) of title 26.
(m) Annual awards
The Chairperson, with the advice of the National Council on the
Humanities, is authorized to make the following annual awards:
(1) The Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities Award to one
individual for distinguished intellectual achievement in the
humanities. The annual award shall not exceed $10,000.
(2) The Charles Frankel Prize to honor individuals who have
made outstanding contributions to the public understanding of the
humanities. Not more than 5 individuals may receive such prize
each year. Each prize shall not exceed $5,000.