The 21st Century Federal Writers' Project Act establishes a competitive grant program through the National Endowment for the Arts to document American history, culture, and lived experiences through writing, photography, and other documentary arts. The program aims to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding by capturing stories from communities across all regions, demographics, and subjects, mirroring the original Federal Writers' Project from the 1930s and 1940s. Eligible entities include nonprofit organizations, state arts agencies, and state anniversary commissions that will engage writers, photographers, and artists to produce works covering urban, rural, tribal, and regional communities. The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts must establish an advisory panel within 90 days and launch the program within 180 days, with completed works housed in a publicly accessible repository and transmitted to the Library of Congress for permanent archiving. The bill does not specify total funding amounts but allows the Chair to reserve up to 20 percent of appropriated funds for administrative costs and caps individual annual grants at 10 percent of total program appropriations.
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