Sponsors (4)
The bill establishes and funds a centralized January 6 oral history and archival program that improves public access and preserves firsthand accounts by combining federal and private funding, at the trade-off of new or open-ended costs, privacy and selection concerns, and potential donor influence over a politically sensitive record.
Students, educators, researchers, and the general public gain centralized public access to contemporaneous audio, video, photos, texts, and social posts from January 6, improving the historical record and civic understanding.
Witnesses (Members, staff, police, journalists, other first-hand observers) have their firsthand experiences preserved in a centralized program, reducing the risk that important perspectives are lost over time.
The program has multiple funding paths—an initial $500,000 appropriation in FY2027 plus authority to accept private donations held in a segregated Treasury gift account and the ability for administrators to request future funding—helping implement and sustain the oral history and archival effort.
Taxpayers could face increased federal costs because collecting, cataloging, digitizing, and maintaining the collections require resources and the bill authorizes open-ended future funding beyond the $500,000 initial amount.
Accepting private donations for a politically sensitive oral history program could raise concerns about donor influence or perceived bias and may reduce pressure for full federal funding, shifting costs and influence toward private contributors.
Individuals who provide texts, messages, recordings, or other contemporaneous materials may face privacy worries or legal exposure if those materials are made public.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a Library of Congress oral history program to collect, preserve, and publicly share firsthand audio, video, and written accounts of the January 6, 2021 events.
Creates an oral history program at the Library of Congress to collect, preserve, and make public audio, video, and written firsthand accounts from people who were present at or affected by the January 6, 2021 Capitol events. The program is to be run by the American Folklife Center, may partner with other entities, accept restricted donations into a dedicated account, and is authorized $500,000 for FY2027 with additional funding allowed in later years.
Introduced January 6, 2026 by Norma Judith Torres · Last progress January 6, 2026