H.R. 4738 · 117th Congress

COVID–19 American History Project Act

Introduced on Jul 28, 2021 by Julia Letlow (R-LA-5). 31 cosponsors, 2 of them from another party. Latest action (Mar 30, 2022): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jul 28, 2021
Cosponsors
31
2 from the other party
Policy area
Arts, Culture, Religion
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To direct the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to establish a history project to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials, written materials, and photographs of those who were affected by COVID–19, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Cardiovascular and respiratory health
  • Congressional agencies
  • Digital media
  • Emergency medical services and trauma care
  • Government information and archives
  • Government trust funds
  • Health personnel
  • Infectious and parasitic diseases
  • Internet and video services
  • Internet, web applications, social media
  • Libraries and archives
  • Library of Congress
  • Photography and imaging
  • Sound recording
  • U.S. history

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Mar 29, 2022). Public domain.

COVID-19 American History Project Act

This bill directs the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to establish a history project to be known as the COVID-19 American History Project to collect and make publicly available individual stories and records of experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The bill includes a requirement to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of those who were affected by the pandemic.

The Librarian of Congress may solicit and accept donations of funds and in-kind contributions to carry out the project, subject to this bill.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Julia LetlowR-LA-5Sponsor

Democrats · 2

Republicans · 29

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
    Mar 29, 2022· House· Passage· Passed 376–47

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jul 28, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Jul 28, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Jul 28, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on House Administration.
  4. Mar 28, 2022 · HouseMs. Scanlon moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  5. Mar 28, 2022 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3883-3887)
  6. Mar 28, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4738.
  7. Mar 28, 2022 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  8. Mar 29, 2022 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3953-3954)
  9. Mar 29, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 376 - 47 (Roll no. 89).(text: 3/28/2022 CR H3883-3884)House · Roll call 89
  10. Mar 29, 2022 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 376 - 47 (Roll no. 89). (text: 3/28/2022 CR H3883-3884)House · Roll call 89
  11. Mar 29, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. Mar 30, 2022 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.