Foundation analysis · Education
Foundation draft · Not enacted law
A federal framework that treats curiosity as national infrastructure through 40 hours of protected paid leave, lifelong learning accounts, 24 annual admission days, free Federal-land access, inventor and citizen-science support, community learning institutions, a public AI learning assistant, and a National Wonder Index.
Curiosity as National Infrastructure
Legislative-counsel package · 19,109 words · 8 titles
Foundation model docket. Identifiers and proposed referrals are internal and are not official congressional or legislative assignments.
A guide to this proposal
The act gives working adults five eight-hour days each year for learning and exploration, opens museums and similar institutions through a 24-day Wonder Pass, supports participating venues and small employers through targeted tax credits, and connects public access to invention, libraries, maker spaces, mentoring, lectures, citizen science, fellowships, and privacy-protective AI assistance.
Analysis is commentary. Model text is a proposal. Fiscal scenarios, where provided, are illustrative.
Foundation Analysis
The packet combines a five-day-equivalent paid-leave floor, individual learning support, cultural and Federal-land access, independent discovery programs, community institutions, and a universal public learning assistant in one measurable national framework.
In plain language: The act gives working adults five eight-hour days each year for learning and exploration, opens museums and similar institutions through a 24-day Wonder Pass, supports participating venues and small employers through targeted tax credits, and connects public access to invention, libraries, maker spaces, mentoring, lectures, citizen science, fellowships, and privacy-protective AI assistance.
Its strongest choice is integration. Forty hours of protected time, a 24-admission-day Wonder Pass, income-tiered accounts, venue and small-employer tax credits, inventor grants, citizen science, fellowships, libraries, maker spaces, mentoring, and lectures address different barriers without turning any single program into the whole policy.
The Department of Labor, Treasury, IMLS, land-management agencies, GSA, NIST, Census, and science and education agencies would need shared payment, eligibility, privacy, fraud, access, and evaluation systems. A three-year phase-in, common applications, and a 65-FTE coordinating office constrain overhead but do not eliminate cross-agency execution risk.
Spending, tax, Federal-property, and innovation programs rest on established authorities; the 40-hour employment mandate is the novel constitutional pressure point. The packet appropriately rejects ideological labels such as far-right or far-left and instead excludes entities after final adjudications of specified unlawful harmful conduct, with notice, a clear-and-convincing burden, appeal, and judicial review.
The legislative-counsel estimate places steady-state Federal cost near $47.6 billion annually and the central ten-year cost near $415 billion in constant 2026 dollars. Incremental employer wage cost is estimated at $20 billion to $75 billion annually before the small-employer credit, and the package contains no revenue offset; none of these figures is an official CBO or JCT score.
the packet is a serious, integrated public-learning architecture with unusually explicit civil-liberties, privacy, administrative-cap, audit, and sunset controls. Introduction-ready legislation would still require an official CBO and JCT score, a current conforming-code review, a sponsor decision on offsets, a developed Commerce Clause record for paid leave, and final legislative-counsel review.
Model legislation for policy development; not enacted law or legal advice. Analysis reflects the supplied July 2026 packet and should be refreshed against current law before legislative use.
Full Text
Read the legislation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL DRAFT
THE RIGHT TO WONDER ACT
Curiosity as National Infrastructure
Jurisdiction: United States - Federal model legislation
Status: Non-partisan policy development draft
Revised: July 18, 2026
Package: Bill text, commentary, legal review, fiscal note, implementation, FAQ, and quality check
The Right to Wonder Act treats curiosity as a form of national infrastructure: time to learn, places to explore, tools to experiment, people to learn from, and a fair chance to turn an idea into a public contribution.
The bill creates an enforceable federal floor of 40 hours of paid curiosity leave per year, equivalent to five eight-hour workdays for a full-schedule employee. Existing flexible paid time off may satisfy the requirement, so long as an employee can actually use at least 40 hours for a qualifying curiosity activity with the scheduling, privacy, and anti-retaliation protections in the Act. Small employers receive a targeted tax credit; larger employers bear the ordinary cost as a labor standard.
Every eligible adult may open an American Lifelong Learning Account. Adults at or below 200 percent of the Federal poverty level receive the largest annual public contribution; middle-income adults receive a smaller contribution; other adults may receive a federal match. Funds may be used for short courses, museum and science-center programs, materials, maker-space fees, books, software, transportation, and limited caregiving costs. The account is broader than existing higher-education tax benefits and is designed for adults who may never enroll in a degree program.
The Act also establishes an American Wonder Pass. It provides free entrance to Federal recreational lands and waters and up to 24 admission days per year at participating museums, observatories, planetariums, science centers, public gardens, and related nonprofit or public learning institutions. Federal land agencies are reimbursed for displaced fee receipts, participating non-Federal institutions receive capped per-visit reimbursement, and a new Wonder Access Participation Credit supports verified incremental staffing, accessibility, conservation, security, and public-programming costs not otherwise reimbursed.
Additional titles create:
staged grants for independent inventors;
a National Citizen Science Fund;
5,000 annual Discovery Fellowships across science, engineering, arts, humanities, craft, exploration, entrepreneurship, and civic inquiry;
library modernization grants;
community maker-space grants;
a screened National Mentorship Exchange;
a free Public Lecture Network and accessible archive;
a free, multilingual, privacy-protective Public Learning Assistant powered by competitively procured artificial-intelligence systems; and
an annual National Wonder Index measuring access, affordability, time, participation, and quality without collecting individual learning histories.
To avoid building a new cabinet department, the bill places a 65-employee Office of Curiosity and Lifelong Learning within the existing Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Existing agencies deliver the programs for which they already have expertise. An uncompensated interagency council coordinates definitions, technology, grants, and reporting. Federal program administration is generally capped at 2.5 percent.
At full operation, the central federal fiscal estimate is approximately $47.6 billion per year in 2026 dollars, including an estimated $11.25 billion in annual tax expenditures. The central 10-year estimate is approximately $415 billion. These are legislative-counsel estimates, not a Congressional Budget Office or Joint Committee on Taxation score. The bill contains no revenue offset and therefore would require PAYGO treatment or a separate financing title if deficit neutrality is required.
| Issue | Bill design | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Paid time | 40 hours annually after 90 days; five eight-hour days for a full-schedule employee; prorated accrual for short-hour workers | Creates a usable week-equivalent right while preserving proportional treatment |
| Existing PTO | Counts only if the employee can designate 40 hours for qualifying use with all Act protections | Avoids duplicate leave banks while preventing a paper-only right |
| Learning accounts | $500 for adults at or below 200 percent of poverty; $250 from 200 to 400 percent; $100 match above 400 percent | Concentrates public dollars where cost is the largest barrier while keeping accounts open to all |
| Public access | Free Federal lands pass plus 24 annual admission days at participating institutions | Provides twice-monthly access on average with a measurable fiscal cap |
| Venue incentive | 25 percent credit, increased to 40 percent for smaller institutions; $500,000 cap; elective payment for tax-exempt and public institutions | Supports incremental access costs without limiting relief to taxable businesses or paying the same cost twice |
| Administration | Existing agencies plus a 65-FTE coordinating office at IMLS | Avoids a new department and uses established grant, labor, tax, science, park, and library systems |
| AI service | Free basic service; no ads, sale of data, political targeting, or commercial training on user conversations | Makes access universal without turning learning histories into a commercial or surveillance asset |
| Federalism | State and local participation in grants is voluntary; no unrelated funds are threatened; labor rule is a direct commerce regulation | Reduces anti-commandeering and coercion risk |
| Speech, harmful conduct, and religion | Viewpoint-neutral criteria; adjudication-based exclusions for violence, true threats, incitement, unlawful discrimination, exploitation, and fraud; neutral religious eligibility | Excludes unlawful harmful conduct without creating an unconstitutional ideological blacklist |
| Review | Independent evaluation in year 5; GAO reviews in years 3, 5, and 10; novel competitive programs sunset after 10 years unless reauthorized | Preserves the core right while forcing evidence-based review of newer delivery systems |
This is U.S. Federal model legislation. It is drafted as a stand-alone Act with targeted amendments to existing statutes.
The bill creates statutory rights only. It does not purport to create a new constitutional right.
The principal constitutional bases are the Commerce Clause, the Taxing and Spending Clause, the Property Clause, the Intellectual Property Clause, and the Necessary and Proper Clause.
The Act sets a Federal minimum and generally preserves more protective State, local, and collectively bargained rights.
Amounts are stated in 2026 dollars and are indexed where the operative text specifies indexing.
The fiscal note assumes a three-year national phase-in and does not credit speculative productivity, health, civic, or innovation savings.
The draft deliberately uses viewpoint-neutral rules. It excludes specified unlawful harmful conduct through objective findings and due process, but does not authorize agencies to define acceptable political, religious, philosophical, artistic, or scientific viewpoints.
To establish a national policy supporting lifelong curiosity, learning, discovery, invention, cultural participation, and public access to knowledge; to provide protected paid time for qualifying curiosity activities; to establish lifelong learning accounts and an American Wonder Pass; to expand citizen science, independent invention, fellowships, libraries, maker spaces, mentorship, public lectures, and public learning technology; and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the "Right to Wonder Act".
Title I - National Policy and Definitions
Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Purposes.
Sec. 103. Definitions.
Sec. 104. Statutory right and rule of construction.
Title II - National Curiosity Leave
Sec. 201. Covered employers and employees.
Sec. 202. Entitlement to paid curiosity leave.
Sec. 203. Qualifying uses, scheduling, and attestation.
Sec. 204. Rate of pay and coordination with existing leave.
Sec. 205. Prohibited acts, enforcement, and remedies.
Sec. 206. Small-employer curiosity leave credit.
Sec. 207. Federal employees.
Sec. 208. Regulations and effective date.
Title III - Lifelong Learning Accounts and Public Access
Sec. 301. American Lifelong Learning Accounts.
Sec. 302. Federal contributions and account limits.
Sec. 303. Qualified wonder expenses and providers.
Sec. 304. Administration, appeals, privacy, and program integrity.
Sec. 311. American Wonder Pass.
Sec. 312. Free access to Federal recreational lands and waters.
Sec. 313. Participating learning institutions.
Sec. 314. Accessibility, reservations, and privacy.
Sec. 315. Wonder Access Participation Credit.
Title IV - Discovery, Invention, and Citizen Science
Sec. 401. Independent Inventor Discovery Grants.
Sec. 402. Review, intellectual property, and safety safeguards.
Sec. 411. National Citizen Science Fund.
Sec. 412. Participant protections, data, and Federal catalog.
Sec. 421. Discovery Fellowships.
Sec. 422. Fellowship selection, support, and public contribution.
Title V - Community Wonder Infrastructure
Sec. 501. Library Modernization and Access Grants.
Sec. 502. Community Maker Space and Wonder Hub Grants.
Sec. 503. National Mentorship Exchange.
Sec. 504. Public Lecture Network and Open Lecture Archive.
Sec. 505. Common grant administration.
Title VI - Public Learning Assistant
Sec. 601. Establishment and universal access.
Sec. 602. Required functions and accessibility.
Sec. 603. Privacy and user rights.
Sec. 604. Safety, accuracy, intellectual freedom, and procurement.
Sec. 605. Complaints, audits, and remedies.
Title VII - Governance, Measurement, and Oversight
Sec. 701. Office of Curiosity and Lifelong Learning.
Sec. 702. Interagency Council on Curiosity and Discovery.
Sec. 703. National Wonder Index.
Sec. 704. Reports, evaluation, and public dashboard.
Sec. 705. Inspectors General and Comptroller General reviews.
Sec. 706. Administrative limits and shared services.
Title VIII - Funding, Coordination, and General Provisions
Sec. 801. Authorization and appropriation of funds.
Sec. 802. Coordination and prevention of duplicate benefits.
Sec. 803. Civil rights, harmful-conduct safeguards, accessibility, and intellectual freedom.
Sec. 804. Federalism, preemption, and collective bargaining.
Sec. 805. Rulemaking and judicial review.
Sec. 806. Severability.
Sec. 807. Effective dates and transition.
Sec. 808. Review and sunset of specified programs.
Congress finds the following:
The economic, scientific, civic, and cultural strength of the United States depends not only on occupational preparation, but also on the capacity of people throughout life to ask questions, test ideas, make things, encounter unfamiliar knowledge, and share discoveries.
Time, cost, geography, disability, caregiving responsibilities, transportation, and unequal digital access can prevent people from using libraries, museums, public lands, educational programs, laboratories, workshops, and other learning resources.
Federal law establishes minimum wages and hours for covered employment but does not generally guarantee paid time off for learning, exploration, or other personal purposes.
Existing Federal institutions already provide a foundation for a national curiosity policy, including IMLS support for libraries and museums, Federal citizen-science and prize authorities, Federal recreation passes, workforce and educational tax benefits, National Science Foundation informal-learning programs, and United States Patent and Trademark Office assistance for independent inventors.
Public libraries, museums, science centers, parks, observatories, universities, community colleges, tribal institutions, nonprofit organizations, and other local institutions are trusted access points that can deliver programs without creation of a new nationwide network of Federal facilities.
Artificial-intelligence systems can broaden access to explanations, translation, tutoring, and research assistance, but a public learning service requires enforceable privacy, security, accuracy, accessibility, procurement, and intellectual-freedom safeguards.
Public investments in curiosity should be measured by access and opportunity, not by government judgment concerning the political, religious, philosophical, artistic, or scientific viewpoint of a learner.
Public programs may and should exclude adjudicated violence, true threats, incitement, exploitation, unlawful discrimination, fraud, and other unlawful harmful conduct through objective standards and due process, without treating a partisan or ideological label as a substitute for proof.
A national curiosity policy should expand opportunity while preserving State and local choice, avoiding duplication, protecting taxpayer funds, and subjecting novel programs to independent evaluation and reauthorization.
The purposes of this Act are:
to establish a practical statutory right to reasonable time and access for lifelong learning and discovery;
to reduce time, income, disability, geographic, transportation, and digital barriers to participation;
to enable independent inventors, citizen scientists, artists, craftspeople, explorers, entrepreneurs, and other learners to pursue meritorious work outside conventional institutional pathways;
to modernize existing community institutions as local learning infrastructure;
to make high-quality public learning assistance available without advertising, commercial surveillance, or viewpoint discrimination;
to exclude specified unlawful harmful conduct and prohibited uses through reviewable, viewpoint-neutral standards;
to coordinate existing Federal agencies through a small central office and shared administrative systems; and
to measure results, disclose costs, protect rights, and terminate or revise programs that do not demonstrate public value.
In this Act:
The term "Council" means the Interagency Council on Curiosity and Discovery established under section 702.
Except where another official is expressly identified, the term "Director" means the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The term "eligible resident" means an individual who is domiciled in the United States and who is:
(A) a citizen or national of the United States;
(B) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence; or
(C) an individual lawfully present in the United States who has maintained a principal residence in the United States for not less than 12 consecutive months.
The term does not include a nonresident alien for purposes of section 7701(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
The term "Federal poverty level" means the poverty guideline most recently published by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act, adjusted for family size.
The term "Institute" means the Institute of Museum and Library Services established under section 203 of the Museum and Library Services Act, codified at section 9102 of title 20, United States Code.
The term "Office" means the Office of Curiosity and Lifelong Learning established under section 701.
The term "participating learning institution" means a public, tribal, or nonprofit museum, science center, observatory, planetarium, aquarium, zoological institution, public garden, arboretum, historic site, cultural center, nature center, library, or other educational or cultural institution approved under section 313.
The term "qualifying curiosity activity" means a lawful, noncommercial activity undertaken substantially for learning, inquiry, experimentation, creation, observation, mentorship, cultural participation, or the acquisition or sharing of knowledge, including:
(A) using a library, archive, museum, science center, observatory, public land, maker space, laboratory, studio, classroom, lecture, or cultural institution;
(B) participating in a course, workshop, public lecture, discussion, mentorship, citizen-science project, artistic or craft practice, historical or genealogical inquiry, field observation, reading or research project, invention or prototype project, language-learning activity, or educational travel within the United States;
(C) preparing for or presenting a public educational, scientific, artistic, historical, technical, or cultural contribution; or
(D) accompanying a minor, older adult, or individual with a disability in an activity described in subparagraphs (A) through (C), if the employee participates in or supports the learning activity.
The term does not include ordinary commercial entertainment having no substantial learning, inquiry, creation, or cultural component, partisan campaign work for or against a candidate, or an activity that is unlawful under Federal, State, tribal, or local law.
The term "State" includes each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, each United States territory or possession, and, where consistent with the context, an Indian Tribe or tribal organization.
The term "underserved community" means a geographic community or population shown by reliable data to have materially below-average access to affordable learning institutions, public transportation, broadband, library hours, cultural facilities, public lands, mentorship, maker facilities, or other opportunities measured under section 703. The term shall be applied without the use of racial quotas.
The term "wonder year" means a calendar year, except that an employer may use another fixed consecutive 12-month period if the method is disclosed in advance and does not reduce an employee's entitlement.
Every person within the scope of an express benefit or protection under this Act has the statutory right to receive that benefit or protection in accordance with the eligibility, funding, scheduling, and administrative provisions of this Act.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to create or recognize a constitutional right, a property interest beyond an amount credited to an individual account or otherwise expressly vested, or a cause of action not expressly provided by this Act or another law.
No officer, employee, grantee, contractor, or participating institution may deny a benefit under this Act solely because of the lawful political, religious, philosophical, artistic, literary, or scientific viewpoint of an individual or proposed activity.
This title applies to:
(1) an employer and enterprise covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938;
(2) a public agency, as defined in section 3(x) of that Act; and
(3) the Government Accountability Office, the Library of Congress, the Government Publishing Office, and each employing office covered by chapter 5 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, subject to the enforcement procedures otherwise applicable to those instrumentalities.
This title applies to an individual who is an employee within the meaning of section 3(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, except an employee of the United States covered by section 207 of this Act.
An employee becomes eligible on the later of:
(1) the 90th calendar day after beginning employment with the employer; or
(2) the date on which the employee has performed 240 hours of service for the employer.
Service for a predecessor employer counts toward eligibility if the employee would be treated as continuing in employment under the successor rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act. A break in service of 180 days or less does not restart the eligibility period unless the employee was discharged for documented gross misconduct unrelated to the exercise of a right under this Act.
An eligible employee customarily scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week is entitled to 40 hours of paid curiosity leave during each wonder year. For an employee customarily scheduled for eight hours per workday, the entitlement is equivalent to five workdays. The entitlement is measured in hours and is not reduced because the employer uses a longer or shorter standard workday.
An eligible employee customarily scheduled to work fewer than 20 hours per week, or without a customary schedule, accrues one hour of paid curiosity leave for each 52 hours worked, up to 40 hours in a wonder year. An employer may frontload the amount reasonably expected to accrue.
For an employee exempt from overtime under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the employer shall assume 40 hours worked per week unless the employee's normal workweek is less than 40 hours.
Leave may be used in increments of two hours or the smallest increment used by the employer for other paid leave, whichever is less.
(1) Accrued leave not used by the end of a wonder year carries over, except that an employer may cap the available balance at 60 hours.
(2) An employer that makes at least 40 hours available at the beginning of each wonder year need not permit carryover.
Unused curiosity leave need not be paid at separation and has no cash value, except as required by a more protective law, agreement, or employer policy. Previously accrued hours shall be restored if the employee is rehired by the same employer within 180 days.
An employee may use paid curiosity leave for a qualifying curiosity activity and for reasonable travel directly related to that activity.
If the need for leave is foreseeable, the employee shall provide at least seven calendar days' notice when practicable. If seven days' notice is not practicable, the employee shall provide notice as soon as reasonably practicable. Notice need only state the requested time and that the leave will be used for a qualifying curiosity activity.
An employer may establish a reasonable, written, content-neutral scheduling policy. An employer may postpone a requested period only upon a specific finding that the absence at the requested time would cause substantial and grievous operational disruption that cannot reasonably be avoided. The employer shall:
(1) provide the reason in writing within two business days;
(2) confer with the employee concerning alternatives; and
(3) permit substantially equivalent leave within 30 days, or within 60 days for an employer with fewer than 15 employees.
An employer may not postpone the same employee's request more than twice in one wonder year.
An employer may require a signed or electronic attestation that the leave was or will be used for a qualifying curiosity activity. An employer may not require disclosure of the viewpoint, reading history, research question, institutional membership, or detailed content of the activity, and may not require a receipt or provider certification unless the employer reimburses a separate expense.
An employer shall not determine whether an activity is worthy, useful to the employer, credential-bearing, or consistent with the employer's views. The employer may deny an activity only if it is outside the definition in section 103(8), unlawful, or presents a specific and demonstrable conflict of interest or misuse of confidential information.
Curiosity leave shall be paid at the employee's regular rate of pay under section 7(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, determined without overtime premiums and using the employee's normal scheduled hours. For a tipped or variable-rate employee, payment shall be not less than the greater of:
(1) the applicable full minimum wage without a tip credit; or
(2) the employee's average straight-time hourly earnings, excluding overtime premiums, during the preceding six workweeks.
Hours of curiosity leave are not hours worked for calculation of overtime.
An employer may satisfy section 202 through vacation or general-purpose paid time off only if:
(1) at least the number of hours required by section 202 is available for use for a qualifying curiosity activity;
(2) the employee may designate the hours as curiosity leave;
(3) the scheduling, privacy, pay, enforcement, and anti-retaliation protections of this title apply; and
(4) the employer does not require the use of leave restricted solely to sickness, disability, family care, bereavement, military service, voting, jury service, or another legally protected purpose.
Nothing in this title diminishes a greater right provided by Federal, State, tribal, or local law; a collective-bargaining agreement; or an employer policy.
It is unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain, deny, discipline, discriminate, or retaliate against an individual for exercising or attempting to exercise a right under this title, filing a complaint, providing information, or participating in an investigation or proceeding.
An employer shall retain for three years records of eligibility, leave hours provided and used, postponements, and payments. Records shall not include the substantive content of an activity beyond an attestation permitted under section 203(d).
The powers, procedures, limitations periods, and remedies in sections 11, 16, and 17 of the Fair Labor Standards Act apply as if a violation of this title were a violation of sections 6 and 7 of that Act, except as modified by this section.
A prevailing employee may recover:
(1) unpaid compensation and the monetary value of denied leave;
(2) an equal amount as liquidated damages, unless the employer proves good faith and reasonable grounds;
(3) reinstatement, expungement, promotion, scheduling relief, or other appropriate equitable relief; and
(4) reasonable attorney fees and costs.
The Secretary of Labor may assess a civil penalty not exceeding $2,500 for each willful, repeated, or retaliatory violation, adjusted for inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. For an employer with fewer than 15 employees, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance and a 30-day cure opportunity for a first non-retaliatory recordkeeping or notice violation.
Nothing in this Act purports to abrogate a State's immunity in a manner not authorized by the Constitution. The Secretary of Labor may bring an action against a State or State instrumentality to the full extent permitted by law, and prospective relief against an appropriate officer remains available to the extent permitted by law.
Receipt of an account, pass, grant, or other benefit under this Act may not be conditioned on agreement to arbitrate an employment claim under this title. This subsection does not alter the enforceability of an otherwise lawful post-dispute agreement.
Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following:
SEC. 45BB. SMALL-EMPLOYER PAID CURIOSITY LEAVE CREDIT.
(a) Allowance. For purposes of section 38, an eligible small employer may claim a credit equal to 50 percent of qualified curiosity-leave wages paid during the taxable year for not more than the first 40 hours of leave per qualifying employee.
(b) Eligible small employer. The term means an employer that employed fewer than 50 full-time-equivalent employees on business days during the preceding taxable year. Controlled groups and affiliated service groups shall be aggregated under sections 52 and 414.
(c) Qualified wages. The term means wages, as defined in section 3306(b) without regard to the dollar limitation, paid for curiosity leave meeting title II of the Right to Wonder Act. Wages above $40 per hour, indexed after 2027 under section 1(f)(3), are disregarded.
(d) Nonduplication. Wages used for a credit under this section may not be used for another wage-based credit. No credit is allowed for amounts reimbursed by another government program.
(e) Tax-exempt employers. For an organization exempt under section 501(a), the credit shall be allowed against tax imposed by section 3111(a), any excess shall be treated as an overpayment, and the same amount shall not also be treated as a current-year business credit under section 38, under regulations preventing duplication.
(f) Election and substantiation. The credit is elective and requires records sufficient to show hours, wages, employee eligibility, and compliance with the anti-retaliation requirements of title II of the Right to Wonder Act. Records may not disclose the substantive content of an employee's curiosity activity.
(1) Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking the period at the end of paragraph (41), inserting ", plus", and adding the following:
(42) in the case of an eligible small employer, the paid curiosity leave credit determined under section 45BB(a).
(2) Section 280C(a) of that Code is amended by inserting "45BB(a)," after "45A(a),".
(3) The table of sections for subpart D is amended by adding "Sec. 45BB. Small-employer paid curiosity leave credit."
The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue forms and guidance not later than 12 months after enactment, including a simplified quarterly procedure for eligible tax-exempt employers.
An employee of the United States, as defined in section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, is entitled to 40 hours of paid curiosity leave per leave year, not charged to annual or sick leave, after 90 days of service.
The Office of Personnel Management shall issue regulations substantially equivalent to sections 202 through 205, with necessary adaptations for Federal personnel systems. Agencies may schedule leave to protect national security, public safety, continuity of operations, and other essential functions, but shall provide an alternative period within 30 days when practicable.
The head of an executive agency outside title 5, the United States Postal Service, and an employing authority in the legislative or judicial branch shall implement equivalent leave under its governing personnel law.
The Secretary of Labor shall issue a final rule not later than 12 months after enactment. Sections 201 through 205 take effect 18 months after enactment, except that an employer with fewer than 15 employees shall comply beginning 24 months after enactment. The Secretary shall publish model notices, policies, attestations, payroll examples, and small-employer compliance guides at least 90 days before the applicable effective date.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Director and the Secretaries of Education and Labor, shall establish the American Lifelong Learning Accounts Program.
An eligible resident who is at least 18 years old may establish one account. The program shall support online, telephone, paper, and in-person enrollment and shall not require the individual to have a Federal income-tax liability or to file a tax return unless otherwise required by law.
Amounts credited to an account are held for the sole benefit of the account holder, are portable across States and employment, and may be spent only for qualified wonder expenses.
The Secretary may use a restricted-benefit card, direct provider payment, reimbursement, or another method that supports accessibility, fraud control, and participation by individuals without a bank account or smartphone.
Subject to subsection (f), the Secretary shall make an annual Federal contribution of:
(1) $500 for an account holder whose household modified adjusted gross income does not exceed 200 percent of the Federal poverty level;
(2) $250 for an account holder whose household modified adjusted gross income exceeds 200 percent but does not exceed 400 percent of the Federal poverty level; and
(3) for any other account holder, a dollar-for-dollar match of personal, employer, philanthropic, State, tribal, or local contributions, not exceeding $100 per year.
Income shall be determined using the most recent available Federal tax return or, for a nonfiler or an individual whose current income has materially declined, a simplified current-income certification with verification procedures that do not create an unreasonable enrollment barrier.
An employer may contribute to an employee's account under a written, nondiscriminatory educational-assistance program. A contribution qualifying under section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code may be excluded from gross income within the limit of that section. No inference is created that an expense not qualifying under section 127 is excludable.
Federal contributions remain available for three years. The account balance attributable to Federal contributions may not exceed $1,500. Personal and non-Federal contributions may be subject to a separate $5,000 balance limit established by regulation.
Beginning in the fourth calendar year after national implementation, dollar amounts in subsections (a) and (d) shall be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers and rounded to the nearest $5.
Federal contributions under subsection (a) may not exceed the annual amount appropriated under section 801. If projected demand exceeds that amount, the Secretary shall:
(1) apply uniform prospective adjustment factors within income tiers, with the lowest-income tier receiving not less than twice the contribution or match available to the highest-income tier;
(2) seek to preserve a contribution of at least $350 for account holders under subsection (a)(1), but reduce that amount if necessary to remain within the annual appropriation;
(3) if further limitation is required, give priority within a tier to lower household income, first-time account use, and documented disability-access expense under neutral rules published before the wonder year;
(4) publish each adjustment and the underlying estimate before the wonder year; and
(5) not reduce an amount already credited to an account.
Account funds may be used for reasonable expenses directly related to a qualifying curiosity activity, including:
(1) tuition, registration, admission, membership, workshop, laboratory, studio, maker-space, examination, credential, and instructor fees;
(2) books, periodicals, supplies, tools, protective equipment, art and craft materials, components, software, assistive technology, and equipment rental;
(3) internet or device costs apportioned to a structured learning activity, subject to an annual cap established by regulation;
(4) public transportation, mileage at the charitable rate under the Internal Revenue Code, and necessary lodging for an approved field or residential program within the United States; and
(5) dependent-care or personal-assistance expenses necessary to permit participation, not exceeding 25 percent of annual account expenditures.
Funds may not be used for:
(1) ordinary food, housing, debt service, cash withdrawal, gambling, political contributions, lobbying, weapons, controlled substances, or an unlawful activity;
(2) travel principally for recreation without a documented learning program; or
(3) an expense reimbursed by another Federal benefit or used to claim another Federal deduction or credit.
A provider may include a public, tribal, nonprofit, or accredited educational institution; library; museum; union apprenticeship or training program; State-licensed instructor; registered apprenticeship; participating learning institution; or other provider approved under risk-based standards. Accreditation may not be required for short, noncredit, artistic, craft, cultural, language, maker, or community-learning activities if the provider meets financial, safety, refund, and disclosure standards.
An account holder independently directs account funds among qualified providers. A provider or otherwise qualified educational service may not be excluded solely because of religious character, affiliation, instruction, or viewpoint. Funds may not be used for a contribution, tithe, worship service standing alone, or an amount not charged for an eligible educational service.
The Secretary shall establish a single national provider portal, risk-based provider verification, transaction-level controls, and a paper alternative. Small providers shall have a simplified registration path and prompt-payment standard.
Tax-return information used for eligibility may be disclosed only as permitted by section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code. Learning subjects, reading histories, provider choices, and item-level purchases may not be used for immigration, law-enforcement, tax-enforcement, public-benefit eligibility, credit, insurance, or employment decisions, except to investigate a particularized allegation of fraud in this program under lawful process.
Item-level transaction data shall be retained only as long as reasonably necessary for payment, audit, and appeal, and in no event longer than seven years. Public data shall be aggregated and deidentified.
Before denial, suspension, recoupment, or provider termination, the Secretary shall provide notice of reasons and an opportunity to respond. An individual may obtain expedited informal review within 30 days and administrative review by an impartial officer within 90 days. Final agency action is reviewable under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code.
The Secretary may recover an improper payment, suspend a provider, impose a civil penalty not exceeding three times the improper amount plus $2,500, and refer evidence under the False Claims Act or other law. No new criminal offense is created by this Act. A good-faith individual purchaser is not liable for a provider's undisclosed violation.
Amounts credited to or paid from an account are not income or resources for a Federal means-tested program and may not be assigned, garnished, or taken in bankruptcy, except for recovery of fraudulently obtained program funds.
The Director, in coordination with the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, shall establish a physical and digital American Wonder Pass for every eligible resident, without charge.
The pass shall provide:
(1) the Federal recreational access described in section 312; and
(2) not more than 24 admission days per individual per wonder year at participating learning institutions under section 313.
An eligible resident under 18 years of age may receive a pass through a parent, legal guardian, school, library, tribal authority, foster-care agency, or other secure enrollment method. A minor's pass may not require publication or commercial use of the minor's identity.
The pass shall be available as a durable card, printable credential, or other accessible form. A mobile device, credit card, or continuous internet connection may not be required.
Section 805(b) of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, codified at section 6804(b) of title 16, United States Code, is amended by adding:
(4) American Wonder Pass. The Secretaries shall make an annual National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available without charge to an eligible resident, as defined in section 103 of the Right to Wonder Act. The pass covers entrance fees and standard amenity recreation fees but not expanded amenity recreation fees, camping, permits allocated by lottery, transportation, concessions, or goods and services.
The American Wonder Pass credential may serve as the digital or physical Federal recreation pass. The Secretaries may continue more favorable lifetime and specialized passes.
For each fiscal year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to each Federal land-management agency an amount equal to the agency's reasonably estimated net loss of entrance-fee and standard-amenity-fee receipts attributable to subsection (a), using a three-year inflation-adjusted baseline, current visitation, and audited pass-use data. Transferred amounts retain the availability, allocation, and expenditure rules that would have applied to the displaced receipts.
Nothing in this section eliminates lawful reservation, capacity, permit, seasonal closure, resource-protection, or safety rules. A reservation fee reflecting actual transaction cost may be charged only if the same fee applies to holders of a paid interagency pass and a no-fee reservation method is available to a person unable to pay.
The Director may approve an institution that:
(1) has a substantial educational, scientific, cultural, historical, artistic, environmental, or public-learning mission;
(2) is open to the general public on a regular schedule;
(3) maintains appropriate governance, financial controls, insurance, safety, accessibility, nondiscrimination, and child-protection policies;
(4) agrees not to charge a passholder for covered general admission; and
(5) agrees to audit, privacy, price, and program-integrity requirements; and
(6) satisfies the harmful-conduct, prohibited-use, and due-process rules in section 803(e) through (g).
For a verified covered admission, the Director shall reimburse the lesser of:
(1) the institution's ordinary general-admission price offered to the public on the date of admission; or
(2) $25 for an adult and $15 for a person under 18, indexed beginning in the fourth year.
No reimbursement is due for an admission ordinarily free to the public, except that the Director may provide a capacity payment not exceeding $3 per verified admission for a free institution that demonstrates additional staffing, accessibility, extended hours, or programming cost caused by participation.
An institution may not increase the price used for reimbursement more rapidly than its generally applicable public price or separate ordinary general admission into artificial mandatory charges. The Director may establish regional caps and recoup overpayments.
Covered admission includes ordinary exhibits and public areas. It does not include separately ticketed premium events, food, retail goods, parking, transportation, fundraising events, or classes longer than one day, which may qualify under a Lifelong Learning Account.
An institution may use content-neutral reservations and daily capacity limits disclosed in advance. An institution may withdraw on 60 days' notice but shall honor existing reservations.
The Director shall provide accessible enrollment and require reasonable modifications, effective communication, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Pass records may be used only for eligibility, access, payment, fraud prevention, safety, and aggregate evaluation. Institutions may receive only the minimum credential information needed to validate a visit and may not use pass data for advertising or sale. Personally identifiable visit records shall be deleted or deidentified within 24 months unless needed for a pending audit, appeal, or investigation.
The Director and land-management agencies shall monitor displacement, reservation scarcity, and resource impacts. They may adjust reservation allocations, not the statutory no-fee benefit, through a transparent rule supported by capacity data.
Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 206, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
SEC. 45CC. WONDER ACCESS PARTICIPATION CREDIT.
(a) Allowance. For purposes of section 38, an eligible participating institution may claim a credit equal to 40 percent of qualified net wonder-access expenditures if the institution's average annual gross receipts for the three preceding taxable years do not exceed $10,000,000, and 25 percent of such expenditures for any other eligible participating institution.
(b) Annual limitation. The credit for an institution for a taxable year may not exceed $500,000. Institutions under common control, and institutions using substantially the same facility, shall be aggregated under rules prescribed by the Secretary.
(c) Eligible participating institution. The term means an institution with an effective participation agreement under section 313 of the Right to Wonder Act throughout the period for which expenditures are claimed and that remains in material compliance with that Act.
(d) Qualified net wonder-access expenditures. The term means reasonable, documented expenditures paid or incurred to expand or safely sustain access for American Wonder Pass holders, including incremental staffing and extended hours; accessibility and effective communication; preservation, conservation, timed-entry, and capacity management; credential security, cybersecurity, child protection, and fraud prevention; and public educational programming or transportation partnerships offered without an additional charge to passholders. The expenditure must be directly attributable to participation or exceed the institution's inflation-adjusted average expenditure for the same function during the three preceding taxable years. For an institution without three years of operations, the Secretary shall prescribe a comparable baseline.
(e) Exclusions and nonduplication. Qualified net wonder-access expenditures do not include the value of admission reimbursed under section 313 of the Right to Wonder Act; an amount paid by a Federal grant, reimbursement, or another credit for the same expense; lobbying, campaign intervention, fundraising, entertainment, or unrelated commercial activity; acquisition of land; construction of a new stand-alone building; or an amount not otherwise deductible under section 162 if the institution were subject to tax. The credit base shall be reduced by other Federal payment for the same expense, and section 280C(i) governs the remaining deduction.
(f) Certification and recapture. The Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services shall certify participation and material compliance to the Secretary. A credit attributable to fraud, a material false statement, or a disqualifying adjudication under section 803(e) of the Right to Wonder Act is subject to recapture, a 20-percent excessive-payment addition unless reasonable cause is shown, and other applicable remedies.
(g) Inflation adjustment. For taxable years beginning after 2028, the gross-receipts threshold in subsection (a) and the dollar limitation in subsection (b) shall be adjusted under section 1(f)(3), rounded to the nearest $10,000.
(1) Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 206, is amended by striking the period at the end of paragraph (42), inserting ", plus", and adding:
(43) the Wonder Access Participation Credit determined under section 45CC(a).
(2) Section 6417(b) of that Code is amended by adding at the end:
(13) The Wonder Access Participation Credit determined under section 45CC(a).
(3) Section 280C of that Code is amended by adding at the end:
(i) Wonder access expenditures. No deduction shall be allowed for the portion of qualified net wonder-access expenditures, as defined in section 45CC(d), equal to the credit determined under section 45CC(a).
(4) The table of sections for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 is amended by adding "Sec. 45CC. Wonder Access Participation Credit."
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Director, shall issue regulations, a simplified form, and prefiling registration procedures not later than 18 months after enactment. The amendments apply to taxable years beginning after the national launch of the American Wonder Pass. An applicable entity under section 6417(d)(1) may elect payment under section 6417 with respect to the credit, including a tax-exempt, State, local, or tribal participating institution.
The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National Institute of Standards and Technology and in consultation with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the National Science Foundation, and the Small Business Administration, shall establish a staged Independent Inventor Discovery Grants Program.
An eligible applicant is an eligible resident, team of eligible residents, or small business controlled by one or more eligible residents that is not majority-controlled by an institution of higher education, a Federal contractor with more than 500 employees, or another large business.
The Secretary may award:
(1) an Exploration Grant not exceeding $25,000 for design, prior-art research, feasibility, training, or early proof of concept;
(2) a Prototype Grant not exceeding $150,000 for engineering, testing, fabrication, accessibility, regulatory planning, or user validation; and
(3) a Validation Grant not exceeding $500,000 for independent testing, certification, field demonstration, manufacturing readiness, or commercialization planning after successful completion of an earlier stage.
At least 60 percent of annual award dollars shall support individuals or teams that have not received more than $500,000 in prior Federal research or innovation awards. At least 25 percent shall support applicants from rural or underserved communities, based on economic and geographic access rather than racial quotas.
Applications for grants of $50,000 or less shall use a plain-language application not exceeding 10 substantive pages, rolling or quarterly review, and an initial decision target of 90 days.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office shall connect applicants to Patent and Trademark Resource Centers, pro se assistance, patent pro bono programs, scam prevention, and intellectual-property education. Receipt of legal assistance is not a condition of award.
Review shall consider novelty or creative contribution, feasibility, learning value, public or market need, applicant capability, safety, and a proportionate plan for the next stage. Formal credentials, prior institutional affiliation, and patent ownership may not be required for an Exploration Grant.
Reviewers shall disclose conflicts, protect confidential information, and provide a concise statement of reasons. An applicant may request one reconsideration for material procedural error; no entitlement to funding is created by a favorable score.
(1) An applicant retains ownership of preexisting intellectual property.
(2) Rights in a subject invention arising from a grant are governed by chapter 18 of title 35, United States Code, and implementing regulations, with simplified election and reporting for individual awardees.
(3) The Government obtains no ownership interest beyond rights expressly provided by law or a disclosed grant term.
(4) Public abstracts and final nonconfidential reports may be required, but trade secrets, unpublished patent information, export-controlled information, and confidential commercial information shall be protected.
Funds may not support development principally intended for unlawful surveillance, torture, indiscriminate injury, evasion of lawful safety controls, enhancement of a pathogen's harmful properties without authorized high-containment oversight, unapproved human-subjects research, or violation of export-control, environmental, consumer-protection, or weapons law. The Secretary shall use expert review proportionate to risk and provide notice and appeal.
An award is financial assistance and not a procurement contract unless the principal purpose is acquisition for direct Federal use.
The Director of the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the heads of Federal science agencies, shall establish a National Citizen Science Fund to expand projects authorized by section 402 of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act, codified at section 3724 of title 15, United States Code.
The Fund may support:
(1) public participation in formulating questions, designing methods, observing, measuring, collecting or analyzing data, developing tools, interpreting results, and communicating findings;
(2) partnerships among agencies, libraries, museums, schools, tribal institutions, universities, nonprofit organizations, and communities;
(3) accessible instruments, training, local coordinators, data platforms, quality assurance, participant reimbursement, and safety equipment;
(4) longitudinal and place-based projects in health, environment, astronomy, agriculture, weather, biodiversity, history, linguistics, social science, and other lawful fields; and
(5) independent evaluation of scientific quality, participant experience, and public value.
Of annual funds, not less than 70 percent shall support projects and local participation, not more than 20 percent may support shared data and instrument infrastructure, and not less than 10 percent shall support training, accessibility, ethics, and evaluation.
This section supplements and does not limit agency authority under sections 3719 or 3724 of title 15, United States Code, or another law.
Before participation, a project shall disclose in plain language its purpose, expected tasks and time, reasonably foreseeable risks, data uses, privacy terms, compensation or reimbursement, intellectual-property terms, publication and credit policy, complaint process, and the voluntary nature of participation.
Projects shall comply with applicable human-subjects, animal-welfare, biosafety, environmental, privacy, labor, tribal-consultation, cultural-resource, and export-control requirements. Volunteer participation does not create Federal employment, but a project may not misclassify work that is employment under otherwise applicable law.
Data and methods shall be made publicly available when lawful and scientifically appropriate, subject to privacy, informed consent, trade-secret, national-security, endangered-species location, archaeological-site, tribal cultural knowledge, and other legally protected interests.
Projects shall adopt a transparent policy for acknowledgement, contribution statements, authorship where warranted, and return of understandable results.
CitizenScience.gov, or a successor public catalog, shall list active federally supported projects, participation requirements, accessibility, location, topic, time commitment, status, results, and complaint contact. Agencies shall update entries at least twice each year.
The Director, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Commerce, and other appropriate agencies, shall award 5,000 Discovery Fellowships for each full program year.
An eligible resident at least 18 years old may apply. A degree, institutional sponsor, employment, patent, publication, or prior grant is not required.
A fellowship ordinarily lasts 12 months and provides:
(1) a stipend of $75,000, adjusted annually after the third year;
(2) project support not exceeding $25,000;
(3) reasonable health-insurance, disability-access, caregiving, travel, and equipment support under uniform caps; and
(4) access to mentorship, public facilities where available, financial training, and intellectual-property guidance.
Fellowships may support science, engineering, mathematics, technology, invention, arts, humanities, history, philosophy, craft, design, exploration, entrepreneurship, journalism, public scholarship, language, community inquiry, and interdisciplinary work. For portfolio review, the Director shall group work into four areas: science, engineering, mathematics, technology, and invention; arts, humanities, history, philosophy, language, and journalism; craft, design, entrepreneurship, and community inquiry; and exploration, interdisciplinary, and open-category work. No area may receive less than 15 percent of awards if sufficient applications meet the published merit threshold.
Selection shall use rotating, conflict-screened panels and published criteria addressing originality, feasibility, applicant capacity, growth potential, public or cultural value, and responsible use of funds. Review shall be adapted to the field and shall not favor conventional academic outputs over other credible forms of contribution.
The Director shall conduct outreach and application support in every State and shall ensure meaningful access for rural communities, individuals with disabilities, caregivers, veterans, formerly incarcerated individuals, and applicants without institutional affiliation, without using a protected-class quota.
Each fellow shall provide a public abstract and, by the end of the fellowship, at least one accessible public contribution, which may be a lecture, demonstration, exhibit, performance, prototype, dataset, essay, workshop, field guide, open method, or other appropriate artifact. Trade secrets, confidential sources, safety-sensitive information, and patent rights remain protected.
The stipend is includible in gross income except to the extent another provision of the Internal Revenue Code expressly excludes a qualified amount. The Director shall provide plain-language tax guidance and may withhold estimated tax at the fellow's election.
A fellow is not a Federal employee solely by reason of the fellowship. The Government may not direct the fellow's conclusions or viewpoint, but may enforce lawful grant terms, safety requirements, and deliverables.
The Director shall make Library Modernization and Access Grants through the existing Grants to States structure under the Library Services and Technology Act, with separate tribal and competitive components.
Of annual funds:
(1) 75 percent shall be allotted to State library administrative agencies using the population and minimum-allotment framework in section 221 of the Library Services and Technology Act;
(2) 15 percent shall be awarded competitively for rural, tribal, territorial, disaster-affected, and underserved communities; and
(3) 10 percent shall support Indian Tribes, tribal organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations, and United States territories through direct or cooperative awards.
Funds may support:
(1) extended and weekend hours, staffing, mobile and pop-up service, outreach, and transportation partnerships;
(2) broadband, secure public computers, assistive technology, privacy-protective digital services, media laboratories, digitization, preservation, and cybersecurity;
(3) learning navigators, adult-learning support, multilingual collections, civic information, scientific and statistical literacy, and artificial-intelligence literacy;
(4) tools, studios, maker facilities, repair laboratories, quiet study rooms, and flexible learning space;
(5) accessibility, energy-efficiency, safety, and minor renovation necessary for an eligible service; and
(6) workforce development for librarians and other community-learning staff.
Section 210A of the Museum and Library Services Act, codified at section 9109 of title 20, United States Code, does not prohibit minor renovation under this section. Funds may not be used for acquisition of land or construction of a new stand-alone building. Minor renovation may not exceed 20 percent of an award unless the Director approves a higher amount for accessibility, disaster recovery, or adaptive reuse after public notice.
A State shall incorporate funds in its five-year library plan, consult local and tribal libraries, maintain non-Federal support at not less than the average of the preceding three years, and report service outcomes. The Director may waive maintenance of effort for severe fiscal distress or disaster without reducing service to high-need communities.
The Director, in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Small Business Administration, and the National Science Foundation, shall award grants to libraries, museums, community colleges, tribal entities, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and consortia to establish or improve community maker spaces and Wonder Hubs.
Funds may support equipment, tools, fabrication and repair facilities, art and craft studios, electronics and computing laboratories, safe storage, instructors, technicians, insurance, consumable materials, accessibility, mobile maker units, community challenges, and links to mentorship, inventor grants, and citizen science.
Awards may range from $50,000 to $2,000,000. The ordinary non-Federal match is 20 percent and may be provided in cash or documented in-kind support. The Director shall reduce or waive the match for rural, tribal, territorial, high-poverty, or disaster-affected applicants.
A grantee shall provide trained supervision, age-appropriate access, protective equipment, equipment maintenance, incident reporting, and content-neutral safety rules. Funds may not be used to manufacture an unlawful weapon or device. A facility may impose reasonable time, manner, intellectual-property, and commercial-use rules but may not exclude a lawful project because of viewpoint.
An applicant shall identify a five-year operating plan. Reasonable sliding-scale fees may be charged for consumables or long-duration use, but each funded facility shall provide no-fee access hours and fee waivers for inability to pay.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, in partnership with the Director and the Secretaries of Labor and Education, shall establish a National Mentorship Exchange delivered through libraries, museums, educational institutions, workforce centers, tribal entities, professional associations, unions, retired-worker organizations, and nonprofit partners.
The Exchange shall:
(1) match learners with volunteer or modestly compensated mentors in science, trades, arts, humanities, entrepreneurship, public service, craft, technology, and other fields;
(2) provide mentor training, clear scope, time-limited engagements, accessible communications, conflict disclosure, and participant feedback;
(3) support group, local, remote, and intergenerational mentoring; and
(4) refer participants to licensed professional services when a request exceeds the mentor's qualifications.
A program involving a minor or vulnerable adult shall require appropriate identity verification, background screening, parental or guardian consent when legally required, supervised or auditable communications, mandatory-reporting training, data minimization, and a prompt safety-complaint process. The Exchange shall not publicly disclose a participant's home address, school schedule, or direct contact information.
A mentor who completes training and at least 25 verified hours in a year may receive reimbursement and a service award not exceeding $1,000. An award does not create an employment relationship. The Fair Labor Standards Act and other worker-protection laws continue to apply according to their terms.
The Exchange shall disclose that a mentor does not provide legal, medical, investment, engineering, or other regulated professional advice unless appropriately licensed and expressly engaged in that capacity. Grantees shall maintain appropriate insurance and incident procedures.
The Director, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Science Foundation, public media entities, libraries, museums, tribal institutions, and educational institutions, shall establish a Public Lecture Network.
Supported events shall be free to the public, reasonably accessible in person or remotely, and may include lectures, demonstrations, performances with educational discussion, debates, panels, workshops, and question-and-answer sessions.
Selection criteria shall be viewpoint neutral and may consider expertise, evidentiary method, clarity, relevance, intellectual diversity across the annual portfolio, local interest, and educational value. Funds may not support campaign activity for or against a candidate or coordinated partisan fundraising. Controversy, criticism of government, religious perspective, or heterodox scholarship is not by itself a basis for denial.
With the informed agreement of speakers and rights holders, events shall be recorded, captioned, described, and made available without charge in an Open Lecture Archive. The Archive shall respect copyright, moral rights, traditional cultural expressions, confidential information, and a speaker's safety. A grant may pay reasonable licensing costs but may not compel transfer of copyright.
At least 35 percent of awards shall support locally selected subjects or speakers outside the 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas.
The Director shall provide a common notice, eligibility profile, application, budget form, civil-rights assurance, and annual report for programs under this title, with program-specific supplements only when necessary.
Awards are subject to chapter II of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor government-wide grant guidance. The Director shall use risk-based monitoring and may accept a single audit or financial review conducted for another Federal program.
Unless another law provides a more favorable rule, a State or direct grantee may use not more than 5 percent for program administration. Reasonable indirect costs under a negotiated or de minimis rate are not administrative costs solely because they are indirect.
Federal funds shall supplement and not supplant State, local, tribal, or private funds for the same service, except during a declared disaster or severe fiscal distress waiver.
Each award shall be listed on the public dashboard with amount, recipient, purpose, location, period, status, and aggregate outcomes, subject to privacy and security protections.
The Director, acting as service owner and in partnership with the Administrator of General Services and the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall establish a Public Learning Assistant that provides a free basic level of artificial-intelligence-assisted learning support to eligible residents.
The service shall be available through a standards-based web interface, accessible mobile interface, voice or telephone option, library and community kiosks, and downloadable or low-bandwidth resources where practicable. A paid subscription, advertisement, smartphone, or disclosure of a real name may not be required for basic use.
The service is a public learning option and may not be made mandatory for a school, library, employer, public-benefit program, or individual. It does not displace teachers, librarians, mentors, or licensed professionals.
The Director shall conduct a public beta beginning not later than 18 months after enactment and national basic service not later than 30 months after enactment, subject to an independent readiness finding under section 604.
The service shall, within appropriated resources:
(1) explain concepts at user-selected levels and in the most commonly used languages in the United States;
(2) support reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, civics, arts, languages, digital literacy, career exploration, research planning, and maker or invention projects;
(3) provide citations or traceable source references for factual claims when reasonably available and distinguish sourced fact, inference, uncertainty, and creative generation;
(4) help users locate libraries, museums, public lands, lectures, mentors, citizen-science projects, courses, account providers, and grants;
(5) meet section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines incorporated by Federal regulation;
(6) support screen readers, captions, transcripts, adjustable reading level, keyboard navigation, and plain-language modes;
(7) provide age-appropriate modes and referral to a human or authoritative service for high-stakes medical, legal, financial, safety, and crisis questions; and
(8) permit a user to export learning plans and conversations in a commonly used, machine-readable format.
The Government and a contractor may not:
(1) sell, rent, license, or commercially exploit user data;
(2) serve advertisements or build advertising profiles;
(3) use conversations to train or improve a commercial model without separate, opt-in, revocable, informed consent that is not a condition of service;
(4) infer or target a user based on protected traits, political affiliation, religion, health, disability, emotion, or vulnerability for persuasion or differential access;
(5) conduct biometric identification, emotion recognition, social scoring, or persistent cross-service tracking; or
(6) use a learning history to make a decision concerning immigration, law enforcement, tax, credit, insurance, employment, education admission, or public-benefit eligibility.
Anonymous or pseudonymous basic use shall be available. Conversation content shall not be retained for more than 30 days by default. A user may affirmatively choose encrypted history for a period not exceeding one year and may delete it at any time. Security logs may be retained only as long as necessary and shall exclude content when practicable.
A user has the right to notice, access, correction of account information, export, deletion, consent withdrawal, and an explanation of material automated personalization. The service shall provide a non-personalized mode.
Conversation content may be disclosed only with the user's consent, pursuant to a warrant based on probable cause, or when necessary to address a specific and imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. Emergency disclosures shall be narrowly tailored, logged, reviewed, and included in an aggregate transparency report.
For a user under 13, the service shall operate through verifiable parental consent, a school or library arrangement complying with applicable law, or a no-retention supervised mode. The service shall not encourage secrecy from a parent or guardian, simulate a romantic relationship, or use manipulative engagement features directed to a minor.
Personally identifiable records maintained by a Federal agency are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974. This section provides greater protection where its terms are more protective.
The service shall implement the National Institute of Standards and Technology Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework and generative-artificial-intelligence profile, or successor standards, including documented governance, testing, evaluation, incident response, cybersecurity, privacy, and human oversight.
Before national launch and at least annually, an independent evaluator shall test factual accuracy, source integrity, accessibility, privacy, cybersecurity, harmful bias, age-appropriate behavior, prompt injection, data leakage, unlawful content assistance, and performance across languages and subject areas. Material results and corrective actions shall be public.
The service may apply content-neutral safety rules against unlawful assistance, exploitation, targeted harassment, and imminent harm. It may not suppress or favor a lawful viewpoint because it is political, religious, philosophical, scientific, artistic, or controversial. It shall not endorse or oppose a candidate or deliver targeted political persuasion. On contested public questions, it shall identify material uncertainty and credible differing views rather than falsely present agency policy as uncontested fact.
The service shall disclose that outputs may be wrong, provide convenient error reporting, prefer primary and authoritative sources for high-stakes factual answers, and avoid fabricated citations. Repeated material failure in a domain shall trigger restriction of that function until corrected.
The Administrator of General Services shall use modular, performance-based, competitively awarded contracts; data-portability and interoperability requirements; audit rights; source and model documentation; termination assistance; and avoidance of vendor lock-in. At least two technically independent model or service options shall be maintained when practicable. Open-source and Government-hosted components shall receive fair consideration.
A contractor shall report a suspected material incident within 24 hours and a confirmed incident within 72 hours, preserve evidence, cooperate in notice and remediation, and bear costs allocated by contract for a breach caused by its violation.
The Director shall designate an independent Learning Technology Ombudsperson to receive complaints, require response from program officials, publish systemic recommendations, and refer violations to an Inspector General, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, or another authorized body.
The service shall acknowledge a safety, privacy, or accessibility complaint within two business days, provide an initial response within 15 days, and decide an appeal within 60 days.
Contracts shall authorize service credits, corrective-action plans, suspension, termination, repayment, and debarment referral for material violations.
This title does not limit relief under the Privacy Act, Administrative Procedure Act, Rehabilitation Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, civil-rights laws, contract law, or another applicable law. No additional damages action against the United States is created.
There is established within IMLS an Office of Curiosity and Lifelong Learning.
The Office shall be headed by an Executive Director appointed by the Director from among individuals with substantial experience in public learning, grants, technology, labor or benefit administration, libraries or museums, science or culture, and program evaluation. The Executive Director shall report to the Director and is not a separate Senate-confirmed officer.
The Office shall coordinate common definitions, public access, account-provider standards, cross-program technology, the Wonder Index, shared applications, evaluation, public reporting, accessibility, and public engagement. It shall not duplicate agency merit review, tax administration, labor enforcement, land management, or scientific functions assigned elsewhere.
The Office may employ not more than 65 full-time-equivalent employees, excluding employees temporarily detailed for not more than two years. Detailees remain counted against the originating agency's personnel ceiling.
The National Museum and Library Services Board shall advise the Director on the Office's community-institution functions. No new permanent external advisory commission is created.
There is established an Interagency Council on Curiosity and Discovery, chaired by the Director and vice-chaired by the Director of the National Science Foundation.
Members are the heads, or their designees at the Deputy Secretary or equivalent level, of the Departments of Labor, Treasury, Education, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Health and Human Services; the National Science Foundation; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Corporation for National and Community Service; the Small Business Administration; the General Services Administration; the Census Bureau; the National Institute of Standards and Technology; the United States Patent and Trademark Office; the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and other agencies invited for a specific matter.
The Council shall coordinate implementation, prevent duplication, approve a government-wide data and privacy framework, align grant calendars and forms, identify statutory conflicts, and submit the unified budget and report under section 704.
Members receive no additional compensation. The Council shall use the Office for administrative support and may establish time-limited working groups. Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, does not apply to the Council because it consists of Federal officials.
The Director of the Census Bureau, in partnership with the Director, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Science Foundation, and Federal land-management agencies, shall publish an annual National Wonder Index beginning not later than 24 months after enactment.
The Index shall measure, at national, State, tribal, territorial, and statistically reliable local levels:
(1) travel time and digital access to libraries, museums, cultural facilities, parks, observatories, maker spaces, courses, lectures, mentors, and broadband;
(2) operating hours, accessibility, language access, affordability, transportation, and caregiving barriers;
(3) access to paid learning time, employer educational support, and Lifelong Learning Accounts;
(4) participation in informal learning, cultural activity, citizen science, mentorship, invention, and public programs;
(5) perceived freedom to ask questions and ability to locate trustworthy information; and
(6) program quality, safety, user experience, and distribution of opportunity.
The Index shall publish component measures, uncertainty, missing-data limitations, geographic crosswalks, and methodology. A composite score may be published only with the components and may not be used as the sole basis for an enforcement action or individual benefit determination.
No individual learning history shall be collected for the Index. Survey and administrative data shall use statistical disclosure limitation, small-cell suppression, and applicable confidentiality law, including title 13, United States Code.
The Index is for measurement, planning, grants, and public accountability. It may identify access gaps but may not condition unrelated Federal funds on a State or locality's rank.
The Council shall submit one annual report to Congress and the President covering enrollment, utilization, access, geographic distribution, wait times, complaints, fraud, administrative cost, grant outcomes, Federal and non-Federal spending, employer compliance, tax expenditures, AI performance, and corrective actions.
The Office shall maintain a machine-readable and accessible dashboard of appropriations, obligations, awards, participating institutions, aggregate usage, performance measures, audits, and open recommendations. Personally identifiable and protected information shall not be published.
The Director shall competitively select an independent evaluator to conduct a five-year evaluation using credible comparison methods where feasible. The evaluation shall assess access, learning participation, innovation outputs, employee and employer experience, institutional capacity, rural and disability access, fraud, administrative burden, AI safety and usefulness, cost effectiveness, and unintended effects.
Evaluation plans, outcome definitions, codebooks, deidentified data when lawful, and negative as well as positive findings shall be public. Agencies may not delay a report because findings are unfavorable.
The Inspectors General of IMLS and participating agencies shall establish a coordinated plan for fraud risk, privacy, procurement, grant oversight, and complaint referral, avoiding duplicate audits.
The Comptroller General shall report to Congress:
(1) not later than three years after enactment, on implementation readiness, administrative duplication, privacy, procurement, and early access;
(2) not later than five years after enactment, on fiscal performance, leave compliance, benefit distribution, and program integrity; and
(3) not later than ten years after enactment, on reauthorization, consolidation, modification, or termination of each program.
An agency shall publish a response to each material recommendation within 90 days, including an implementation date or a specific explanation for nonconcurrence.
Unless a lower limit applies, an agency may use not more than 2.5 percent of amounts appropriated for a program under this Act for Federal administration, excluding benefit payments, grants, required independent evaluation, Inspector General oversight, and shared cybersecurity infrastructure.
Agencies shall use shared identity, payment, grants, accessibility, data, and fraud-prevention services when doing so reduces cost and protects privacy. Shared identity shall support attribute verification without creating a centralized record of learning subjects or activities.
No program may be digital-only. The Office shall fund enrollment and navigation assistance through libraries, tribal entities, workforce centers, and other community partners.
Each agency shall identify existing forms, reports, and rules that can be consolidated or retired. The annual report shall state net changes in forms, reporting hours, Federal FTEs, and contractor personnel.
The following amounts are authorized to be appropriated, or appropriated where expressly stated, in 2026 dollars, with fiscal years measured from the first full fiscal year beginning after enactment:
| Program | First full fiscal year | Second fiscal year | Each of fiscal years 3 through 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office, Council, Wonder Index, and shared evaluation | $100,000,000 | $150,000,000 | $175,000,000 |
| Lifelong Learning Accounts | $2,000,000,000 | $12,000,000,000 | $24,000,000,000 |
| Wonder Pass partner access | $1,000,000,000 | $3,000,000,000 | $5,000,000,000 |
| Independent Inventor Discovery Grants | $250,000,000 | $500,000,000 | $750,000,000 |
| National Citizen Science Fund | $100,000,000 | $250,000,000 | $350,000,000 |
| Discovery Fellowships | $150,000,000 | $350,000,000 | $600,000,000 |
| Library Modernization and Access Grants | $750,000,000 | $1,500,000,000 | $2,000,000,000 |
| Maker Space and Wonder Hub Grants | $300,000,000 | $700,000,000 | $1,000,000,000 |
| National Mentorship Exchange | $75,000,000 | $200,000,000 | $300,000,000 |
| Public Lecture Network | $75,000,000 | $175,000,000 | $250,000,000 |
| Public Learning Assistant | $400,000,000 | $1,000,000,000 | $1,500,000,000 |
Out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated for Lifelong Learning Accounts the amounts listed in subsection (a), to remain available until expended. Annual obligations may not exceed the listed amount, and section 302(f) governs adjustment.
Out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated such sums as necessary for transfers under section 312(c), subject to annual audit and apportionment by the Office of Management and Budget.
Amounts for programs other than subsections (b) and (c) are authorizations of appropriations and remain available for two fiscal years unless another appropriations Act provides otherwise.
Amounts necessary to carry out sections 45BB and 45CC of the Internal Revenue Code are provided through the operation of that Code and are not included in the appropriations table.
An agency may transfer not more than 10 percent of a discretionary program amount to another program under this Act upon 30 days' notice to the appropriations and authorizing committees, a public explanation, and a finding that the transfer addresses documented demand or implementation need. A transfer may not eliminate a program or reduce a statutory individual entitlement already credited.
Awards shall be made by formula or competition under published criteria. The Office may not reserve funds for a named non-Federal recipient absent an express Act of Congress.
For a fiscal year beginning after the first full fiscal year following enactment, dollar amounts in subsection (a), other than an amount separately indexed under another section, shall be adjusted to preserve their value in 2026 dollars using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers and rounded to the nearest $1,000,000. The fiscal estimates accompanying this Act are stated in constant 2026 dollars.
The same expense may not be paid from a Lifelong Learning Account or Wonder Pass reimbursement and also reimbursed or credited under section 25A, 45CC, 127, or another provision of the Internal Revenue Code; the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; veterans' educational assistance; employer reimbursement; or another Federal program. A deduction under section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code is reduced only to the extent required by section 280C of that Code.
Use of curiosity leave, a Wonder Pass, a mentor, or the Public Learning Assistant does not by itself duplicate payment of a qualified expense.
Nothing in this Act reduces an amount otherwise available for libraries, museums, public lands, science, arts, humanities, workforce development, community service, disability access, or education. Agencies shall align applications and reporting where purposes overlap.
Within 180 days, the Council shall publish an inventory of overlapping Federal programs and a consolidation plan. Statutory programs may be consolidated only by law; administrative duplication shall be eliminated to the extent already authorized.
Programs and recipients shall comply with the Constitution and applicable civil-rights and accessibility laws, including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 when applicable, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and religious-liberty protections.
No benefit, grant, fellowship, account provider approval, pass participation agreement, lecture, mentor match, maker-space access, or AI response may be denied, conditioned, or burdened solely because of a lawful viewpoint. Content-neutral subject, expertise, safety, scientific-method, evidence, age-appropriateness, and program-scope criteria remain permissible.
A religious entity is eligible on the same terms as a comparable secular entity. Direct grants may pay only for eligible program costs and not worship, devotional instruction, or proselytization. Individually directed benefits may flow to a qualified religious provider through genuine and independent private choice, with separate accounting for eligible services.
Acceptance of funds does not authorize the Government to prescribe a grantee's conclusions, artistic expression, or scholarly viewpoint. The Government may define the funded program, require accurate financial reporting, enforce neutral eligibility and safety terms, and decline to fund work outside statutory scope.
After notice and an opportunity for review under subsection (g), an agency shall deny, suspend, or terminate an award, participation agreement, provider approval, or other institutional benefit if a final judicial or administrative adjudication during the preceding five years found that the entity, or a controlling official acting for the entity, knowingly engaged in:
(1) intentional violent criminal conduct against a person;
(2) a true threat, speech integral to criminal conduct, or incitement intended and likely to produce imminent lawless action, as those categories are defined by controlling Supreme Court precedent;
(3) material support or resources prohibited by section 2339A or 2339B of title 18, United States Code, human trafficking, forced labor, or sexual exploitation or abuse of a minor;
(4) intentional unlawful discrimination in admission, employment, contracting, or public service on a basis protected by applicable Federal law;
(5) fraud, embezzlement, bribery, diversion of public funds, or a willful material false statement in connection with a public benefit; or
(6) a repeated willful violation of a child-protection, public-safety, or accessibility law materially related to the proposed federally supported activity.
The agency shall tailor the period and scope of exclusion to the conduct, remedial action, management responsibility, present risk, and relationship to the program. An exclusion may not exceed five years after the final adjudication absent a later adjudication or debarment under otherwise applicable law.
No amount provided under this Act may be used to plan, threaten, incite, materially support, or provide operational assistance for unlawful violence against a person; to engage in conduct described in subsection (e)(2) or (3); to deny equal access in violation of Federal law; or to intervene in a campaign for or against a candidate for public office. This subsection does not prohibit historical analysis, journalism, counterspeech, prevention, deradicalization, academic research, artistic treatment, or other lawful discussion of violent, extremist, hateful, or controversial ideas.
(1) Before adverse action under subsection (e), the agency shall provide written notice of the evidence and proposed scope and duration; not less than 30 days to respond; an opportunity to present corrective action and contest attribution to the entity; a written decision by an official not responsible for the initial recommendation; and an administrative appeal. Final agency action is reviewable under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) The Government bears the burden by clear and convincing evidence. A final adjudication is required, except that an agency may impose an emergency suspension not exceeding 30 days upon specific written findings of an imminent threat to physical safety or an immediate risk of material loss of Federal funds.
(3) An ideological or partisan label, including a characterization as left-wing, right-wing, far-left, far-right, extremist, radical, or harmful, is not an operative eligibility standard. No adverse action may rest solely on lawful advocacy, protected association, criticism of government, religious or political belief, controversial expression, an unadjudicated accusation, or a watchlist that does not itself reflect a final adjudication described in subsection (e).
(4) Nothing in this section requires the Government to fund an activity outside the defined purpose, subject matter, or eligible cost of a program.
State, tribal, territorial, and local participation in accounts administration, pass partnerships, grants, mentorship, lectures, and Index planning is voluntary. No unrelated Federal funds may be withheld for nonparticipation.
Nothing in this Act requires a State legislature or executive officer to enact, administer, or enforce a Federal regulatory program. Federal labor standards apply directly to covered employers and are enforced under Federal law.
Except for a direct conflict that makes simultaneous compliance impossible, this Act does not preempt a more protective State, tribal, or local law concerning leave, privacy, artificial intelligence, consumer protection, civil rights, libraries, museums, public access, grants, or employment.
Rights under title II are minimum rights and may be improved through collective bargaining. A collective-bargaining agreement may establish scheduling, notice, and administration procedures that are clear and at least as protective, but may not waive the annual entitlement, pay, privacy, or anti-retaliation protections.
The Council shall publish a coordinated implementation schedule within 120 days. Each responsible agency shall issue proposed rules within 270 days and final rules within 540 days unless a shorter period is specified.
Rules shall be developed with public notice and consultation with employees, employers, small businesses, unions, libraries, museums, public-land users, disability organizations, tribal governments, rural communities, educators, scientists, artists, civil-liberties and religious-liberty organizations, privacy and cybersecurity experts, technology providers, and taxpayers.
An agency shall conduct meaningful government-to-government consultation before a rule or grant condition materially affecting tribal governments, lands, data, cultural knowledge, or institutions.
Final agency action is reviewable under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, after exhaustion of an expressly available administrative appeal. A court may postpone an agency action without invalidating unrelated benefits or programs.
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application of a provision to a person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder and other applications shall not be affected.
Sections 701, 702, 703, 704, 705, 802, and 805 take effect on enactment.
Title II takes effect as provided in section 208.
The Secretary of the Treasury and the Director shall begin pilots within 12 months, covering a geographically and demographically diverse set of communities, and provide nationwide enrollment not later than 30 months after enactment. A pilot may test administration but may not reduce a participant's statutory privacy or appeal rights.
Initial notices shall be issued within 12 months and first awards within 18 months.
The Public Learning Assistant takes effect under section 601(d).
Agencies may use existing grants, contracts, pass systems, identity services, and cooperative agreements during transition if the arrangement is brought into compliance by the applicable national launch date.
Not later than five years after enactment, the President shall transmit to Congress a reauthorization proposal responding to the independent evaluation and identifying programs to continue, modify, consolidate, or terminate.
Authority to make new awards under sections 401, 411, 421, 502, 503, and 504, and authority to enter new Public Learning Assistant model-service contracts under title VI, expires at the end of the tenth full fiscal year after enactment unless reauthorized. Existing awards and wind-down obligations remain valid.
The sunset does not apply to National Curiosity Leave, Lifelong Learning Accounts, Federal recreational access, Library Modernization and Access Grants, the Wonder Index, civil-rights protections, privacy rights applicable to retained data, audits, or recovery of funds.
Title I makes curiosity a statutory policy without declaring an unbounded constitutional entitlement. The definition of qualifying curiosity activity is intentionally broad enough to protect self-directed learning, art, craft, nature observation, and caregiving-linked participation. At the same time, it excludes ordinary commercial entertainment, campaign work, and unlawful conduct. Section 104 is a litigation-control provision: it identifies enforceable benefits while preventing the findings from being treated as an unlimited spending mandate.
The leave right is a Federal labor standard modeled administratively on the Fair Labor Standards Act. Forty hours provides five eight-hour days for a full-schedule employee. Employees with at least 20 customary weekly hours receive the full amount; short-hour employees accrue proportionally. Existing general-purpose PTO counts only if the worker can designate protected curiosity leave. This is the principal anti-duplication mechanism.
Employers retain scheduling authority but cannot deny the benefit indefinitely. The written-postponement rule, alternative-date deadline, self-attestation, privacy limit, and anti-retaliation remedy make the right usable. The bill does not require cash-out and excludes leave hours from overtime calculations.
The small-employer credit covers half the wage cost of the 40-hour floor, subject to a wage cap. Tax-exempt small employers receive a payroll-tax mechanism. The credit does not reimburse large employers and does not allow double credits.
The Lifelong Learning Account is a restricted benefit, not a tax-preferred investment account. It is available to adults regardless of tax liability. Contributions are income-tiered to control cost and improve distribution. Broad eligible expenses recognize that transportation, caregiving, tools, and short noncredit learning often determine whether an adult can participate. Provider standards permit credible non-accredited learning while requiring safety, refund, and financial controls.
The Wonder Pass uses the existing Federal recreation-pass system instead of creating a new park credential. Federal land access is not capped by visit count, but conservation, capacity, and reservation rules remain. The 24-day limit applies to participating non-Federal institutions. Reimbursement caps discourage price inflation, and the Act compensates Federal land agencies so access does not drain maintenance receipts. The Wonder Access Participation Credit supports incremental staffing, accessibility, preservation, capacity, security, and free public programming that are not already reimbursed. Elective payment makes the incentive usable by nonprofit and governmental institutions, while baselines, caps, certification, and recapture prevent duplicate subsidy.
Independent inventor awards use staged risk: small exploration awards precede larger prototype and validation awards. The process is designed for people without university or venture-capital backing. Patent and trade-secret rules protect preexisting rights while preserving ordinary Bayh-Dole treatment for federally funded inventions. Safety exclusions are specific and reviewable.
Citizen science builds on, rather than replaces, 15 U.S.C. 3724. The participant notice, ethics, data, authorship, and volunteer-classification rules address recurring implementation risks. Discovery Fellowships extend beyond STEM and beyond degree-holders. Fellows must provide a public contribution, but the bill protects confidential, patent, safety, and cultural interests.
The largest local investment flows through the existing IMLS Grants to States structure. Libraries may fund hours and staff as well as technology; modernization without operating capacity would produce locked rooms and idle equipment. A narrow exception to the existing IMLS construction bar permits minor renovation but not new stand-alone buildings.
Maker spaces, mentorship, and lectures use a common application and local delivery. Maker grants require safety and free access hours. Mentoring involving minors requires screening, consent, supervised communication, and incident procedures. Lecture selection must be viewpoint neutral, while campaign activity and partisan fundraising are outside the program.
The Public Learning Assistant is a free public option, not a mandate or a vendor-specific subscription. IMLS owns the service, GSA leads competitive acquisition, and NIST supplies the risk framework. The bill forbids advertising, sale of data, political targeting, commercial training on conversations without opt-in consent, and high-risk profiling. Anonymous use, short default retention, deletion, portability, independent testing, multiple providers, and public incident reporting reduce surveillance and lock-in risk.
The Office coordinates but does not take over agency work. The 65-FTE cap, existing advisory board, uncompensated Council, single annual report, and shared systems respond directly to the instruction not to create a bloated bureaucracy. The Wonder Index publishes components and uncertainty, protects Census confidentiality, and may not be used to punish low-ranking States by withholding unrelated funds.
The bill directly appropriates capped amounts for learning accounts and such sums as necessary to replace Federal land fee receipts. Other programs remain subject to annual appropriations. The small-employer and participating-institution credits operate through the Internal Revenue Code. Section 803 excludes adjudicated unlawful violence, true threats, incitement, exploitation, discrimination, fraud, and related harmful conduct across programs, while expressly rejecting partisan or ideological blacklists. The coordination, civil-rights, religious-neutrality, Federalism, judicial-review, severability, and sunset clauses are designed to preserve lawful portions if a particular application fails.
Congress has long regulated wages and hours of employees engaged in or affecting interstate commerce. The Supreme Court sustained the Fair Labor Standards Act in United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100 (1941). Curiosity leave is structured as a wage-and-hours condition for the same covered enterprises and employees. The strongest defense is that paid leave affects labor cost, scheduling, recruitment, retention, and interstate competition in the same direct way as other minimum employment conditions. A 40-hour annual entitlement has material cost and scheduling effects, strengthening the need for a developed committee record and the small-employer phase-in.
Risk remains because the Federal Government has not generally required paid personal leave and an opponent may characterize curiosity activity as noneconomic. The drafting response is to regulate the employment relationship rather than the off-duty activity: the employer owes a defined amount of paid time, while the employee has broad lawful choice concerning use. Detailed commerce findings could be expanded in committee with payroll, turnover, and benefit data.
Federal wage-and-hours rules may apply to State and local employers under Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528 (1985). However, Congress may not use Article I alone to abrogate State sovereign immunity from private damages actions. Section 205(f) therefore preserves Department of Labor enforcement and prospective relief to the extent lawful without making an invalid abrogation claim. This is a meaningful enforcement asymmetry and should be monitored.
Accounts, grants, fellowships, access reimbursements, and the employer credit serve the general welfare. Grant conditions are stated in advance, relate to the funded activity, and attach only to new program funds. The Act does not threaten Medicaid, highway, education, or other unrelated funding. That structure responds to South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203 (1987), and the coercion holding in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. 519 (2012).
The Act does not order State legislatures or executive officers to administer a Federal program. States may accept grants, partner in the pass, or decline. Federal agencies administer the national benefits. Section 804 expressly preserves this choice, consistent with New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997), and Murphy v. NCAA, 584 U.S. 453 (2018).
Congress has broad authority under Article IV, section 3, clause 2 to regulate Federal property. Free Federal-land access, continued reservation rules, resource protection, and replacement of fee receipts fall comfortably within that authority.
The Intellectual Property Clause supports national patent policy and protection of inventors. The grant program also rests independently on the Spending and Commerce Clauses. The draft preserves existing patent rules rather than creating a special patent right or forcing assignment to the Government.
Grants, lectures, fellowships, maker spaces, and the AI service create First Amendment risk if officials favor preferred viewpoints. Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, 515 U.S. 819 (1995), treats viewpoint discrimination as especially suspect, and Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez, 531 U.S. 533 (2001), limits the Government's ability to redefine a program to control private speech.
The Act uses viewpoint-neutral criteria, separates program scope from viewpoint, protects criticism of government, and gives reviewable reasons. The Government may still choose subject-matter categories, require scientific or professional methods, exclude campaign activity from a public-learning grant, and apply neutral safety rules. Review panels need training and audit because facial neutrality will not prevent discriminatory administration.
A statutory exclusion for institutions that promote "far-right," "far-left," or otherwise disfavored political content would discriminate by ideology and would be presumptively unconstitutional. The revised section 803 therefore does not use those labels. It instead requires exclusion after a final adjudication of specified unlawful harmful conduct, including intentional violence, true threats, incitement, unlawful material support, trafficking or exploitation, intentional unlawful discrimination, fraud, and repeated willful safety violations. It also bars program funds from facilitating unlawful violence while protecting journalism, historical analysis, prevention, counterspeech, research, art, and other lawful discussion. This is the closest administrable approach to the requested protection that does not make government officials arbiters of permissible political belief.
Categorically excluding an otherwise eligible provider or educational service because it is religious would create Free Exercise risk. Conversely, direct government grants for worship or proselytization create distinct Establishment Clause and program-purpose concerns. The bill uses two channels: direct grants pay only eligible program costs with separate accounting, while individually directed account spending may reach a qualified religious provider, including an otherwise eligible service with religious content, through genuine private choice. Final implementation should be reviewed against then-current Supreme Court doctrine.
Once funds are credited to an account, or a provider has earned reimbursement, the holder has a concrete financial interest. The Act provides notice, reasons, an opportunity to respond, impartial administrative review, and Administrative Procedure Act review. Competitive applicants receive procedural reconsideration but no entitlement to an award, limiting merit-based litigation.
Income tiers, rural access, and geography are reviewed under rational-basis principles and directly relate to access barriers. The bill does not use racial quotas. Agencies may conduct broad outreach and enforce civil-rights laws, but protected-class preferences would require separate legal analysis and more specific findings.
Reading, research, political, religious, and cultural interests can reveal sensitive associations. The strongest privacy protections are statutory: anonymous AI access, short retention, pass-data deletion, tax-data firewalls, bans on secondary use, and warrant requirements. The principal residual risks are contractor logs, fraud analytics, cybersecurity incidents, and mission creep. Procurement terms and Inspector General access are therefore essential, not optional guidance.
The Act supplies eligibility, dollar caps, allocation rules, merit criteria, prohibited uses, deadlines, appeal routes, reporting, and sunset dates. Those intelligible principles materially reduce delegation risk. The AI provisions expressly authorize the service and its safeguards, reducing major-questions arguments. Agencies must still use notice-and-comment rulemaking for material eligibility, reimbursement, safety, and privacy rules.
| Risk | Level | Mitigation in draft | Residual issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce challenge to paid curiosity leave | Medium to high | FLSA coverage, wage-and-hours framing, five-day annual cap, phase-in, small-employer credit | The 40-hour mandate has material cost and a novel purpose |
| State sovereign immunity | Medium | No invalid abrogation claim; Federal enforcement and prospective relief preserved | Private damages remedies differ by employer type |
| Viewpoint discrimination in grants or AI | High if poorly administered | Express neutrality, reasons, audits, appeal, portfolio disclosure | Model behavior and panel decisions require continuous testing |
| Ideological exclusion of institutions | High if labels are used | Final-adjudication requirement, enumerated unlawful conduct, clear-and-convincing burden, appeal | Officials may face pressure to convert partisan labels into eligibility rules |
| Religious-provider funding | Medium | Neutral eligibility, separate accounting, genuine individual choice | Doctrine may change; program details matter |
| AI privacy or data breach | High operational risk | Data minimization, no ads/sale, 30-day default, warrants, contract remedies | Large-scale service remains an attractive target |
| Provider and pass fraud | Medium | Restricted payments, caps, audits, recoupment, good-faith user protection | Broad provider network increases monitoring demand |
| Nondelegation or major-questions challenge | Low to medium | Clear statutory authorization, caps, criteria, deadlines | Technical standards must not become policy delegation |
| Appropriations/PAYGO | High fiscal, not constitutional, risk | Explicit mandatory and discretionary treatment | No offset is included |
This is a legislative-counsel estimate in constant 2026 dollars. It is not an official CBO, OMB, agency, or Joint Committee on Taxation score. Estimates use the statutory funding schedule, current employment and wage benchmarks, assumed benefit take-up, and broad sensitivity ranges. Nominal-dollar costs would be higher depending on inflation.
| Component | Central estimate | Plausible range | Main sensitivity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifelong Learning Accounts | $24.0B | $18.0B-$30.0B | Eligible population, enrollment, income-tier mix |
| Wonder Pass and Federal fee replacement | $5.20B | $3.50B-$7.50B | Use of 24 days, institution prices, Federal fee baseline |
| Inventor grants | $0.75B | $0.55B-$0.80B | Appropriations and award mix |
| Citizen science | $0.35B | $0.25B-$0.40B | Appropriations |
| Discovery Fellowships | $0.60B | $0.50B-$0.75B | Health, access, and project support |
| Library modernization | $2.00B | $1.50B-$2.00B | Annual appropriations |
| Maker spaces and Wonder Hubs | $1.00B | $0.70B-$1.00B | Annual appropriations |
| Mentorship and lectures | $0.55B | $0.35B-$0.55B | Mentor awards and event volume |
| Public Learning Assistant | $1.50B | $0.80B-$3.00B | Active users, inference cost, accessibility, security |
| Office, Index, shared evaluation, and incremental enforcement | $0.35B | $0.25B-$0.55B | DOL and oversight staffing |
| Small-employer tax credit | $10.00B | $5.00B-$17.50B | Eligibility, utilization, hourly wage, PTO overlap |
| Wonder Access Participation Credit | $1.25B | $0.50B-$2.00B | Institutional take-up, incremental costs, direct-pay claims |
| Total | $47.6B | $32.0B-$66.1B | Combined factors |
The program amounts in section 801 sum to $35.925 billion annually in years 3 through 10 before the two tax credits and Federal-land fee replacement. Some administrative and evaluation expense is included within program authorizations; the fiscal table adds only incremental central enforcement and oversight not clearly captured by those authorizations.
| Window | Low | Central | High | Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First full fiscal year | $4B | $6.5B | $9B | Setup, pilots, and early grants before full leave and pass operation |
| 5 years | $120B | $175B | $250B | National phase-in by year 3; credits ramp after launch |
| 10 years | $290B | $415B | $570B | Full operation plus evaluation and sunset review |
| 30 years | $0.95T | $1.37T | $1.85T | Constant 2026 dollars; assumes core continuation and reauthorization of most programs |
Using approximately 159 million nonfarm payroll jobs and average private hourly earnings of about $37.64 as a scale benchmark, the full wage value of 40 hours for every worker would approach $239 billion annually before eligibility, use, and existing-PTO adjustments. That is not the incremental cost of the bill.
The central estimate assumes that approximately 90 percent of jobs become eligible, 60 to 70 percent of eligible workers use leave, and 65 to 85 percent of used hours are satisfied through existing flexible PTO. On those assumptions, incremental employer wage cost is approximately $20 billion to $75 billion per year before the Federal credit, with a central range near $30 billion to $45 billion. Scheduling and recordkeeping could add $2 billion to $6 billion. The tax credit shifts part of small-employer cost to the Federal budget.
Museums and other participating institutions receive reimbursement, but may face crowding, staffing, conservation, security, and reservation costs. The Wonder Access Participation Credit reimburses a share of verified incremental costs after other Federal support is netted out, and elective payment makes the benefit available to tax-exempt and governmental institutions. States and localities incur costs only if they accept a grant or operate as covered employers. Grant matching is ordinarily 10 to 20 percent and is waivable for high-need communities.
The largest account contribution goes to adults at or below 200 percent of poverty.
The leave right is likely most valuable to workers who currently lack flexible PTO, though those employers also face the greatest new cost.
Rural and underserved communities receive targeted access grants, but benefit depends on local staffing and transportation, not only buildings and equipment.
Universal park access benefits people near Federal lands more immediately; the pass, library, digital, lecture, and mentorship provisions broaden geographic reach.
People without tax liability, smartphones, bank accounts, or formal credentials remain eligible through non-tax and non-digital paths.
The bill may produce productivity, retention, entrepreneurship, cultural, educational, health, and civic benefits. Evidence is insufficient to treat those gains as budget offsets. Patent revenue, business formation, tourism, and reduced turnover are likewise not scored. A formal score should not assume that the Act pays for itself.
The draft includes no revenue increase or spending reduction. Mandatory account appropriations, Federal-land receipt replacement, and refundable tax treatment would require statutory PAYGO scoring. If a sponsor requires deficit neutrality, the cleanest choices are a separate revenue title, a lower account contribution or narrower income tier, or conversion of part of the account contribution to annual discretionary appropriations. The bill should not use speculative savings as an offset.
Appoint the Office Executive Director and designate the 65-FTE staffing plan.
Convene the Council and publish a single implementation calendar.
Inventory overlapping Federal grants, passes, tax benefits, identity systems, and learning platforms.
Begin tribal consultation and consultations with labor, employers, libraries, museums, disability groups, privacy experts, rural communities, and civil-liberties organizations.
Establish baseline fiscal, privacy, cybersecurity, and fraud-risk registers.
Department of Labor publishes model curiosity-leave policy, notice, and payroll examples.
Treasury and IMLS publish account-provider, Wonder Access Participation Credit, elective-payment, baseline, and transaction-control proposals.
IMLS begins Wonder Pass institution enrollment, regional capacity analysis, and adjudication-based harmful-conduct compliance guidance.
GSA and NIST publish the Public Learning Assistant performance, privacy, security, accessibility, and interoperability specification.
NSF and Commerce publish simplified inventor and citizen-science application drafts.
Census publishes the Wonder Index methodology for comment.
Agencies issue proposed rules and initial grant notices.
Treasury pilots account enrollment with tax filers and nonfilers in varied communities.
IMLS pilots the 24-day pass and participation-credit certification with museums and science centers of different sizes and admission models.
GSA awards modular AI prototype contracts only after privacy and security review.
DOL trains Wage and Hour Division staff and launches small-employer technical assistance.
AmeriCorps establishes mentor screening, training, and incident standards.
Curiosity leave becomes effective for most employers at month 18 and the smallest employers at month 24.
Accounts and pass expand nationally by month 30.
First full inventor, citizen-science, library, maker, mentor, lecture, and fellowship cohorts begin.
Public Learning Assistant beta operates through selected libraries, followed by independent readiness review.
First Wonder Index and public dashboard are released.
Full funding and nationwide operation.
Agencies adjust provider caps, application burden, rural delivery, and AI capacity based on public data.
Inspector General coordinated audits focus on pass billing, participation-credit duplication, harmful-conduct procedures, account providers, AI data handling, grant conflicts, and leave retaliation.
Independent evaluator conducts outcome and comparison studies.
Congress receives the year-3 GAO review and year-5 evaluation and reauthorization proposal.
Scale programs that demonstrate access and quality; consolidate or terminate duplicative channels.
Renew major AI contracts only after competition and data-portability testing.
Use the Wonder Index to target grants, not to punish jurisdictions.
Prepare the year-10 GAO review and congressional reauthorization decision before novel-program sunsets.
| Failure mode | Early indicator | Statutory or administrative response |
|---|---|---|
| Employers nominally count unusable PTO | High postponement or retaliation complaints | DOL audit, written reasons, alternative-date rule, damages |
| Account provider fraud | Unusual transaction clusters, rapid price increases | Risk holds, recoupment, provider suspension, good-faith user protection |
| Rural communities receive equipment but no staff | Low hours and utilization | Permit staffing and mobile services; sustainability review |
| Museum or park overcrowding | Reservation scarcity and displacement | Capacity rules, timed entry, transparent allocations, no elimination of benefit |
| Venue claims both reimbursement and credit for the same cost | Duplicate cost identifiers or unusually high direct-payment claims | IMLS certification, Treasury matching, baseline rules, recapture, excessive-payment addition |
| Harmful-conduct rule becomes ideological screening | Decisions cite partisan labels rather than final adjudications | Clear-and-convincing burden, independent decisionmaker, written reasons, appeal, judicial review |
| AI hallucination or ideological skew | Error reports and independent test failures | Domain restriction, corrective plan, model competition, public test results |
| AI cost exceeds budget | Cost per active user and latency rise | Usage-efficient models, caching, offline resources, procurement competition |
| Grant system fragments | Multiple forms and duplicate reporting | Common application, shared portal, Council consolidation plan |
| Mentor misconduct | Screening failures or incident reports | Supervised communications, removal, referral, insurance, audit |
| Fellowships favor established institutions | Concentrated awards by affiliation or geography | Blinded stages where feasible, outreach, portfolio reporting, panel rotation |
Workers gain protected time and adults gain direct purchasing support. The chief concern is whether scheduling is genuinely usable and whether privacy protects sensitive interests. The bill addresses this with limited attestation, written postponement, remedies, non-digital access, and data firewalls.
Small employers receive partial wage support but may still face scheduling difficulty. Large employers receive no credit and may object to a five-day-equivalent Federal mandate. Counting existing flexible PTO substantially reduces duplication. Model policies, a delayed small-employer effective date, cure opportunities, and a two-hour minimum increment reduce administrative burden.
Unions are likely to value a national floor and anti-retaliation rights but may resist employer control over scheduling or substitution of existing leave. The collective-bargaining savings clause permits better terms and blocks waiver of core rights.
These institutions receive funding and visitors but may face staffing, maintenance, preservation, security, and crowding costs from 24 annual admission days. Admission reimbursement, operating grants, the Wonder Access Participation Credit with elective payment, fee-receipt replacement, capacity rules, and a right to withdraw from the partner pass mitigate those effects. Institutions will need separate cost records because the same expense cannot be reimbursed twice.
Independent applicants gain access without a university sponsor. They will care most about simple applications, timely decisions, confidentiality, IP ownership, and review quality. The staged awards, 10-page application, conflict rules, and Bayh-Dole clarity are central.
Governments may opt into grants and partnerships. They are not required to administer Federal benefits and do not risk unrelated funds. Tribal consultation and cultural-data protections require real implementation capacity, not a generic notice.
Vendors gain a large competitive market but face strong data, audit, portability, and incident terms. Privacy and civil-liberties groups will focus on government learning histories, political neutrality, minors, and law-enforcement access. The Act's anonymous use, short retention, warrant rule, and no-advertising model are non-negotiable design features.
The principal objection is scale: approximately $47.6 billion annually at maturity, plus private employer cost. The answer is not to claim self-financing. The bill uses capped accounts, staged implementation, existing agencies, a staffing cap, common systems, independent evaluation, and sunset of novel programs. A sponsor seeking a smaller package can reduce account contributions or phase benefits, but should preserve the internal protections.
The concept can appeal across constituencies because it combines work, science, culture, parks, libraries, invention, and local institutions. The most difficult provisions are the 40-hour employer mandate, mandatory account funding, 24-day access reimbursement, refundable participation credit, Federal AI service, and pressure from competing factions to screen institutions by ideology. The strongest legislative strategy is a unified authorization with separately scoreable titles, clear pilot milestones, and a transparent financing debate rather than hiding costs across agencies.
If you are a covered employee, you would receive up to 40 paid hours each year for a real learning or discovery activity--five days for an employee whose workday is eight hours. If your employer already gives flexible PTO, those hours may count, but you would receive the law's scheduling, privacy, and anti-retaliation protections.
You could open a Lifelong Learning Account. The Federal contribution would be $500 if your household income is at or below 200 percent of poverty, $250 from 200 to 400 percent, and a match up to $100 above that level. You could use the account for short courses, books, tools, museum programs, maker spaces, transportation, and limited care costs.
You could receive a free Wonder Pass for Federal recreational lands and up to 24 admission days each year at participating museums, science centers, observatories, and similar institutions. You would also have access to a free public AI learning assistant with no ads or sale of your conversations.
It is broad but not unlimited. The time must be used substantially for learning, inquiry, making, culture, mentorship, citizen science, research, or exploration. Employers cannot judge your viewpoint or require your reading history. A short self-attestation is enough.
An employer may postpone a specific time if the absence would cause substantial and grievous disruption, but must explain in writing and provide an alternative within 30 days, or 60 days for a very small employer. The same request cannot be postponed indefinitely.
No. Existing vacation or general-purpose PTO counts if at least 40 hours can actually be used for a qualifying activity with all protections. Sick-only, jury-duty, bereavement, or other restricted leave does not count.
Federal entrance and standard amenity fees are covered, although reservations, capacity limits, camping, transportation, and premium services may still cost money. Participating non-Federal institutions provide up to 24 covered admission days per person per year. Premium events and goods are not included.
Yes. In addition to capped reimbursement for verified admissions, a participating institution may claim a Wonder Access Participation Credit for a share of documented incremental staffing, accessibility, preservation, capacity, security, public-programming, and transportation-partnership costs. The credit is capped at $500,000 per institution each year and excludes any cost already paid by reimbursement, a grant, or another credit. Tax-exempt and governmental institutions may elect a direct payment, so the incentive is useful even when the institution owes no income tax.
The bill requires Treasury to replace the Federal fee receipts reasonably displaced by the free pass. Conservation, safety, permits, and capacity rules remain in place.
The bill is written to prevent that. Basic use may be anonymous. Conversations are deleted after 30 days by default. There are no ads, sale of data, political targeting, biometric identification, social scoring, or use of learning histories for immigration, law enforcement, tax, insurance, employment, admissions, or benefits decisions. Disclosure generally requires consent or a warrant.
No. The service is optional and is expressly a support tool. It must refer high-stakes questions to humans and authoritative sources. Libraries receive funding for staff, hours, and local services.
No agency may approve or reject a benefit solely because of a lawful viewpoint. Grants may use neutral criteria such as feasibility, evidence, expertise, safety, originality, and public value. Decisions require conflict rules and reasons.
An institution cannot be excluded merely because an official labels it far-right, far-left, extremist, radical, or harmful. That would make political ideology the eligibility test. The Act instead excludes an institution after a final adjudication of specified unlawful harmful conduct, including intentional violence, true threats, incitement, unlawful material support, trafficking or exploitation, intentional unlawful discrimination, fraud, and repeated willful safety violations. Program money also may not facilitate unlawful violence. Lawful but controversial advocacy remains protected.
Yes, on neutral terms. Direct grants may pay only for eligible program costs, not worship or proselytization. An individual may direct an account benefit to a qualified religious provider for an eligible educational service through genuine private choice.
The central estimate is about $47.6 billion per year after full implementation, with a plausible range of $32 billion to $66.1 billion. The central 10-year estimate is about $415 billion in 2026 dollars. Employers may bear an additional $20 billion to $75 billion annually, partly offset by the small-employer credit and existing PTO.
No such claim is made. Learning and invention may create large benefits, but they are too uncertain to count as budget offsets. The draft contains no revenue pay-for.
No. A 65-person office at IMLS coordinates the work. Labor enforces leave, Treasury runs accounts, existing land agencies manage parks, Commerce and NSF manage invention and science, AmeriCorps manages mentoring, and GSA and NIST support the AI service.
No. States and localities may accept grants and partnerships, but the Act does not command them to enact or administer a Federal program and does not threaten unrelated funding.
The bill is designed around current Federal law and programs rather than a blank administrative slate.
Federal law currently does not generally require paid vacation or paid time off. U.S. Department of Labor, Vacation Leave and Paid Leave.
The Fair Labor Standards Act already supplies nationwide wage, hours, recordkeeping, and enforcement architecture. U.S. Department of Labor, Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Section 127 currently excludes up to $5,250 of qualifying employer educational assistance in 2025 and 2026, with indexing after 2026, but it is employer-dependent and subject to nondiscrimination and eligible-expense rules. Internal Revenue Service, 2026 Educational Assistance FAQs; 26 U.S.C. 127.
The Lifetime Learning Credit remains tied to expenses at eligible postsecondary institutions and is nonrefundable. Internal Revenue Service, Education Credits.
IMLS's Grants to States program already supports approximately 1,500 projects annually, and the Public Libraries Survey covers approximately 9,000 public-library systems and 17,000 outlets. IMLS, Grants to States Overview and Public Libraries Survey.
Existing library law expressly supports lifelong learning, emerging technology, research, education, innovation, and collaboration. 20 U.S.C. 9121.
Federal agencies already possess citizen-science authority, and the Federal catalog lists hundreds of validated projects. 15 U.S.C. 3724; CitizenScience.gov Catalog.
Federal prize authority already includes point-solution, exposition, and participation competitions, transparent rules, conflict limits, and protection of participant intellectual property. 15 U.S.C. 3719.
NSF's Advancing Informal STEM Learning program already supports public engagement, community STEM, public participation in scientific research, and science communication. National Science Foundation, Advancing Informal STEM Learning.
The USPTO already operates pro se and nationwide patent-pro-bono assistance for financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses. USPTO, Patent Pro Bono Program and Pro Se Assistance.
Federal law already authorizes the America the Beautiful interagency pass, free and discounted passes, and a digital pass. 16 U.S.C. 6804. The Every Kid Outdoors program demonstrates a free national access model for fourth graders and their families. National Park Service, Every Kid Outdoors.
The Smithsonian demonstrates that large-scale free general admission can coexist with timed-entry systems; most Smithsonian museums are free. Smithsonian Institution, Museums and Zoo.
NIST's AI Risk Management Framework and Generative AI Profile supply a current baseline for governance, testing, transparency, privacy, security, and reliability. NIST, AI Risk Management Framework and NIST AI 600-1.
The June 2026 employment benchmark was approximately 159 million nonfarm payroll jobs, with average private hourly earnings of $37.64. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation - June 2026. These figures are used only to scale the employer-cost illustration.
Experimental and review literature supports a cautious finding that curiosity states can be associated with improved learning and hippocampus-dependent memory; it does not establish that every program in this bill will produce those effects. Gruber, Gelman, and Ranganath, "States of curiosity modulate hippocampus-dependent learning via the dopaminergic circuit," Neuron 84 (2014), PMID 25284006, 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.060; Gruber and Ranganath, "How Curiosity Enhances Hippocampus-Dependent Memory," Trends in Cognitive Sciences 23 (2019), PMID 31706791, 10.1016/j.tics.2019.10.003.
The constitutional analysis relies on Congress's Constitution Annotated discussions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Commerce Clause, modern Spending Clause requirements, anti-commandeering doctrine, viewpoint discrimination, and the Intellectual Property Clause.
Current section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code ends with paragraph (41), the military-spouse retirement-plan credit. The draft therefore uses paragraphs (42) and (43) and new sections 45BB and 45CC, subject to a final conforming-code review at introduction. 26 U.S.C. 38.
Section 6417 currently permits elective payment for specified credits by tax-exempt organizations, States and political subdivisions, tribal governments, and other listed applicable entities. The Wonder Access Participation Credit is added to that mechanism so nonprofit and public museums are not excluded by lack of income-tax liability. 26 U.S.C. 6417.
Viewpoint discrimination is presumptively unconstitutional, while only narrow categories such as true threats, incitement, fraud, and speech integral to criminal conduct may be restricted under the categorical approach. Constitution Annotated, Viewpoint-Based Regulation and Categorical Approach to Restricting Speech. Section 803 converts the requested harmful-content restriction into an adjudication-based, viewpoint-neutral harmful-conduct rule.
Section 501(c)(3) organizations are already prohibited from intervening for or against candidates, while nonpartisan voter education and public-policy discussion may remain permissible. Internal Revenue Service, Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention.
Pass. Definitions are centralized; program caps and appropriations align; the 24-day limit applies only to non-Federal partner admissions; Federal land access is separately defined. Existing PTO coordination, account nonduplication, tax-credit nonduplication, and common grant administration reduce overlap. Before introduction, the House or Senate Office of Legislative Counsel should confirm conforming Code table entries and any intervening amendments to the Internal Revenue Code or Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.
Pass with a litigation note. Spending, tax, property, patent, and voluntary grant provisions have strong bases. The paid-leave title has substantial Commerce Clause support but is novel in purpose and should carry a committee record on labor-market effects. No State is ordered to administer a Federal program.
Moderate to high and managed. The principal risks are litigation over the 40-hour leave mandate, State sovereign immunity, viewpoint discrimination, pressure to misuse harmful-conduct exclusions as ideological screening, religious-provider treatment, and AI privacy. The draft contains direct mitigations, an adjudication-based exclusion standard, and review rights, but cannot eliminate administration-based constitutional violations.
Pass with an administration warning. Duties identify the responsible official, deadline, amount, process, records, notice, appeal, remedy, and judicial-review path. The strongest private enforcement is in the labor title; other programs use administrative and existing statutory review. Harmful-conduct exclusions require a final adjudication, clear and convincing evidence, an independent decisionmaker, and judicial review; agencies may not substitute ideological labels or informal watchlists.
Transparent but unscored. The bill states program ceilings, identifies mandatory versus discretionary treatment, separates Federal and employer cost, uses ranges, and does not count speculative savings. An official CBO/JCT score and a sponsor decision on offsets remain necessary before budget-compliant introduction.
High but phased. Accounts, 24-day passes, two new tax credits, AI, and broad provider networks require significant payment, privacy, cybersecurity, fraud, and adjudication controls. The three-year phase-in, shared systems, paper access, staffing cap, independent readiness review, audits, and ten-year sunset reduce but do not remove the risk.
The operative draft makes a complete choice on each issue, but a sponsor may deliberately change: the 40-hour leave floor; account income tiers; the 24-admission cap; the Wonder Access Participation Credit; immigration-residency eligibility; the size and tax treatment of fellowships; the revenue offset; or which novel programs sunset. Each change should be rescored and checked for interactions rather than made as an isolated amendment.
The Right to Wonder Act is legally draftable and administratively possible if Congress accepts its fiscal scale and the employer mandate. Its most defensible form is the integrated architecture used here: a substantial but bounded enforceable time right, targeted purchasing support, broad public access, local institutional delivery, explicit civil-liberties safeguards, existing-agency administration, measurable outcomes, and mandatory review. The proposal should not be presented as costless or self-financing. Its case is that a wealthy nation may rationally choose to fund curiosity as infrastructure, provided that it does so with the same discipline applied to other public systems.
