America’s Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act
A BILL
To establish a National and Community Service Administration to carry out the national and volunteer service programs, to expand participation in such programs, and for other purposes.
2. Table of contents; references
3. Establishment of National and Community Service Administration
4. Advisory board
“(1) Advisory board
“(A) Initial board members
“(i) Board of directors members electing to serve—There shall be in the Administration an Advisory Board initially composed of the voting members of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service (as in existence the day before the date of enactment of the ACTION for National Service Act) who elect to serve on the Advisory Board.
“(ii) Appointed initial members—If fewer than seven members of the Board of Directors elect to serve, the Administrator shall appoint additional members to achieve a total of seven members of the Advisory Board, to serve for the term of their predecessors. For purposes of this section, members appointed under this clause shall be treated as if they had been voting members described in clause (i).
“(iii) Board of seven members—After the expiration of the terms of the members described in clauses (i) and (ii), and the seven appointments set forth in subparagraph (B), the Advisory Board shall be composed of seven members.
“(B) Appointment of replacement members—Upon the expiration of the term of any of the first seven members of the Advisory Board whose term shall expire, a new member of the Advisory Board shall be appointed as follows:
“(i) The first three members shall be appointed by the President, and shall include—
“(I) an individual not younger than 18 or older than 25 who—
“(aa) has served in a school-based or community-based service-learning program; or
“(bb) is or was a participant or a supervisor in a program; and
“(II) an individual who—
“(aa) is age 55 or older; and
“(bb) has served in the National Senior Service Corps, in a program carried out under title II of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5000 et seq.) or served in a service-based or community-based program under subtitle B of title I.
“(ii) The next member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“(iii) The next member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
“(iv) The next member shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate.
“(v) The next member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.
“(C) Expiration of the term of remaining initial members—Upon the expiration of the terms on the Advisory Board of the remaining members (after the first seven) who served on the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service (as in effect the day before the date of enactment of the ACTION for National Service Act), no new members shall be appointed to replace those remaining members.”
“(c) Terms—Members appointed in accordance with any of clauses (i) through (v) of subsection (a)(1)(B) or under subsection (d) shall serve for a term of 5 years.
“(d) Appointment of new members and vacancies—When the term of a member appointed in accordance with any of clauses (i) through (v) of subsection (a)(1)(B) expires, or if a vacancy occurs on the Advisory Board, a new member shall be appointed by the appointing individual and in the manner described in that clause, and, in the case of a vacancy, shall serve for the remainder of the term for which the predecessor of such member was appointed. The vacancy shall not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the duties of the Board.”
“(e) Advisory duties—The Board shall have responsibility for making recommendations to the Director concerning the programs and activities of the Administration and the overall policy for the Administration and shall—
“(1) advise the Director with respect to policies, programs, and procedures for carrying out the Director’s functions, duties, or responsibilities under this Act;
“(2) advise the Director on establishing requirements and criteria for qualifying service programs, and on monitoring and evaluating the performance of personnel in carrying out programs and activities;
“(3) review applications of service programs for approval under this Act and make recommendations to the Director with respect to the approval of each program and the amount of financial assistance (if any) to provide to each program;
“(4) review and make recommendations to the Director—
“(A) with respect to any grants, allotments, contracts, financial assistance, or other payment of the Administration; and
“(B) regarding the regulations, standards, policies, procedures, programs, and initiatives of the Administration;
“(5) review and advise the Director regarding the actions of the Director with respect to the personnel of the Administration, and with respect to such standards, policies, procedures, programs, and initiatives as are necessary or appropriate to carry out the programs and activities of the Administration, including those carried out under the national service laws on the day before the date of enactment of the ACTION for National Service Act;
“(6) make recommendations relating to a program of research for the Administration with respect to national and community service programs;
“(7) ensure effective dissemination of information regarding the programs and activities of the Administration;
“(8) prepare and make recommendations to the Director and the appropriate committees of Congress for changes in the national service laws resulting from the studies and demonstrations conducted by the Administration, which recommendations shall be submitted to the Director and the appropriate committees of Congress not later than January 1 of each year;
“(9) make recommendations to the Director on candidates to serve on the Board of the National Service Foundation described in section 199P; and
“(10) advise on such other matters as the Director may request.”
5. Director
6. National Service Educational Award
“(2) Benefit amount—The benefit described in paragraph (1) payable to an individual described in such paragraph shall be in an amount—
“(A) equal to twice the amount of tuition of the institution of higher education where the individual is enrolled or accepted to be enrolled; and
“(B) not to exceed twice the average in-State tuition at a State institution of higher education in the State where the individual is enrolled or accepted to be enrolled.
“(3) Appropriations—There is hereby appropriated to the National Service Foundation established under subtitle K, for the first full fiscal year after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, and subsequent fiscal years, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to carry out this subsection.”
7. Interagency working group
8. National Service Foundation
“(2) Inherently governmental function—As used in this subsection,”
“K National Service Foundation
“199P. National Service Foundation
“(a) Establishment—In order to encourage private gifts of real and personal property or any income from that property or other interest in that property for the benefit of, or in connection with, the Administration, and its activities, services, or former participants, and through those gifts to further the mission and purpose of the Administration and to provide greater opportunities for volunteer service, there is established a charitable and nonprofit corporation to be known as the National Service Foundation (referred to in this subtitle as the “Foundation”) to accept and administer such gifts.
“(b) Board of the foundation
“(1) In general—The National Service Foundation shall consist of a Board of the Foundation, having as members the Director of the Administration, as an ex officio, nonvoting member, and not less than six individuals, who are not officers or employees of the Federal Government, appointed by the Director after considering the recommendations of the Advisory Board described in section 192.
“(2) Terms
“(A) Initial members—The terms of the initial members of the Board of the Foundation shall be staggered to assure continuity of administration.
“(B) Subsequent members—A subsequent member shall serve for a term of 6 years.
“(C) Vacancies—If a vacancy occurs on the Board of the Foundation, a new member shall be appointed by the Director and serve for the remainder of the term for which the predecessor of such member was appointed. The vacancy shall not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the duties of the Board of the Foundation.
“(3) Chairman—The Director shall be the Chairman of the Board of the Foundation.
“(4) Status—Members and staff of the Board of the Foundation shall not be considered to be officers or employees of the Federal Government.
“(5) Quorum—A majority of the members of the Board of the Foundation serving at any one time shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the Foundation shall have an official seal, which shall be judicially noticed.
“(6) Meetings—The Board of the Foundation shall meet at the call of the Chairman, and not less often than once each year.
“(7) Compensation and travel expenses
“(A) Compensation—A member of the Board of the Foundation shall serve without compensation. Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Board may accept and use voluntary and uncompensated services as the Commission determines necessary.
“(B) Travel expenses—A member of the Board shall be allowed travel expenses (out of Foundation funds), including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the member’s home or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Board.
“(c) Authorization To accept and use gifts and bequests—The Foundation is authorized to accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use any gifts, devises, or bequests, either absolutely or in trust of real or personal property or any income from the property or other interest in the property for the benefit of or in connection with, the Administration, its activities, or its services. The Foundation may not accept any such gift, devise, or bequest that entails any expenditure other than from the resources of the Foundation. An interest in such real property includes, among other things, easements or other rights for preservation, conservation, protection, or enhancement by and for the public of natural, scenic, historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, or recreational resources. A gift, devise, or bequest relating to property may be accepted by the Foundation even though the property is encumbered, restricted, or subject to beneficial interests of private persons, if any current or future interest in the property is for the benefit of the Administration, its activities, or its services.
“(d) Use of funds, investment
“(1) In general—Except as otherwise required by the instrument of transfer to the Foundation, the Foundation may sell, lease, invest, reinvest, retain, or otherwise dispose of or deal with any property transferred to the Foundation or income from the property as the Board of the Foundation may from time to time determine to be appropriate. The Foundation shall not engage in any business, nor shall the Foundation make any investment, that may not lawfully be engaged in or made by a trust company in the District of Columbia, except that the Foundation may make any investment authorized by the instrument of transfer, and may retain any property accepted by the Foundation.
“(2) Services and facilities—The Foundation may utilize the services and facilities of the Administration, and such services and facilities may be made available on request to the extent practicable without reimbursement.
“(e) Succession, liability, and powers
“(1) Succession—The Foundation shall have perpetual succession, with all the usual powers and obligations of a corporation acting as a trustee, including the power to sue and to be sued in its own name.
“(2) Liability—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the members of the Board of the Foundation shall not be personally liable for acts or omissions related to the Foundation, except for malfeasance.
“(3) Powers—The Foundation shall have the power to enter into contracts, to execute instruments, and generally to do any and all lawful acts necessary or appropriate to its purposes.
“(f) Bylaws—In carrying out the provisions of this Act, the Board of the Foundation may adopt bylaws, rules, and regulations necessary for the administration of its functions and enter into contracts for any necessary services.
“(g) Tax exempt status
“(1) In general—The Foundation and any income or property received or owned by it, and all transactions relating to such income or property, shall be exempt from all Federal, State, and local taxation.
“(2) Contributions to local government—The Foundation may, however, in the discretion of the Board of the Foundation—
“(A) contribute toward the costs of local government in amounts not in excess of those costs that it would be obligated to pay such government if it were not exempt from taxation because of this subsection or because of its status as a charitable and nonprofit corporation; and
“(B) agree to so contribute property transferred to the Foundation and the income derived from the property if such agreement is a condition of the transfer.
“(3) Use of the united states—Contributions, gifts, and other transfers made to or for the use of the Foundation shall be regarded as contributions, gifts, or transfers to or for the use of the United States.
“(h) Nonliability of united states—The United States shall not be liable for any debts, defaults, acts, or omissions of the Foundation.
“(i) Reports—The Foundation shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, prepare and submit to Congress an annual report on its proceedings and activities, including a full and complete statement of its receipts, expenditures, and investments.
“(j) Initial funding—For the purposes of assisting the Foundation in establishing an office and meeting initial administrative, project, and other startup expenses, there is authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2020. Such funds shall remain available to the Foundation until they are expended for authorized purposes.”
9. 21st Century American Service Outreach Program
“189E. 21st Century American Service Outreach Program
“(a) Definitions—In this section:
“(1) Covered individual—The term “covered individual” means an individual who is not younger than age 17 or older than age 30.
“(2) National service program—The term “national service program” means a program under—
“(A) the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.); or
“(B) title I of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.).
“(b) Program—In order to ensure that every covered individual who may want to participate in service programs is informed of the opportunities to participate, the Administration shall—
“(1) determine how the Administration will work with, and then work with, Federal or State agencies and other entities to—
“(A) contact each covered individual upon such individual’s 17th birthday to notify the individual about—
“(i) the individual’s eligibility to participate in national service programs;
“(ii) the national service programs and how to apply for a specific program;
“(iii) other service programs for which the individual may be eligible, including service with the Peace Corps (as established by the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.)) and military service; and
“(iv) the individual’s option to opt out of receiving any notifications, or just notifications in a paper format, under this paragraph; and
“(B) after contacting an covered individual under subparagraph (A), notify the individual every 2 years thereafter of the information described in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A), unless—
“(i) the individual is serving in a national service program or other program described in subparagraph (A); or
“(ii) the individual has opted out of receiving such notifications under subparagraph (A)(iv);
“(2) determine how the Administration will enable covered individuals to, and then enable eligible individuals to, apply for a specific national service program and ensure that such application process is the most effective process for the purpose of applying for such a program; and
“(3) develop a long-term strategy to gradually increase the number of opportunities in national service programs so that any covered individual who applies to and is eligible to participate in a national service program will be offered at least one service position.”
10. Living allowance amounts
“(4)
“(A) A stipend or allowance under this subsection shall not be increased as a result of amendments made by the ACTION for National Service Act, or any other amendment made to this subsection unless the funds appropriated for carrying out this part are sufficient to maintain for the fiscal year in question a number of participants to serve under this part at least equal to the number of such participants serving during the preceding fiscal year.
“(B) In the event that sufficient appropriations for any fiscal year are not available to increase any such stipend or allowance provided to the minimum amount specified in paragraph (2), the Director shall increase the stipend or allowance to such amount as appropriations for such year permit consistent with subparagraph (A).”
“(1) In general—The Director”
“(2) Increases limited by appropriations
“(A) Limit on increases—An allowance under this subsection or section 140 shall not be increased as a result of amendments made by the ACTION for National Service Act, or any other amendment made to this subsection or section 140, respectively, unless the funds appropriated for carrying out this subtitle or subtitle C, respectively, are sufficient to maintain for the fiscal year in question a number of participants to serve under this subtitle or subtitle C, respectively, at least equal to the number of such participants serving during the preceding fiscal year.
“(B) Partial increase—In the event that sufficient appropriations for any fiscal year are not available to increase an allowance under this subsection above the amount provided for fiscal year 2019 or under section 140 to the minimum amount specified in section 140, respectively, the Director shall increase the allowance to such amount as appropriations for such year permit consistent with subparagraph (A).”
“(f) Insufficient appropriations—Notwithstanding the increased limitation on grant amounts per full-time equivalent position described in subsection (a) and the increased limitation described in subsection (e)(1) as a result of amendments made by the ACTION for National Service Act, or any other amendment made to this section, the amount of funds per full-time equivalent position approved by the Corporation for a grant, as described in those subsections, shall not be increased unless the funds appropriated for carrying out this subtitle are sufficient to make such increase while maintaining for the fiscal year in question a number of approved national service positions at least equal to the number of such positions during the preceding fiscal year.”
11. Authorized benefits for Corps members
12. Authorization of appropriations
“(2) Subtitles c and d
“(A) Subtitle c—There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2020 through fiscal year 2029, such sums as may be necessary to provide financial assistance under subtitle C of title I for the number of participants in programs and activities under subtitle C for fiscal year 2019.
“(B) Subtitle d—There are authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated, for fiscal year 2020 and each subsequent fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary to provide national service educational awards under subtitle D of title I for the number of participants for whom the Administration recorded an obligation under section 149(a)(1)(B) for fiscal year 2019.”
“(7) Subtitle k—There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020 and each subsequent fiscal year to carry out subtitle K of title I.”
“(b) Additional authorization of appropriations
“(1) Authorization—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administration to carry out its programs and functions, including the programs and activities carried out under this Act and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4950 et seq.), such additional sums as may be necessary to achieve the goal set forth in paragraph (2).
“(2) Ten-year goal—It is the sense of Congress that sums appropriated under paragraph (1) should be sufficient to provide or facilitate the provision of national service programs and activities under the national service laws (in addition to programs and activities funded under subsection (a) for fiscal year 2020) for not fewer than 1,000,000 participants per year by September 30, 2029.
“(3) Plan for approved national service positions—The Administration shall—
“(A) prepare a plan to—
“(i) establish the number of the approved national service positions as 250,000 for fiscal year 2020; and
“(ii) increase the number of the approved positions in each fiscal year through fiscal year 2029, so that the number of approved positions in fiscal year 2029 is sufficient to support the goal in paragraph (2);
“(B) ensure that the increases described in subparagraph (A)(ii) are achieved through an appropriate balance of full- and part-time service positions;
“(C) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the ACTION for National Service Act, submit a report to the authorizing committees on the status of the plan described in subparagraph (A);
“(D) not later than 8 years after the date of enactment of the ACTION for National Service Act, submit a report to the authorizing committees on the progress of the Administration towards the goal described in paragraph (2), and the potential for exceeding that goal in fiscal year 2029 and beyond; and
“(E) subject to the availability of appropriations and quality service opportunities, implement the plan described in subparagraph (A).”
13. Exclusion from gross income of national service educational awards
“(e) National service educational awards—Gross income shall not include any national service educational award described in subtitle D of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12601 et seq.).”
“(6) Payments under national service educational award programs—In the case of an individual, gross income shall not include any amount received a national service educational award under subtitle D of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12601 et seq.).”
14. Income tax exclusion for living allowance
“139H. Living allowance for national service participants
“Gross income does not include the amount of any living allowance provided under section 140 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990.”
15. Conforming amendments to the National and Community Service Act of 1990
“(9) Director—The term “Director” means the Director of the National and Community Service Administration appointed under section 193.”
“(12) Administration—The term “Administration” means the National and Community Service Administration established under section 191.”
“(3) at the election of the Director, carry out any other activities recommended by the Board.”
“G National and Community Service Administration”
“192. Advisory board”
“192A. Authorities and duties of the board”
“I ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT NATIONAL SERVICE”
“G National and Community Service Administration”
“191. National and community service administration”
“193. Director”
“193A. Authorities and duties of the director”
“196A. Administration state offices”
“198. Additional administration activities to support national service”
“K National Service Foundation
“199P. National Service Foundation”
16. Conforming amendments to the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973
“(1) the term “Director” means the Director of the National and Community Service Administration appointed under section 193 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990;”
“(7) the term “Administration” means the National and Community Service Administration established under section 191 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990;”