US Codex
Bill
Notes

Title II — Member experience

S. 4232 · 119th Congress · Mar 26, 2026 · Lineage

II Member experience

Sec. 201 Educational awards

(a)
Removal of certain transfer restrictions— Section 148(f) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12604(f)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (2)(A)—
(A)
by striking “(A)(i) the” and inserting “(A) the”;
(B)
by striking “and” and inserting “or”; and
(C)
by striking clause (ii); and
(2)
in paragraph (8)(B)—
(A)
by striking “paragraphs” and inserting “paragraph”; and
(B)
by striking “and (4)”.
(b)
Uniform segal AmeriCorps educational award transferability— Section 148(f)(2)(A) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12604(f)(2)(A)), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by striking “a national service program that receives a grant under subtitle C” and inserting “an approved national service position”.
(c)
Designations for limitation on receipt of national service educational awards— Section 146(c) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12602(c)) is amended—
(1)
by striking “(c) Limitation on Receipt of National Service Educational Awards.—An individual” and inserting the following:

“(c) Limitation on Receipt of National Service Educational Awards

“(1) In general—An individual”

(2)
by striking “service. The value” and inserting the following: “service.

“(2) Summer of service awards—The value”

(d)
Holder verification of award eligibility for student loan repayment— Section 148(b) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12604(b)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
in subparagraph (C), by striking “and” at the end;
(B)
by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E); and
(C)
by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:

“(D) includes the most recent date that the eligible individual involved became eligible for an award described in this paragraph; and”

(2)
by redesignating paragraphs (7) and (8) as paragraphs (8) and (9); and
(3)
by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:

“(7) Recordkeeping by loan holder—On receipt of the application described in paragraph (1), the Corporation shall provide a record of such application to the holder. The holder shall maintain such record for a period of not less than 5 years, beginning on the date identified under paragraph (1)(D).”

(e)
Institutional certification of course completion— Section 148(c) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12406(c)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
by inserting after “contains” the following: “the most recent date that the eligible individual became eligible for an award described in this paragraph and”;
(B)
by striking “may” after “as the Corporation” and inserting “shall”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following: “The Corporation, and the institution of higher education, shall each maintain a record of the application described in this paragraph for not less than 5 years, beginning on the most recent date described in this paragraph.”; and
(2)
in paragraph (5), in the first sentence—
(A)
by inserting “from” after “withdraw”; and
(B)
by inserting “any course during” after “complete”.
(f)
Requirement for corporation verification of documentation— Section 148 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12604) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
(2)
by inserting after subsection (g) the following:

“(h) Verification—Amounts in the Trust shall be available for uses described in this section (including uses described in paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (a)) only after the Corporation has reviewed and certified all required documentation described in this section for—

“(1) the eligibility of the eligible individual (including the recipient of an award transferred in accordance with subsection (g)), the holder (for use under subsection (b)), and the institution of higher education (for use under subsection (c)); and

“(2) any expenses incurred for purposes of carrying out the activities described paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (a).”

Sec. 202 Workforce development

(a)
Time period for use of award— Section 146(d) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12602(d)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
by striking “7-year period” and inserting “5-year period”; and
(B)
by striking “10-year period” and inserting “5-year period”;
(2)
in paragraph (2), by striking “7-year period, or 10-year period, as appropriate” and inserting “5-year period”; and
(3)
in paragraph (3), by striking “seven-year period” and inserting “5-year period”.
(b)
Use of educational award for nontraditional educational opportunities—
(1)
In general— Section 148 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12604) is amended—
(A)
in subsection (a)—
(i)
in paragraph (4), by striking “and”;
(ii)
in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(iii)
by adding at the end the following:

“(6) to pay expenses related to enrolling in an eligible career pathway program in accordance with subsection (f); and”

(B)
by redesignating subsections (f) (as amended by section 201), (g), (h), and (i) as subsections (g), (h), (i), and (j) respectively; and
(C)
by inserting after subsection (e) the following:

“(f) Use of educational award for expenses related to a nontraditional educational opportunity

“(1) In general—The Corporation shall by regulation provide for the payment of national service educational awards, summer of service educational awards, and silver scholar educational awards to permit eligible individuals (including recipients of awards transferred in accordance with section 148(g)) to participate in an eligible career pathway program.

“(2) Eligible career pathway program—The term eligible career pathway program means a program that—

“(A) meets the requirements of section 484(d)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(d)(2));

“(B) is listed, with the provider of the program, on the list under section 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3152(d));

“(C) is part of a career pathway, as defined in section 3 of that Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and

“(D) is aligned with a program of study as defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302).”

(2)
Conforming amendments— The National and Community Service Act of 1990 is amended—
(A)
in section 146(d)(3) (42 U.S.C. 12602(d)(3)), as amended by subsection (a)(3), by striking “148(f)(8)” and inserting “148(g)(8)”;
(B)
in section 146A(a) (42 U.S.C. 12602a), by striking “148(f)(8)” and inserting “148(g)(8)”; and
(C)
in section 148(e) (42 U.S.C. 12604(e)), by striking “subsection (b)(7)” and inserting “subsection (b)(8)”.

Sec. 203 Increasing educational award limit

(a)
In general— Section 138 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12592) is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:

“(c) Additional terms

“(1) In general—Subject to paragraph (2), acceptance into a national service program to serve another term of service under section 139 shall only be available to individuals who perform satisfactorily in each prior term of such service.

“(2) Maximum terms—Subject to paragraph (3), an individual may not be selected to serve more than 4 terms of full-time service described under section 139(b)(1).

“(3) Waiver—The Corporation may waive the limit under paragraph (2) at the request of a State Commission.”

(b)
Educational award— Section 146(c)(1) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12602(c)(1)), as designated by section 201(c), is further amended by striking “2 such awards” and inserting “4 national service educational awards”.

Sec. 204 Alignment of benefits

(a)
In general— Title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 is amended—
(1)
in section 141 (42 U.S.C. 12595)—
(A)
in the heading, by inserting “and stipends” after “awards”;
(B)
in subsection (a), by striking “A participant” and inserting “Except as provided in subsection (c), a participant”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:

“(c) Payment option—A participant in a national service program carried out using assistance provided to an applicant under section 121 may elect to receive a stipend described in section 149A in lieu of the national service educational award.”

(2)
in subtitle D (42 U.S.C. 12601 et seq.)—
(A)
in the subtitle heading, by inserting “or stipends” after “awards”;
(B)
in section 145 (42 U.S.C. 12601)—
(i)
in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking “and silver scholar educational awards” and inserting “silver scholar educational awards, and stipends under section 149A”;
(ii)
in subsection (c)(1), as amended by section 105(b)—
(I)
in subparagraph (A), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
(II)
by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); and
(III)
by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:

“(B) stipends under section 149A; and”

(iii)
in subsection (d), by striking “or silver scholar awards” each place it appears and inserting “silver scholar educational awards, or stipends under section 149A”;
(C)
in section 146 (42 U.S.C. 12602)—
(i)
in the heading, by inserting “or stipend” after “award”;
(ii)
in subsection (a)—
(I)
in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking “or silver scholar educational award” and inserting “silver scholar educational award, or stipend under section 149A”; and
(II)
in paragraph (2)—
(aa)
in subparagraph (A), by striking “award,” and inserting “award or a stipend under section 149A(a)(1),”; and
(bb)
in subparagraph (B), in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “award” and inserting “award or stipend under section 149A(a)(1) as described in section 149A(a)(2)”; and
(iii)
in subsection (c)(1), as designated by section 201(c), by striking “and silver scholar educational awards” and inserting “, silver scholar educational awards, and stipends under section 149A”;
(D)
in section 147 (42 U.S.C. 12603)—
(i)
in subsection (a), by striking “subsection (c),” and inserting “subsection (c) or section 149A(a)(1),”; and
(ii)
in subsection (c), by striking “If” and inserting “Except as provided in section 149A(a)(2) if”;
(E)
in section 148 (42 U.S.C. 12604)—
(i)
in subsection (a), as amended by section 202(b), by adding at the end the following:

“(7) to provide stipends under section 149A in lieu of a national service educational award.”

(ii)
in subsection (h), as redesignated by section 202(b), by striking “or silver scholar educational award” and inserting “silver scholar educational award, or stipend under section 149A”;
(F)
in section 149(b)(2) (42 U.S.C. 12606(b)(2))—
(i)
in subparagraph (A), by inserting “(or stipends under section 149A)” after “national service educational awards”; and
(ii)
in subparagraph (B), by inserting “(or stipends under section 149A)” after “national service educational awards”; and
(G)
by adding at the end the following:

“149A. Stipend

“(a) In general

“(1) Full-time—An individual described in section 146(a) who, except as provided in paragraph (2), successfully completes a required full-time term of national service under section 139(b)(1) may elect to receive a stipend of an amount described in subsection (b) in lieu of a national service educational award. The Corporation may not provide a stipend under this subsection to an individual who receives a national service educational award under this subtitle for the completion of such term of national service.

“(2) Partial completion of service—If an individual serving in an approved national service position is released in accordance with section 139(c)(1)(A) from completing the full-time term of service agreed to by the individual, the Corporation may provide the individual with a stipend under paragraph (1) in the amount described under subsection (b) that is applicable for the individual and that corresponds to the quantity of the term of service actually completed by the individual.

“(b) Amount—A stipend under subsection (a)(1) shall be set at a rate that is equivalent to the rate set for stipends provided to volunteers under section 105(a)(1)(B) of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4955(a)(1)(B)).

“(c) Terms—A stipend under subsection (a)(1) shall be provided in the same manner and in accordance with any regulations prescribed with respect to stipends provided to volunteers under section 105(a) of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4955(a)).”

(b)
Conforming amendments— The National and Community Service Act of 1990 is amended—
(1)
in section 112(a)(3)(B) (42 U.S.C. 12523(a)(3)(B)), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”;
(2)
in section 118(i) (42 U.S.C. 12561(i))—
(A)
in the heading, by inserting “or stipend” after “award”; and
(B)
by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”;
(3)
in section 121(c)(1) (42 U.S.C. 12571(c)(1)), by inserting “or stipends” after “educational awards”;
(4)
in section 122(c)(1)(D)(iii) (42 U.S.C. 12572(c)(1)(D)(iii)), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”;
(5)
in section 123 (42 U.S.C. 12573)—
(A)
in the heading, by inserting “or stipends” after “awards”; and
(B)
by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”;
(6)
in section 129 (42 U.S.C. 12572)—
(A)
in subsection (c), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”;
(B)
in subsection (h), by inserting “or stipends” after “educational awards” each place it appears; and
(C)
in subsection (i)(1), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”;
(7)
in section 130 (42 U.S.C. 12582)—
(A)
in subsection (b)(11), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”; and
(B)
in subsection (e)(1), by inserting “or stipends” after “educational awards” each place it appears;
(8)
in section 133 (42 U.S.C. 12585)—
(A)
in subsection(a)(2), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”; and
(B)
in subsection (d)(4)(A), by inserting “or stipends” after “educational awards”;
(9)
in section 138(f) (42 U.S.C. 12592(f)), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”;
(10)
in section 139 (42 U.S.C. 12593)—
(A)
in subsection (b)(4)(C), by inserting “or stipend under section 149A” before the period; and
(B)
in subsection (c)—
(i)
in paragraph (2)—
(I)
in subparagraph (A), by striking “award” and all that follows through “or” and inserting “award, as provided in section 147(c), or stipend, as provided in section 149A(a)(2), corresponding to the portion of the term of service actually completed; or”; and
(II)
in subparagraph (B), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”; and
(ii)
in paragraph (3), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”;
(11)
in section 158 (42 U.S.C. 12618)—
(A)
in subsection (f), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”; and
(B)
in subsection (g), by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”;
(12)
in section 180 (42 U.S.C. 12640), by inserting “and stipends” after “educational awards”;
(13)
in section 198B(h) (42 U.S.C. 12653b(h))—
(A)
in the heading, by inserting “or stipends” after “awards”;
(B)
by inserting “or a stipend under section 149A” after “such section”; and
(C)
in the second sentence, by inserting “or stipend” after “educational award”; and
(14)
in section 501(a) (42 U.S.C. 12681(a))—
(A)
in paragraph (2)—
(i)
by inserting “or stipends” after “educational awards”; and
(ii)
by striking “number of participants described in section 121(f)(1)” and inserting “relevant number of participants”; and
(B)
in paragraph (4)(B)—
(i)
by inserting “or stipends” after “educational awards”; and
(ii)
by striking “198B(b)(3)” and inserting “198B”.

Sec. 205 Non-competitive hiring eligibility

(a)
National and Community Service Act of 1990— Title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 189D (42 U.S.C. 12645g) the following:

“189E. Non-competitive hiring eligibility

“(a) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) Agency—The term agency means an agency, office, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Federal Government.

“(2) Competitive service—The term competitive service has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5, United States Code.

“(b) In general—Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and under such regulations as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe, the head of any agency may, in accordance with subsections (c) and (e), noncompetitively appoint any individual who is certified under subsection (d) to a position in the competitive service for which the individual is otherwise qualified.

“(c) Appointment in permanent position—Any person appointed to a permanent position under subsection (b) shall—

“(1) become a career-conditional employee, unless the employee has otherwise completed the service requirements for career tenure; and

“(2) acquire competitive status upon completion of any prescribed probationary period.

“(d) Certification of individual

“(1) In general—The Chief Executive Officer may certify an individual under this subsection if the individual successfully completed—

“(A) a term of national service as a member or team leader, as described in paragraph (1) or (4) of section 155(b), in the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps program component described in section 153;

“(B) a period of service of not less than one year as a volunteer or designated volunteer leader under part A of title I of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.); or

“(C) not less than 1,700 hours of service as described in section 139(b)(1) as a participant under section 137.

“(2) Reliance on other certifications—In making any certification under paragraph (1), the Chief Executive Officer may rely on a certification made by the entity that selected the individual for, and supervised the individual in, the service described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of such paragraph.

“(3) Erroneous or incorrect certification—If the Chief Executive Officer determines that a certification under paragraph (1) is erroneous or incorrect, the Corporation shall, after considering the full facts and circumstances surrounding the erroneous or incorrect certification, take action as permitted under law.

“(e) Period of appointment—The head of any agency may make an appointment of an individual under subsection (b)—

“(1) not later than 1 year after the date of completion by the individual of the service described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (d)(1); or

“(2) not later than 3 years after such date in the case of an individual who, following such service, was engaged—

“(A) in military service;

“(B) in the pursuit of studies at a recognized institution of higher education, as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002); or

“(C) in other activities that, as determined by the head of such agency, warrant an extended time period before the appointment.”

(b)
Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973— Section 415 of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5055) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a), by striking “(d),”; and
(2)
by striking subsection (d).