I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3503

To establish a national Civilian Volunteer Service Reserve program, a national 

volunteer service corps ready for service in response to domestic or 

international emergencies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2003

Mr. RANGEL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To establish a national Civilian Volunteer Service Reserve 

program, a national volunteer service corps ready for 

service in response to domestic or international emergencies.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civilian Volunteer 

5 Service Reserve Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
2

•HR 3503 IH 

1 (1) The changing threats and issues that face 

2 the Nation require a new and innovative approach to 

3 mobilizing the citizenry in times of need. 

4 (2) The Civilian Volunteer Service Reserve pro5 gram offers a flexible approach to the needs of spe6 cific crises, such as natural disasters, incidents of 

7 terrorism, or other emergencies at home or abroad. 

8 (3) Citizenship entails responsibilities as well as 

9 rights. The Civilian Volunteer Service Reserve pro10 gram will challenge all Americans to sacrifice for 

11 their country. 

12 (4) The Civilian Volunteer Service Reserve pro13 gram will make it possible to draw on the vast array 

14 of skills and the ingenuity of ordinary Americans in 

15 times of need. 

16 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 

17 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish 

18 the Civilian Volunteer Service Reserve (referred to in this 

19 Act as the ‘‘Civilian Reserve’’), a national volunteer serv20 ice corps ready for service in response to domestic or inter21 national emergencies, or other circumstances determined 

22 by the President pursuant to section 6. 

23 SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 

24 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall appoint a 

25 Director and such other officers as the Secretary considers 
3

•HR 3503 IH 

1 appropriate to organize and administer the Civilian Re2 serve program consistent with the provisions of this Act. 

3 The Secretary is authorized to promulgate regulations 

4 necessary to carry out this Act. 

5 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY, COMMITMENT, AND REGISTRATION. 

6 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—All citizens and legal residents of 

7 the United States over the age of 18 shall be eligible to 

8 serve in the Civilian Reserve. 

9 (b) COMMITMENT.—Individuals who volunteer with 

10 the Civilian Reserve shall be enrolled for a 5-year period, 

11 and shall be expected during such period to serve in full12 time active duty status for a total period of 6 months, 

13 when called to such service under section 6. There shall 

14 be no limit to the number of 5-year periods of service that 

15 an individual may register to serve. 

16 (c) REGISTRATION.—Registration for the Civilian Re17 serve shall be administered in a manner determined by 

18 the Secretary of Homeland Security. At minimum, such 

19 registration shall include—

20 (1) the applicant’s name, address, telephone 

21 number, Social Security number, and E-mail ad22 dress; 

23 (2) the applicant’s occupation, areas of study, 

24 and skills; and 
4

•HR 3503 IH 

1 (3) the applicant’s preference for local, na2 tional, or international service. 

3 SEC. 6. MOBILIZATION. 

4 (a) MOBILIZATION.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall have the 

6 authority to issue a voluntary call to action by 

7 issuing an executive order to mobilize certain mem8 bers of the Civilian Reserve to full-time active duty 

9 status for a period not exceeding 6 months, in order 

10 to meet the pressing needs of the Nation in times 

11 of emergency, as determined by the President in 

12 consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Secu13 rity. 

14 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting members of 

15 the Civilian Reserve to call to action pursuant to 

16 paragraph (1), the President shall consider the rel17 evant skills required by the emergency, the geo18 graphic location of the volunteers, and the logistics 

19 of such a mobilization. 

20 (3) METHODOLOGY OF CALL TO ACTION.—To 

21 the extent practicable, for a voluntary call to action 

22 issued under paragraph (1), members of the Civilian 

23 Reserve shall be contacted via telephone, E-mail, 

24 and mail service. 
5

•HR 3503 IH 

1 (b) VOLUNTARY ACCEPTANCE OF CALL TO AC2 TION.—Members of the Civilian Reserve may choose to ac3 cept a call to action issued pursuant to subsection (a)(1) 

4 and enter full-time active duty status for the period speci5 fied in such call to action, not exceeding 6 months. Mem6 bers of the Civilian Reserve may also decline such a call 

7 to action, so long as such members remain committed to 

8 serving in full-time active duty status for some period or 

9 periods, not to exceed a total of 6 months, during their 

10 5-year enrollment. 

11 (c) MANDATORY SERVICE.—The President may, 

12 under extreme circumstances, issue a mandatory mobiliza13 tion of members of the Civilian Reserve, requiring such 

14 members to begin full-time active duty service for a period 

15 not exceeding 6 months. Such mobilization may apply to 

16 any members of the Civilian Reserve notwithstanding 

17 whether such members have fulfilled their expected 6-

18 month period of service described in section 5(b) prior to 

19 such mandatory mobilization. Exemptions from such man20 datory service shall be made for hardship due to family 

21 or other circumstances, upon appeal by an individual 

22 member of the Civilian Reserve. 

23 SEC. 7. FULL-TIME ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE AND BENEFITS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Civilian Reserve 

25 serving in full-time active duty status shall work side-by-
6

•HR 3503 IH 

1 side with officers and agencies of the Federal, State, and 

2 local governments, non-profit and non-governmental orga3 nizations, supplementing but not supplanting existing sys4 tems for responding to emergencies and other pressing 

5 needs. 

6 (b) TRANSPORTATION AND ACCOMMODATIONS.—The 

7 Civilian Reserve program shall provide members serving 

8 in full-time active duty status with any necessary trans9 portation and accommodations in order to facilitate such 

10 service. 

11 (c) STIPEND.—Members of the Civilian Reserve serv12 ing in full-time active duty status shall receive a stipend 

13 in order to pay for necessary cost of living expenses, for 

14 such period of full-time active duty status. The amount 

15 of the stipend shall be determined by the Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security. 

17 (d) HEALTH INSURANCE.—Members of the Civilian 

18 Reserve serving in full-time active duty status shall be eli19 gible for health insurance under a program to be estab20 lished, by regulation, by the Secretary of Homeland Secu21 rity. 

22 (e) REEMPLOYMENT PROTECTION.—The Secretary 

23 of Homeland Security shall promulgate regulations to pro24 vide reemployment protection and other benefits for mem-
7

•HR 3503 IH 

1 bers of the Civilian Reserve who complete a period of full2 time active duty service. 

3 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary of Homeland Security such sums as may be nec6 essary for fiscal years 2005 through 2009 to carry out 

7 this Act.

Æ