II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4302 

To utilize national service programs to directly respond to the novel 

coronavirus disease (COVID–19) outbreak. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2020 

Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. CASSIDY) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To utilize national service programs to directly respond to 

the novel coronavirus disease (COVID–19) outbreak. 

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 ‘‘Volunteers in Contract 

5 Tracing or Recovery Act’’ or the ‘‘VICTORY Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to utilize national service 

8 programs to directly respond to the novel coronavirus dis9 ease (COVID–19) outbreak declared as a national emer10 gency by President Trump. 


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1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) National service members and volunteers in 

4 the United States are a critical part of addressing 

5 the COVID–19 outbreak, including response activi6 ties related to health, education, nutrition, and in7 frastructure. 

8 (2) In accordance with section 177 of the Na9 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 

10 U.S.C. 12637), national service members and volun11 teers should never displace workers from employ12 ment in the United States. 

13 (3) All volunteer activities should be carried out 

14 in a manner that complies with applicable privacy 

15 laws and laws relating to the protection of personal 

16 information. 

17 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) CNCS TERMS.—The terms ‘‘approved na20 tional service position’’, ‘‘Corporation’’, ‘‘Indian 

21 tribe’’, ‘‘national service laws’’, and ‘‘territory’’ have 

22 the meaning given those terms in section 101 of the 

23 National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 

24 U.S.C. 12511). 

25 (2) VISTA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘VISTA’’ and 

26 ‘‘VISTA volunteer’’ have the meaning given those 


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1 terms in section 421 of the Domestic Volunteer 

2 Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5061) 

3 (3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

4 activity’’ means— 

5 (A) any activity directly related to the 

6 coronavirus pandemic emergency response that 

7 prioritizes public health needs, such as contact 

8 tracing; and 

9 (B) any other activity directly related to 

10 the coronavirus pandemic emergency response 

11 and recovery, which may include tutoring, deliv12 ering meals, or other activities. 

13 (4) NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘na14 tional emergency’’ means— 

15 (A) a public health emergency declared by 

16 the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

17 pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health 

18 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 

19 (B) an event for which the President de20 clared a major disaster or an emergency under 

21 section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert 

22 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As23 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 and 5191); or 


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1 (C) a national emergency declared by the 

2 President under section 201 of the National 

3 Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

4 SEC. 5. FLEXIBILITY FOR EXISTING GRANTS. 

5 (a) NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—An entity receiving fi6 nancial assistance from a program authorized under the 

7 National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

8 12501 et seq.) or the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 

9 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4950 et seq.), including subgrant funds, 

10 that are appropriated for fiscal year 2020 or a subsequent 

11 fiscal year (referred to in this Act as ‘‘eligible funds’’) may 

12 modify the purposes of the grant or subgrant and the ac13 tivities carried out under the grant or subgrant in order 

14 to carry out activities to respond to a national emergency. 

15 (b) FLEXIBILITY DURING NON-EMERGENCY

16 TIMES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—An entity receiving eligible 

18 funds may modify the purposes of the grant or 

19 subgrant and the activities carried out under the 

20 grant or subgrant during a time that is not a na21 tional emergency if the entity submits a plan and 

22 the plan is approved in accordance with this sub23 section. 

24 (2) APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR SUBGRANT RE25 CIPIENTS.—In the case of an entity that receives eliVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:20 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4302.IS S4302

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1 gible funds as a subgrant that desires to modify the 

2 purposes of the subgrant and the activities carried 

3 out under the subgrant, the subgrant recipient may 

4 carry out such modification only after receiving ap5 proval from the relevant entity that disburses funds 

6 for and oversees the subgrant. 

7 (3) PLAN REQUIRED.—In the case of an entity 

8 that receives eligible funds as a grant that desires to 

9 modify the purposes of the grant and the activities 

10 carried out under the grant, the entity shall submit 

11 a plan to the Corporation. The plan shall include 

12 each of the following, with respect to each project 

13 that the entity desires to modify: 

14 (A) A description of the existing project 

15 scheduled to be carried out using the eligible 

16 funds. 

17 (B) A description of how the existing 

18 project is no longer relevant or is overly burden19 some. 

20 (C) A description of the phase down plan 

21 that involves— 

22 (i) incrementally decreasing the exist23 ing project activity to terminate the 

24 project; or 


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1 (ii) modifying the project and using 

2 significantly less eligible funding. 

3 (D) A description of the planned new use 

4 of eligible funds and an explanation of how 

5 those activities are needed. 

6 (E) A description of how the entity will 

7 evaluate the modified project and how outcomes 

8 will be measured for the new activities carried 

9 out using eligible funds, including the evidence 

10 that will be required, if applicable. 

11 (4) APPROVAL PROCESS.—As expeditiously as 

12 practicable after receipt of a plan under paragraph 

13 (3), the Corporation shall review the plan and issue 

14 an approval or denial notice to the entity that sub15 mitted the plan. Upon approval of a plan under 

16 paragraph (3), the evaluation requirements and 

17 other requirements that applied to a project before 

18 termination or modification shall be waived and the 

19 entity may use the remaining eligible funds to carry 

20 out the activities described in the plan. 

21 SEC. 6. APPROVED NATIONAL SERVICE POSITIONS AU22 THORIZED. 

23 (a) FUNDS APPROPRIATED.—There are authorized to 

24 be appropriated not less than $825,000,000 to carry out 

25 this section. 


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1 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds made available 

3 to carry out this section, the Corporation shall deter4 mine the amount of funding necessary for eligible 

5 programs assisted under subtitle C and D of title I 

6 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 

7 (42 U.S.C. 12571), programs assisted under the 

8 Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program 

9 established under part A of title I of the Domestic 

10 Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4951 et 

11 seq.), and eligible programs that are assisted under 

12 subtitle E of title I of the National and Community 

13 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12611). 

14 (2) AMERICORPS.—Of the funds made available 

15 to carry out eligible programs assisted under subtitle 

16 C and D of title I of the National and Community 

17 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571), 1 percent 

18 of funds shall be reserved for Indian tribes, 1 per19 cent of funds shall be reserved for territories, and 

20 35.3 percent of funds shall be allocated to States, 

21 the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 

22 Puerto Rico in an amount that bears the same ratio 

23 to the remaining funds as the population of the 

24 State, the District of Columbia, or the Common25 wealth of Puerto Rico bears to the total population 


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1 of the several States, the District of Columbia, and 

2 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

3 (3) VISTA.—Of the funds made available to 

4 carry out the Volunteers in Service to America 

5 (VISTA) program established under part A of title 

6 I of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 

7 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.), the Corporation shall, to the 

8 extent practicable, endeavor to award funds to 

9 States, the District of Columbia, and the Common10 wealth of Puerto Rico in an amount that bears the 

11 same ratio to such available funds as the population 

12 of the State, the District of Columbia, or the Com13 monwealth of Puerto Rico bears to the total popu14 lation of the several States, the District of Columbia, 

15 and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

16 (c) APPROVED NATIONAL.—Before the date that is 

17 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Cor18 poration shall increase the number of approved national 

19 service positions by 55,000. Those additional approved na20 tional service positions shall be allocated as follows: 

21 (1) 48,000 approved national service positions 

22 shall be made available for eligible programs assisted 

23 under subtitle C of title I of the National and Com24 munity Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571); 


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1 (2) 6,000 approved national service positions 

2 shall be made available for eligible programs assisted 

3 under the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) 

4 program established under part A of title I of the 

5 Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 

6 4951 et seq.); and 

7 (3) 1,000 approved national service positions 

8 shall be made available for eligible programs for in9 dividuals who will deploy to regions across the 

10 United States based on emergency need through eli11 gible programs that are assisted under subtitle E of 

12 title I of the National and Community Service Act 

13 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12611). 

14 (d) REDISTRIBUTION.—In the case of a State that 

15 does not want to accept additional approved national serv16 ice positions in accordance with this section, such positions 

17 shall be reallocated evenly to the remainder of States ac18 cepting such additional positions. 

19 (e) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS.—In this section, the term 

20 ‘‘eligible program’’ means a national service program 

21 under subtitle C or subtitle E of title I of the National 

22 and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 

23 et seq; 42 U.S.C. 12611 et seq.) or part A of title I of 

24 the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 

25 4951 et seq.), as the case may be. 


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1 (f) PRIORITY.—In allocating approved national serv2 ice positions under this section, the Corporation shall give 

3 priority to eligible programs that are carrying out eligible 

4 activities. 

5 (g) APPROVED NATIONAL SERVICE POSITION BENE6 FITS.—An individual in an approved national service posi7 tion established under this section shall have the same 

8 benefits as an individual in an approved national service 

9 position established under the National and Community 

10 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.). 

11 SEC. 7. VISTA WAIVER AUTHORITY. 

12 Notwithstanding section 108 of the Domestic Volun13 teer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4958), in order to 

14 address the needs of underserved communities during the 

15 COVID–19 pandemic, not more than 75 percent of funds 

16 appropriated under section 501 of that Act to carry out 

17 part A of title I of that Act may be obligated for the direct 

18 cost of supporting VISTA volunteers in programs and 

19 projects, including new programs and projects, carried out 

20 pursuant to grants or contracts made under part A of title 

21 I of that Act, and such funds may be obligated without 

22 competition regardless of when grant recipients com23 menced such programs and projects. 


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1 SEC. 8. INCREASED COORDINATION. 

2 The Corporation shall ensure that recipients of funds 

3 under the national service laws— 

4 (1) that are carrying out health related services, 

5 have coordinated with the appropriate State and 

6 local health departments; and 

7 (2) that are carrying out other eligible activi8 ties, have coordinated with the appropriate Federal 

9 agencies, which may include the Centers for Disease 

10 Control and Prevention, the Department of Health 

11 and Human Services, the Federal Emergency Man12 agement Agency, the Department of Labor, the De13 partment of Education, or another relevant Federal 

14 agency, to ensure continuity in coronavirus response 

15 and recovery activities and to ensure the eligible ac16 tivities are carried out in a manner that is aligned 

17 with the work of Federal agencies. 

18 SEC. 9. NCCC SEASON OF SERVICE. 

19 Notwithstanding section 154 of the National and 

20 Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12614), dur21 ing the period of national emergency related to the novel 

22 coronavirus (COVID–19), the Corporation may carry out 

23 a pilot program through which the summer national serv24 ice program carried out under such section may be modi25 fied in order to carry out eligible activities that— 


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1 (1) take place during any months of the year; 

2 and 

3 (2) include individuals aged 18 through 26 

4 years to serve in short term periods of service under 

5 that program. 

6 SEC. 10. MATCH WAIVER. 

7 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an entity 

8 that receives assistance from the Corporation for any pro9 gram under the national service laws (including a State 

10 Commission and an entity receiving subgrant funds) dur11 ing the COVID–19 emergency response and recovery pe12 riod (which period shall be determined by the Corporation) 

13 shall not be subject to any requirements to provide match14 ing funds for any such program, and the Federal share 

15 of such assistance for a recipient (including for a State 

16 Commission and a subgrant recipient) may be 100 per17 cent. 

18 SEC. 11. INCREASE IN LIMITATION ON GRANT AMOUNTS 

19 DURING COVID–19 EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

20 AND RECOVERY PERIOD. 

21 Notwithstanding the limits described in sections 

22 189(a) and 189(e) of the National and Community Service 

23 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12645c) or any other limitation 

24 imposed by the Corporation, during the COVID–19 emer25 gency response and recovery period (which period shall be 


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1 determined by the Corporation), the Corporation may 

2 award additional funds on a grant to operate a program 

3 authorized under the national service laws. 

4 SEC. 12. AUGMENTATION AND EXPANSION GRANTS. 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during 

6 the COVID–19 emergency response and recovery period 

7 (which period shall be determined by the Corporation), the 

8 Corporation may award noncompetitive augmentation and 

9 expansion grants under the national service laws, at such 

10 time and in such manner, and from such funds as the Cor11 poration determines appropriate. 

Æ 


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