I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8479 

To establish an Interagency Council on Service to promote and strengthen 

opportunities for military service, national service, and public service 

for all people of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2024 

Ms. HOULAHAN (for herself, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. BERGMAN, and Mr. WALTZ) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Accountability, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish an Interagency Council on Service to promote 

and strengthen opportunities for military service, national service, and public service for all people of the 

United States, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Unity through Service 

5 Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON SERVICE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established an 

4 Interagency Council on Service (in this section re5 ferred to as the ‘‘Council’’). 

6 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall— 

7 (A) advise the President with respect to 

8 promoting, strengthening, and expanding oppor9 tunities for military service, national service, 

10 and public service for all people of the United 

11 States; and 

12 (B) review, assess, and coordinate holistic 

13 recruitment strategies and initiatives of the ex14 ecutive branch to foster an increased sense of 

15 service and civic responsibility among all people 

16 of the United States and to explore ways of en17 hancing connectivity of interested applicants to 

18 national service programs and opportunities. 

19 (b) COMPOSITION.— 

20 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be com21 posed of members who are representatives of— 

22 (A) the Secretary of State; 

23 (B) the Secretary of Defense; 

24 (C) the Attorney General; 

25 (D) the Secretary of the Interior; 

26 (E) the Secretary of Commerce; 


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1 (F) the Secretary of Labor; 

2 (G) the Secretary of Health and Human 

3 Services; 

4 (H) the Secretary of Education; 

5 (I) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 

6 (J) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

7 (K) the Director of the Office of Manage8 ment and Budget; 

9 (L) the Director of National Intelligence; 

10 (M) the Director of the Office of Personnel 

11 Management; 

12 (N) the Director of the Peace Corps; 

13 (O) the Director of the Selective Service 

14 System; 

15 (P) the Chief Executive Officer of the Cor16 poration for National and Community Service; 

17 and 

18 (Q) such other officers as the President 

19 may designate. 

20 (2) CHAIR.—The President shall annually des21 ignate to serve as the Chair of the Council a member 

22 of the Council under paragraph (1), the appointment 

23 of whom as an officer or employee of the Federal 

24 Government was made by the President by and with 

25 the advice and consent of the Senate. 


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1 (3) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet on a 

2 quarterly basis or more frequently as the Chair of 

3 the Council may direct. 

4 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNCIL.—The 

5 Council shall— 

6 (1) assist and advise the President in the estab7 lishment of strategies, goals, objectives, and prior8 ities to promote service and civic responsibility 

9 among all people of the United States; 

10 (2) develop and recommend to the President 

11 common recruitment strategies and outreach oppor12 tunities for increasing the participation, and propen13 sity of people of the United States to participate, in 

14 military service, national service, and public service 

15 in order to address national security and domestic 

16 investment; 

17 (3) serve as a forum for Federal officials re18 sponsible for military service, national service, and 

19 public service programs to, as feasible and prac20 ticable— 

21 (A) coordinate and share best practices for 

22 service recruitment; and 

23 (B) develop common interagency, cross24 service initiatives and pilots for service recruit25 ment; 


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1 (4) lead a strategic, interagency coordinated ef2 fort on behalf of the Federal Government to develop 

3 joint awareness and recruitment, retention, and mar4 keting initiatives involving military service, national 

5 service, and public service; 

6 (5) consider approaches for assessing impacts 

7 of service on the needs of the United States and in8 dividuals participating in and benefitting from such 

9 service; 

10 (6) consult, as the Council considers advisable, 

11 with representatives of non-Federal entities, includ12 ing State, local, and Tribal governments, State and 

13 local educational agencies, State Service Commis14 sions, institutions of higher education, nonprofit or15 ganizations, faith-based organizations, philanthropic 

16 organizations, and the private sector, in order to 

17 promote and develop initiatives to foster and reward 

18 military service, national service, and public service; 

19 (7) not later than 2 years after the date of en20 actment of this Act, and quadrennially thereafter, 

21 prepare and submit to the President and Congress 

22 a Service Strategy, which shall set forth— 

23 (A) a review of programs and initiatives of 

24 the Federal Government relating to the man25 date of the Council; 


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1 (B) a review of Federal Government online 

2 content relating to the mandate of the Council, 

3 including user experience with such content; 

4 (C) current and foreseeable trends for 

5 service to address the needs of the United 

6 States; 

7 (D) recommended service recruitment 

8 strategies and branding opportunities to ad9 dress outreach and communication deficiencies 

10 identified by the Council; and 

11 (E) to the extent practical, a joint service 

12 messaging strategy for military service, national 

13 service, and public service; 

14 (8) identify any notable initiatives by State, 

15 local, and Tribal governments and by public and 

16 nongovernmental entities to increase awareness of 

17 and participation in national service programs; and 

18 (9) perform such other functions as the Presi19 dent may direct. 

20 SEC. 3. JOINT MARKET RESEARCH TO ADVANCE MILITARY 

21 AND NATIONAL SERVICE. 

22 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of De23 fense, the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for 

24 National and Community Service, and the Director of the 

25 Peace Corps may carry out a joint market research, marVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:50 Jul 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8479.IH H8479

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1 ket studies, recruiting, and advertising programs to com2 plement the existing programs of the military depart3 ments, the national service programs administered by the 

4 Corporation, and the Peace Corps. 

5 (b) INFORMATION SHARING PERMITTED.—Section 

6 503 of title 10, United States Code, shall not be construed 

7 to prohibit sharing of information among, or joint mar8 keting efforts of, the Department of Defense, the Corpora9 tion for National and Community Service, and the Peace 

10 Corps to carry out this section. 

11 SEC. 4. TRANSITION OPPORTUNITIES FOR MILITARY 

12 SERVICEMEMBERS AND NATIONAL SERVICE 

13 PARTICIPANTS. 

14 (a) EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.—Section 1143(c)(1) 

15 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

16 ‘‘the Corporation for National and Community Service,’’ 

17 after ‘‘State employment agencies,’’. 

18 (b) EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE, JOB TRAINING AS19 SISTANCE, AND OTHER TRANSITIONAL SERVICES: DE20 PARTMENT OF LABOR.—Section 1144 of title 10, United 

21 States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(11) Provide information on public service op25 portunities, training on public service job recruiting, 


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1 and the advantages of careers with the Federal Gov2 ernment.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (f)(1)(D)— 

4 (A) by redesignating clause (v) as clause 

5 (vi); and 

6 (B) by inserting after clause (iv) the fol7 lowing new clause: 

8 ‘‘(v) National and community service, 

9 taught in conjunction with the Chief Executive 

10 Officer of the Corporation for National and 

11 Community Service.’’. 

12 (c) AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE CHIEF EXEC13 UTIVE OFFICER.—Section 193A(b) of the National and 

14 Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12651d(b)) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (24), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

17 end; 

18 (2) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(26) ensure that individuals completing a par23 tial or full term of service in a program under sub24 title C or E or part A of title I of the Domestic Vol25 unteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.) 


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1 receive information about military and public service 

2 opportunities for which they may qualify or in which 

3 they may be interested.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. JOINT REPORT TO CONGRESS ON INITIATIVES TO 

5 INTEGRATE MILITARY AND NATIONAL SERV6 ICE. 

7 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 4 

8 years after the date of enactment of this Act and quadren9 nially thereafter, the Chair of the Interagency Council on 

10 Service, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the 

11 Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National 

12 and Community Service, and the Director of the Peace 

13 Corps, shall submit a joint report on cross-service mar14 keting, research, and promotion, including recommenda15 tions for increasing joint advertising and recruitment ini16 tiatives for the Armed Forces, programs administered by 

17 the Corporation for National and Community Service, and 

18 the Peace Corps, to the following congressional commit19 tees: 

20 (1) The Committee on Homeland Security and 

21 Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

22 (2) The Committee on Homeland Security of 

23 the House of Representatives. 

24 (3) The Committee on Oversight and Account25 ability of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (4) The Committee on Armed Services of the 

2 Senate. 

3 (5) The Committee on Armed Services of the 

4 House of Representatives. 

5 (6) The Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

6 Senate. 

7 (7) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

8 House of Representatives. 

9 (8) The Committee on Health, Education, 

10 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

11 (9) The Committee on Education and the 

12 Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

13 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report under sub14 section (a) shall include the following: 

15 (1) The number of Peace Corps volunteers and 

16 participants in national service programs adminis17 tered by the Corporation for National and Commu18 nity Service, who previously served as a member of 

19 the Armed Forces. 

20 (2) The number of members of the Armed 

21 Forces who previously served in the Peace Corps or 

22 in a program administered by the Corporation for 

23 National and Community Service. 

24 (3) An assessment of existing (as of the date of 

25 the report submission) joint recruitment and adverVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:50 Jul 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8479.IH H8479

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1 tising initiatives undertaken by the Department of 

2 Defense, the Peace Corps, or the Corporation for 

3 National and Community Service. 

4 (4) An assessment of the feasibility and cost of 

5 expanding such existing initiatives. 

6 (5) An assessment of ways to improve the abil7 ity of the reporting agencies to recruit individuals 

8 from the other reporting agencies. 

9 (6) A description of the information and data 

10 used to develop any initiative or campaign intended 

11 to advance military service or national service, in12 cluding with respect to any activity carried out 

13 under section 3. 

14 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Chair of the Interagency 

15 Council on Service, the Secretary of Defense, the Chief 

16 Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and 

17 Community Service, and the Director of the Peace Corps 

18 shall undertake studies of recruiting efforts that are nec19 essary to carry out the provisions of this section. Such 

20 studies may be conducted using any funds appropriated 

21 to those entities under Federal law other than this Act. 

22 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON LESSONS LEARNED RE23 GARDING RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT. 

24 The Chair of the Interagency Council on Service 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) conduct a study on— 

2 (A) the effectiveness of past advertising 

3 campaigns for military service, national service, 

4 and public service; and 

5 (B) the role of vaccine requirements on the 

6 retention and recruitment of individuals for 

7 military service, national service, and public 

8 service; and 

9 (2) not later than 270 days after the date of 

10 enactment of this Act, submit a report on the find11 ings of and lessons learned from the study under 

12 paragraph (1) to— 

13 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

14 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

15 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 of the House of Representatives. 

17 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON SERVICE.—The 

20 term ‘‘Interagency Council on Service’’ means the 

21 Interagency Council on Service established by sec22 tion 2(a). 

23 (2) MILITARY DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘mili24 tary department’’ means each of the military departVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:50 Jul 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8479.IH H8479

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1 ments listed in section 102 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (3) MILITARY SERVICE.—The term ‘‘military 

4 service’’ means active service (as defined in sub5 section (d)(3) of section 101 of title 10, United 

6 States Code) or active status (as defined in sub7 section (d)(4) of such section) in one of the Armed 

8 Forces (as defined in subsection (a)(4) of such sec9 tion). 

10 (4) NATIONAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘national 

11 service’’ means participation, other than military 

12 service or public service, in a program that— 

13 (A) is designed to enhance the common 

14 good and meet the needs of communities, the 

15 States, or the United States; 

16 (B) is funded or facilitated by— 

17 (i) an institution of higher education 

18 as defined in section 101 of the Higher 

19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); 

20 or 

21 (ii) the Federal Government or a 

22 State, Tribal, or local government; and 

23 (C) is a program authorized in— 

24 (i) the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 

25 2501 et seq.); 


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1 (ii) section 171 of the Workforce In2 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

3 3226) relating to the YouthBuild Program; 

4 (iii) the Domestic Volunteer Service 

5 Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4950 et seq.); or 

6 (iv) the National and Community 

7 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et 

8 seq.). 

9 (5) PUBLIC SERVICE.—The term ‘‘public serv10 ice’’ means civilian employment in the Federal Gov11 ernment or a State, Tribal, or local government. 

12 (6) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘service’’ means a 

13 personal commitment of time, energy, and talent to 

14 a mission that contributes to the public good by pro15 tecting the Nation and the citizens of the United 

16 States, strengthening communities, States, or the 

17 United States, or promoting the general social wel18 fare. 

19 (7) STATE SERVICE COMMISSION.—The term 

20 ‘‘State Service Commission’’ means a State Commis21 sion on National and Community Service maintained 

22 by a State pursuant to section 178 of the National 

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

24 12638). 


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1 SEC. 8. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS. 

2 No additional funds are authorized to be appro3 priated for the purpose of carrying out this Act. 

4 SEC. 9. GAO REPORT. 

5 Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

7 shall report to Congress on the effectiveness of this Act 

8 and the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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