I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5062 

To provide for a more inclusive voluntary civilian national service program 

to promote civic engagement, enhance national unity, and foster a sense 

of shared sacrifice by helping young Americans participate in national 

service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 26, 2016 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself and Mr. MOULTON) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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 provide for a more inclusive voluntary civilian national 

service program to promote civic engagement, enhance 

national unity, and foster a sense of shared sacrifice 

by helping young Americans participate in national service, 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 ‘‘21st Century American 

5 Service Act’’. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5062 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 Section 2 of the National and Community Service Act 

3 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(7) The number of Americans applying to par7 ticipate in national service programs each year sig8 nificantly exceeds the number of available positions, 

9 depriving hundreds of thousands of Americans from 

10 participating in national and community service, 

11 which unintentionally transforms national service 

12 programs into exclusive and selective entities and 

13 prevents national service from serving as an inclu14 sive, unifying activity open to all Americans.’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (b)(6), by inserting ‘‘so that 

16 all young Americans between ages 18 and 30 are 

17 provided a voluntary opportunity to serve in organi18 zations’’ after ‘‘national service programs’’. 

19 SEC. 3. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME OF AMERICORPS 

20 EDUCATIONAL AWARDS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 117 of the Internal Rev22 enue Code of 1986 (relating to qualified scholarships) is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 

25 ‘‘(e) AMERICORPS EDUCATIONAL AWARDS.—Gross 

26 income shall not include any national service educational 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5062 IH

1 award described in subtitle D of title I of the National 

2 and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12601 

3 et seq.).’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

5 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 4. CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY 

8 SERVICE DEFINED. 

9 In this Act, the terms ‘‘Corporation’’ and the ‘‘Cor10 poration for National and Community Service’’ have the 

11 meaning given the term ‘‘Corporation’’ in section 101 of 

12 the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 

13 U.S.C. 12511). 

14 SEC. 5. 21ST CENTURY NATIONAL SERVICE PROGRAM. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a task 

16 force within the Corporation for National and Community 

17 Service to be known as the ‘‘21st Century National Service 

18 Program Implementing Taskforce’’ (in this Act referred 

19 to as the ‘‘Task force’’). 

20 (b) DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE.— 

21 (1) PROGRAM.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Task force shall 

23 develop the 21st Century National Service Pro24 gram to ensure that each eligible individual who 

25 applies to serve in a voluntary national service 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5062 IH

1 program will be provided an opportunity to 

2 serve in such program. 

3 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the 

4 21st Century National Service Program de5 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Task force 

6 shall carry out the following: 

7 (i) NOTIFICATION.—Determine how 

8 the Corporation for National and Commu9 nity Service will work with Federal or 

10 State agencies and other entities to— 

11 (I) contact each eligible indi12 vidual upon such individual’s 18th 

13 birthday to notify the individual 

14 about— 

15 (aa) the individual’s eligi16 bility for national service pro17 grams; 

18 (bb) such national service 

19 programs and how to register for 

20 a specific program; 

21 (cc) other service programs 

22 for which the individual may be 

23 eligible, including the Peace 

24 Corps (as established by the 

25 Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5062 IH

1 2501 et seq.)) and military serv2 ice; and 

3 (dd) the individual’s option 

4 to opt-out of receiving any notifi5 cations, or just notifications in a 

6 paper format, under subclause 

7 (II); and 

8 (II) after contacting an eligible 

9 individual under subclause (I), notify 

10 the eligible individual every 2 years 

11 thereafter of the information de12 scribed in items (aa) through (dd) of 

13 subclause (I), unless— 

14 (aa) the individual is serving 

15 in a national service program; 

16 (bb) the individual has opted 

17 out of receiving such notifications 

18 under subclause (I)(cc); or 

19 (cc) the individual reaches 

20 30 years of age. 

21 (ii) REGISTRATION.—Determine how 

22 the Corporation will enable eligible individ23 uals to register for a specific national serv24 ice program for not less than 1 year of 

25 service, and ensure that such registration 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5062 IH

1 process is the most effective process for the 

2 purpose of registering for such a program. 

3 (2) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Task force shall— 

4 (A) develop a 10-year strategic implemen5 tation plan to fully implement the 21st Century 

6 National Service Program described in para7 graph (1)(A), including concrete timelines and 

8 milestones for an effective and phased imple9 mentation (which shall include beginning the 

10 notification under paragraph (1)(B)(i) not later 

11 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

12 Act, to the greatest extent practicable); and 

13 (B) publish on the website of the Corpora14 tion the information described in subparagraph 

15 (A). 

16 (3) TASK FORCES.—The Task force shall carry 

17 out the following sub-task forces to assist in devel18 oping the program described in paragraph (1)(A): 

19 (A) A sub-task force headed by the Chair20 person of the Task force on expanding national 

21 service opportunities to ensure that any indi22 vidual who applies to serve is guaranteed an op23 portunity to do so. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5062 IH

1 (B) A sub-task force headed by the Direc2 tor of the Selective Service System on notifying 

3 eligible individuals. 

4 (C) A sub-task force headed by the Sec5 retary of Education on expanding bridge-year 

6 service learning programs. 

7 (D) A sub-task force headed by the Sec8 retary of Defense on transitioning servicemem9 bers to civilian life through national service. 

10 (E) A sub-task force headed by the Direc11 tor of the Peace Corps on integrating interna12 tional service opportunities. 

13 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Task force shall be 

15 composed of the following members: 

16 (A) The Secretary of Education (or the 

17 Secretary’s designee). 

18 (B) The Director of the Selective Service 

19 System (or the Director’s designee). 

20 (C) The Director of the Peace Corps (or 

21 the Director’s designee). 

22 (D) The Secretary of Defense (or the Sec23 retary’s designee). 

24 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

25 Task force shall be the Chief Executive Officer of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5062 IH

1 the Corporation for National and Community Serv2 ice. 

3 (3) STAFF.—With the approval of the Task 

4 force, the Chairperson may appoint additional per5 sonnel (who may be from public or private sectors) 

6 as the Chairperson considers appropriate. 

7 (d) TERMINATION.—The Task force shall terminate 

8 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

10 (1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

11 individual’’ means an individual who— 

12 (A) is a citizen, national of the United 

13 States, or a lawful permanent resident aliens of 

14 the United States; and 

15 (B) is between the ages of 18 and 30, in16 clusive. 

17 (2) NATIONAL SERVICE PROGRAM.—The term 

18 ‘‘national service program’’ is a voluntary civilian 

19 national service program authorized under the Na20 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 

21 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.) or the Domestic Volunteer 

22 Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4950 et seq.). 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5062 IH

1 SEC. 6. NATIONAL SERVICE COLLEGE COMPACT PILOT 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Corporation for National 

4 and Community Service shall establish a national service 

5 college compact— 

6 (1) with not fewer than 2 States, not later than 

7 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

8 (2) with not fewer than 5 States, not later than 

9 5 years after such date of enactment. 

10 (b) CONTENTS OF COMPACT.—A national service 

11 compact is an agreement between the Corporation and a 

12 State under which— 

13 (1) eligible individuals who desire to attend a 

14 public institution of higher education in the State 

15 will be able to use an educational award under sub16 section (d) to attend a 2- or 4-year program of in17 struction, or a career or technical education pro18 gram, at such a public institution of higher edu19 cation, at no additional charge to the individuals; 

20 and 

21 (2) the Corporation and the State determine 

22 the timeframe by which eligible individuals shall suc23 cessfully complete the activities under paragraphs 

24 (1) and (2) of subsection (c) in order to qualify to 

25 use an educational award in accordance with paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 May 03, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5062.IH H5062

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5062 IH

1 graph (1) of this subsection, and avoid repayment of 

2 such educational award or other penalties. 

3 (c) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this sec4 tion, the term ‘‘eligible individual’’ means an individual 

5 described in section 146(a) of the National and Commu6 nity Service Act (42 U.S.C. 12602(a)) who, as a condition 

7 of receiving an educational award under subsection (d)— 

8 (1) successfully completes, or agrees to com9 plete, two required terms of full-time national service 

10 in an approved national service position for purposes 

11 of eligibility for two educational awards under sec12 tion 147(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12603(a)); and 

13 (2) successfully completes, or agrees to com14 plete, not less than one calendar year of employment 

15 with a Federal, State, or local government entity, or 

16 a nonprofit organization. 

17 (d) INCREASED EDUCATIONAL AWARDS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—To receive an educational 

19 award under this section, an eligible individual shall 

20 be selected by the Corporation and a State with 

21 which the Corporation has a national service com22 pact under this section to receive such award for the 

23 purpose of attending a public institution of higher 

24 education in the State in accordance with the terms 

25 of the compact. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5062 IH

1 (2) CALCULATION.—An eligible individual se2 lected under paragraph (1) shall receive an edu3 cational award under this section that is equal to the 

4 total value of the educational service awards under 

5 section 147(a) of the National and Community Serv6 ice Act (42 U.S.C. 12603(a)) that the individual is 

7 eligible to receive for the two successfully completed 

8 (or agreed to be completed) terms of full-time na9 tional service, as described in subsection (c)(1) of 

10 this section, except that in calculating the value of 

11 each such award, such section 147(a) (42 U.S.C. 

12 12603(a)) shall be applied by inserting ‘‘twice’’ be13 fore ‘‘the maximum amount of a Federal Pell 

14 Grant’’. 

15 (3) LIMITATION.—Not more than a total of 

16 250,000 individuals may receive an educational 

17 award under this section. 

18 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.—The 

20 term ‘‘career and technical education’’ has the 

21 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Carl D. 

22 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

23 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

24 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

25 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5062 IH

1 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

2 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

3 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean4 ing given the term in section 101 of the National 

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

6 12511). 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS