II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1464 

To establish a Global Service Fellowship Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2007 

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mr. COCHRAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish a Global Service Fellowship Program, 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 ‘‘Global Service Fellow5 ship Program Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has 

9 said that a critical component to the war on terror 

10 includes changing opinions and minds. 

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1 (2) Polling data from Terror Free Tomorrow 

2 indicates that nearly 60 percent of the people of In3 donesia and 75 percent of the people of Pakistan 

4 held more favorable views of the United States fol5 lowing humanitarian assistance after their tsunami 

6 and earthquake tragedies, and this change in percep7 tion toward the United States was sustained beyond 

8 the initial period of aid and service. 

9 (3) International volunteering opportunities are 

10 effective means of addressing critical human needs, 

11 building bridges across cultures, and promoting mu12 tual understanding. 

13 (4) Current volunteer programs, such as the 

14 Peace Corps, remain an important part of Federal 

15 efforts to promote volunteer service and provide re16 lated programming. 

17 (5) Financial limitations are a common obstacle 

18 to volunteering overseas, and providing grant fund19 ing would reduce barriers to many individuals other20 wise unable to afford travel overseas. 

21 (6) Allowing flexibility in the duration of volun22 teering opportunities would reduce another barrier 

23 to volunteering. 

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1 (7) A global service fellowship program would 

2 provide funding and programmatic flexibility for vol3 unteers of all backgrounds and ages. 

4 (8) Eligible organizations willing to participate 

5 in the fellowship program as sponsoring organiza6 tions would be in a better position to recruit volun7 teers for their programs overseas. 

8 SEC. 3. GLOBAL SERVICE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, in 

10 consultation with representatives of the Volunteers for 

11 Prosperity program administered by the United States 

12 Agency for International Development, shall establish and 

13 administer a grant program to be known as the Global 

14 Service Fellowship Program (in this section referred to as 

15 the ‘‘Program’’). 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program is to 

17 fund fellowships to promote international volunteering op18 portunities as a means of building bridges across cultures, 

19 addressing critical human needs, and promoting mutual 

20 understanding. 

21 (c) FELLOWSHIPS.—Grants awarded under the Pro22 gram shall be used to fund fellowships as follows: 

23 (1) Fellowships lasting 90 days or less in dura24 tion may be funded at levels of up to $2,500. 

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1 (2) Fellowships lasting between 91 days and 

2 180 days may be funded at levels up to $5,000. 

3 (3) Fellowships lasting between 181 days and 

4 one year may be funded at levels up to $7,500. 

5 (d) COORDINATION WITH SPONSORING ORGANIZA6 TIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Fellowships funded under 

8 the Program shall be coordinated and supervised by 

9 participating volunteer sponsoring organizations. 

10 The sponsoring organizations shall be registered 

11 with the Secretary of State and shall collaborate 

12 with host country organizations in developing pro13 grams that appropriately address local needs for the 

14 transfer of volunteer skills, capacity building, and 

15 cross-cultural service organizations. 

16 (2) PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS.—Spon17 soring organizations shall recommend and prioritize 

18 fellowship projects based on one or more of the fol19 lowing objectives: 

20 (A) Eradication of extreme poverty in con21 junction with the goals of the United Nations 

22 Millennium Development Goals. 

23 (B) Achievement of universal primary edu24 cation. 

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1 (C) Promotion of gender equality and the 

2 empowerment of women and families. 

3 (D) Reducing child mortality and improv4 ing maternal health. 

5 (E) Providing medical and dental health 

6 care and prevention. 

7 (F) Providing assistance for the elderly, 

8 orphans, people with disabilities, and refugees. 

9 (G) Promoting environmental sustain10 ability. 

11 (H) Providing economic and social oppor12 tunities for youth in countries with growing co13 horts of young people. 

14 (I) Promoting youth service by building re15 lated volunteer-sector capacity in host countries. 

16 (J) Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and 

17 other infectious diseases. 

18 (K) Helping to build or provide decent 

19 housing. 

20 (L) Providing disaster and humanitarian 

21 response, preparedness, and reconstruction. 

22 (M) Promoting cross-cultural exchange, 

23 conflict resolution, and peace. 

24 (N) Developing global partnerships for de25 velopment in the areas of economic growth, 

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1 microenterprise, asset development, and agricul2 tural and rural development. 

3 (O) Advancing access to information tech4 nology and strengthening civil society. 

5 (P) Carrying out additional activities in 

6 impact areas designated by the Secretary of 

7 State in accordance with the purposes of this 

8 Act. 

9 (e) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

10 (1) SUBMISSION AND REVIEW OF APPLICA11 TIONS.—Applicants shall submit applications for fel12 lowships under the Program to their congressional 

13 offices. Congressional offices shall review such appli14 cations and nominate qualified candidates for con15 sideration by the Secretary of State. 

16 (2) SELECTION.—The Secretary of State shall 

17 determine the eligibility of nominated candidates 

18 and, in consultation with sponsoring organizations, 

19 award and administer fellowships under the Pro20 gram. 

21 (3) CRITERIA.—The Secretary of State shall 

22 develop and publish criteria for fellowships in ac23 cordance with the following guidelines: 

24 (A) SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS.—Appli25 cants for Global Service Fellowships must be 

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1 registered with qualified sponsoring organiza2 tions such as— 

3 (i) nongovernmental organizations 

4 based in the United States that sponsor 

5 international volunteer service; 

6 (ii) faith-based organizations engaged 

7 in the delivery of nonsectarian services; 

8 (iii) universities and colleges operating 

9 international service learning and volunteer 

10 service programs; and 

11 (iv) nongovernmental organizations 

12 based in the United States that collaborate 

13 with local or national host government 

14 agencies or nongovernmental organizations 

15 in promoting volunteer capacity and na16 tional and community service in impact 

17 areas designated by the Secretary of State 

18 under subsection (d)(2)(P). 

19 (B) APPLICANTS.—Applicants shall be 

20 nominated and selected for Global Service Fel21 lowships as follows: 

22 (i) Applicants shall have clearly de23 fined and structured goals for their pro24 posed fellowships, including a plan for as25 sessing and monitoring progress toward 

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1 such goals with sponsoring organizations 

2 and a basis for follow-up and review by the 

3 Secretary of State. 

4 (ii) Priority should be given to— 

5 (I) applicants from households 

6 with an income that is less than 200 

7 percent of the poverty level estab8 lished pursuant to current census fig9 ures; 

10 (II) applicants who have dem11 onstrated prior community service ex12 perience; 

13 (III) applicants with skills and 

14 experience suited to the specific needs 

15 of host countries; and 

16 (IV) applicants who demonstrate 

17 a clear plan to communicate their vol18 unteer experiences to their community 

19 upon their return. 

20 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Individuals receiv21 ing Global Service Fellowships shall submit such reports, 

22 including post-fellowship reports prepared for their home 

23 communities, as the Secretary of State may require. 

24 (g) ELIGIBLE COSTS.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds awarded under this 

2 section may be used to cover the following costs as3 sociated with Global Service Fellowships: 

4 (A) Airfare, accommodations, and trans5 portation within the host country. 

6 (B) Fees assessed by sponsoring organiza7 tions to defray international service program 

8 costs and administrative costs. 

9 (C) Subsistence allowance in accordance 

10 with local market conditions. 

11 (D) Program materials and tools used for 

12 service-related purposes. 

13 (E) Seed funding for local service projects. 

14 (F) Language and cultural training and 

15 other costs associated with pre-service project 

16 orientation. 

17 (2) TUITION NOT COVERED.—Funds awarded 

18 under this section may not be used for tuition costs. 

19 (h) NONDISCRIMINATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 (1) NOMINATION AND SELECTION OF APPLI21 CANTS.—The nomination and selection of applicants 

22 under subsection (e) shall be without regard to race, 

23 religion, color, national origin, sex, age, political af24 filiation, or disability. 

25 (2) SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A sponsoring organiza2 tion shall not discriminate against a Global 

3 Service Fellowship Program participant or ap4 plicant, a beneficiary of any project in which a 

5 Global Service Fellow participates, or, except as 

6 provided in subparagraph (B), an employee of 

7 the organization who is paid with Program 

8 funds on the basis of race, religion, color, na9 tional origin, sex, age, political affiliation, or 

10 disability. 

11 (B) LIMITED EXCEPTION FOR EMPLOYEES

12 OF SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS EMPLOYED AT

13 TIME OF AWARDING OF FUNDS.—The prohibi14 tion under subparagraph (A) on discrimination 

15 on the basis of religion shall not apply to the 

16 employment, with assistance provided under 

17 this Program, of any employee who was em18 ployed with the sponsoring organization on the 

19 date that the funds were awarded. 

20 SEC. 4. EVALUATION AND REPORT. 

21 (a) EVALUATION OF GLOBAL SERVICE FELLOWSHIP

22 PROGRAM.—The Secretary of State shall establish and im23 plement an evaluation process for determining the effec24 tiveness of the Global Service Fellowship Program. 

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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 2010, the 

2 Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a report on 

3 the Global Service Fellowships Program established under 

4 section 3. The report shall describe— 

5 (1) the identity and location of sponsoring orga6 nizations; 

7 (2) for each impact issue areas identified by 

8 sponsoring organizations, the number of volunteer 

9 opportunities and the number of related Global Serv10 ice Fellowships that have been funded; 

11 (3) the number of local volunteers recruited or 

12 engaged with Global Service Fellows and their spon13 soring organizations or local host organizations; 

14 (4) the locations of volunteer services; 

15 (5) the effectiveness of such services based upon 

16 findings of the evaluation process; and 

17 (6) the total numbers of nominations for Global 

18 Service Fellowships that have been received and ac19 cepted by the Secretary of State. 

20 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS. 

21 The Secretary of State shall prescribe regulations to 

22 carry out the provisions of this Act. 

23 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro25 priated to the Secretary of State $50,000,000 for each of 

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1 fiscal years 2008 through 2010 for purposes of estab2 lishing and implementing the Global Service Fellowship 

3 Program. 

4 (b) OFFSET.—In order to provide an offset for 

5 amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a), the In6 ternal Revenue Service shall deposit in the Treasury as 

7 miscellaneous receipts all of the fees it receives for serv8 ices. 

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