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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2328 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2328

       To establish a Public Lands Corps, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 27, 1993

  Mr. Vento (for himself, Mr. Miller of California, and Mr. Williams) 
   introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the 
 Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
       To establish a Public Lands Corps, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public Lands Corps Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) conserving or developing natural and cultural resources 
        and enhancing and maintaining environmentally important lands 
        and waters through the use of the Nation's young men and women 
        in a Public Lands Corps can benefit those men and women by 
        providing them with education and work opportunities, 
        furthering their understanding and appreciation of the natural 
        and cultural resources, and providing a means to pay for higher 
        education or to repay indebtedness they have incurred to obtain 
        higher education while at the same time benefiting the Nation's 
        economy and its environment;
            (2) many facilities and natural resources located on public 
        lands and on Indian reservations are in disrepair or degraded 
        and in need of labor intensive rehabilitation, restoration, and 
        enhancement work which cannot be carried out by Federal 
        agencies at existing personnel levels; and.
            (3) youth conservation corps have established a good record 
        of restoring and maintaining these kinds of facilities and 
        resources in a cost effective and efficient manner, especially 
        when they have worked in partnership arrangements with 
        government land management agencies.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to--
            (1) perform, in a cost-effective manner, conservation, 
        rehabilitation, restoration, and improvement work on public 
        lands and Indian lands where that work will not be performed by 
        existing employees, and to assist government and tribal land 
        managing agencies in performing research and public education 
        tasks associated with natural and cultural resources on public 
        lands;
            (2) expose young men and women to public service while 
        furthering their understanding and appreciation of the nation's 
        natural and cultural resources;
            (3) expand educational opportunity by rewarding individuals 
        who participate in national service with an increased ability 
        to pursue higher education or job training; and
            (4) stimulate interest among the nation's young men and 
        women in conservation careers by exposing them to conservation 
        professionals in land managing agencies.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``Corps'' means the Public Lands Corps 
        established under section 4.
            (2) The term ``public lands'' means any lands or waters (or 
        interest therein) owned or administered by the United States 
        other than Indian lands.
            (3) The term ``qualified youth or conservation corps'' 
        means any program established by a State or local government, 
        by the governing body of any Indian tribe, or by a nonprofit 
        organization that--
                    (A) is capable of offering meaningful, full-time, 
                productive work for individuals between 16 and 25 years 
                of age in a natural or cultural resource setting;
                    (B) gives participants a mix of work experience, 
                basic and life skills, education, training, and support 
                services; and
                    (C) provides participants with the opportunity to 
                develop citizenship values and skills through service 
                to their community and the United States.
            (4) The term ``Indian tribe'' means any Indian tribe, band, 
        nation, or other group which is recognized as an Indian tribe 
        by the Secretary of the Interior. Such term also includes any 
        Native village corporation, regional corporation, and Native 
        group established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims 
        Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
            (5) The term ``Indian'' means a person who is a member of 
        an Indian tribe.
            (6) The term ``Indian lands'' means any real property owned 
        by an Indian tribe, any real property held in trust by the 
        United States for Indian tribes, and any real property held by 
        Indian tribes which is subject to restrictions on alienation 
        imposed by the United States.
            (7) The term ``State'' means any State of the United 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
            (8) The term ``conservation, restoration, or rehabilitation 
        project'' means any project for the conservation, restoration, 
        or rehabilitation of natural, cultural, historic, 
        archaeological, recreational, or scenic resources.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC LANDS CORPS PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Public Lands Corps.--There is hereby 
established in the Department of the Interior and the Department of 
Agriculture a Public Lands Corps. The Corps shall consist of young men 
and women between the ages of 16 and 25 who are enrolled in the Corps 
by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture under 
this Act. Persons enrolled in the Corps shall be citizens or permanent 
residents of the United States, or of any territory or possession of 
the United States or of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico who have 
received a high school diploma or its equivalent or who agree to obtain 
a high school diploma or its equivalent and who did not drop out of an 
elementary or secondary school to enroll in the program. Such persons 
shall be enrolled in the Corps without regard to the civil service and 
classification laws, rules, or regulations of the United States.
    (b) Qualified Youth or Conservation corps.--The Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are authorized to enter into 
contracts and cooperative agreements with any qualified youth or 
conservation corps to perform projects referred to in subsection (c).
    (c) Projects to be Carried Out.--The Secretary of the Interior and 
the Secretary of Agriculture may each utilize the Public Lands Corps or 
any qualified youth or conservation corps to carry out any 
conservation, restoration, or rehabilitation project which such 
Secretary is authorized to carry out under other authority of law on 
public lands or Indian lands.
    (d) Preference for Certain Projects.--In selecting projects to be 
carried out under this Act, a preference shall be provided for those 
projects which--
            (1) will provide long-term benefits to the public;
            (2) will instill in the enrollee involved a work ethic and 
        a sense of public service;
            (3) will be labor intensive;
            (4) can be planned and initiated promptly; and
            (5) will provide academic, experiential, and environmental 
        education opportunities.
    (e) Consistency.--All projects carried out under this Act on any 
public lands or Indian lands shall be consistent with the provisions of 
law and policies relating to the management and administration of such 
lands, with all other applicable provisions of law, and with all 
management, operational, and other plans and documents which govern the 
administration of the area.
    (f) Conservation Centers.--The Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture are each authorized to provide such quarters, 
board, medical care, transportation, and other services, facilities, 
supplies, and equipment as such Secretary deems necessary in connection 
with the programs carried out under this section and to establish and 
use conservation centers owned and operated by such Secretary for 
purposes of such programs. Each such Secretary may make arrangements 
with the Secretary of Defense to have logistical support provided by a 
military installation near any conservation center, where feasible, 
including the provision of temporary tent shelters where needed, 
transportation, and residential supervision. Such Secretaries shall 
establish basic standards of health, nutrition, sanitation, and safety 
for all conservation centers and shall assure that such standards are 
enforced. Where necessary or appropriate, such Secretaries may enter 
into contracts and other appropriate arrangements with State and local 
government agencies and private organizations for the management of 
such conservation centers.

SEC. 5. RESOURCE ASSISTANTS.

    (a) Authorization.--The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
of Agriculture are each authorized to provide for the placement of 
qualified college students or recent college graduates in any Federal 
land managing agency under the jurisdiction of such Secretary as 
resource assistants to carry out such research or other technical 
functions on behalf of such agency as such Secretary deems appropriate. 
Such persons shall be placed in the agency without regard to the civil 
service and classification laws, rules, or regulations of the United 
States. Resource assistants participating in the program established 
under this section shall be recruited from colleges and universities 
throughout the United States, with particular attention given to ensure 
full representation of women and participants from historically black, 
Hispanic, and Native American schools.
    (b) Purposes.--The dual purposes of the Resource Assistant Program 
established under this section are to--
            (1) augment the work force of the Federal land managing 
        agencies through more extensive use of college students and 
        recent college graduates, and
            (2) to enhance the college student or college graduate's 
        exposure to the conservation agency work place as a potential 
        career.
    (c) Existing Nonprofit Organizations.--Whenever 1 or more existing 
nonprofit organizations can, in the judgment of the agency, provide an 
appropriate level and quality of program to fulfill the requirements of 
this section, the agency is authorized and directed to implement this 
section through such existing organizations.
    (d) Private Sources of Funding.--Participating nonprofit 
organizations shall contribute to the expenses of providing and 
supporting the interns, through private sources of funding, at a level 
equal to 25 percent of the total costs of each participant in the 
Resource Assistant program who has been recruited and placed through 
that organization. Any such participating nonprofit conservation 
service organization shall be required, by the respective land managing 
agency, to submit an annual report evaluating the scope, size, and 
quality of the program, including the value of work contributed by the 
Resource Assistants, to the mission of the agency.

SEC. 6. LIVING ALLOWANCES AND TERMS OF SERVICE FOR PARTICIPANTS.

    (a) Living Allowances.--The Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall provide each participant in the Public 
Lands Corps and each Resource Assistant participating in the program 
established under section 5 a living allowance which shall not exceed 
the maximum living allowance established for participants in the 
national service program established under title I of the National and 
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.)
    (b) Terms of Service.--Each participant in the Public Lands Corps 
and each Resource Assistant participating in the program established 
under section 5 shall agree to participate in such program for a term 
of service established by the Secretary of the Interior or the 
Secretary of Agriculture, as the case may be, consistent with the terms 
of service required in the case of participants in the national service 
program established under the National and Community Service Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.)

SEC. 7. EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OR AWARDS FOR PARTICIPANTS.

    (a) Educational Benefits and Awards.--Each participant in the 
Public Lands Corps and each Resource Assistant participating in the 
program established under section 5 shall be eligible for national 
service awards under title I of the National and Community Service Act 
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.) if such participant complies with 
such requirements as may be established under this Act by the Secretary 
of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture respecting eligibility 
for such benefits and awards. The period during which such benefits or 
awards may be used, the purposes for which such benefits or awards may 
be used, and the amount of such benefits and awards shall be determined 
as provided under such subtitle D.
    (b) Forbearance in the Collection of Stafford Loans.--For purposes 
of section 428 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, in the case of 
borrowers who are participants in the Public Lands Corps and Resource 
Assistants participating in the program established under section 5, 
upon written request, a lender shall grant a borrower forbearance on 
such terms as are otherwise consistent with the regulations of the 
Secretary of Education, during periods in which the borrower is serving 
as such a participant or Resource Assistant and eligible for a post 
service educational benefit or award under subsection (a).

SEC. 8. NONDISPLACEMENT.

    The nondisplacement requirements of section 177 of the National and 
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12637) shall be applicable to 
all activities carried out by the Public Lands Corps, to the program 
carried out under section 6, and to all activities carried out under 
this Act by a qualified youth or conservation corps.

SEC. 9. FUNDING.

    (a) Cost Sharing.--
            (1) Projects by qualified youth or conservation corps.--The 
        Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are 
        each authorized to pay not more than 75 percent of the costs of 
        any project carried out pursuant to this Act on public lands by 
        a qualified youth or conservation corps. The remaining 25 
        percent of such costs may be provided from nonfederal sources 
        in the form of funds, services, facilities, materials, 
        equipment, or any combination of the foregoing. No cost sharing 
        shall be required in the case of any such project carried out 
        on Indian lands.
            (2) Public Lands Corps.--A foundation associated with a 
        Federal land managing agency may contribute to the costs of any 
        project carried out by the Public Lands Corps established under 
        this Act, but nothing in this Act shall be construed to require 
        any cost sharing for any such project.
    (b) Funds Available Under National and Community Service Act.--For 
programs carried out under this section (including the Resource 
Assistant Program), the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall be eligible to receive funds available to any corps 
programs under the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 12501 and following). Such funds shall be provided to such 
Secretaries without regard to any restriction under section 122(b)(4) 
of such Act, or under any other provision of such Act, relating to the 
failure of a State to establish a corps program.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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