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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish an Interagency Council on Service to promote 
and strengthen opportunities for military service, na-
tional service, and public service for all people of the 
United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unity through Service 
Act of 2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON SERVICE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—There is established an 
Interagency Council on Service (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Council’’). 
(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall— 
(A) advise the President with respect to 
promoting, strengthening, and expanding oppor-
tunities for military service, national service, 
and public service for all people of the United 
States; and 
(B) review, assess, and coordinate holistic 
recruitment strategies and initiatives of the ex-
ecutive branch to foster an increased sense of 
service and civic responsibility among all people 
of the United States and to explore ways of en-
hancing connectivity of interested applicants to 
national service programs and opportunities. 
(b) COMPOSITION.— 
(1) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be com-
posed of members who are representatives of— 
(A) the Secretary of State; 
(B) the Secretary of Defense; 
(C) the Attorney General; 
(D) the Secretary of the Interior; 
(E) the Secretary of Commerce; 
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(F) the Secretary of Labor; 
(G) the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services; 
(H) the Secretary of Education; 
(I) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 
(J) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 
(K) the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget; 
(L) the Director of National Intelligence; 
(M) the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management; 
(N) the Director of the Peace Corps; 
(O) the Director of the Selective Service 
System; 
(P) the Chief Executive Officer of the Cor-
poration for National and Community Service; 
and 
(Q) such other officers as the President 
may designate. 
(2) CHAIR.—The President shall annually des-
ignate to serve as the Chair of the Council a member 
of the Council under paragraph (1), the appointment 
of whom as an officer or employee of the Federal 
Government was made by the President by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate. 
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(3) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet on a 
quarterly basis or more frequently as the Chair of 
the Council may direct. 
(c) RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
THE
COUNCIL.—The 
Council shall— 
(1) assist and advise the President in the estab-
lishment of strategies, goals, objectives, and prior-
ities to promote service and civic responsibility 
among all people of the United States; 
(2) develop and recommend to the President 
common recruitment strategies and outreach oppor-
tunities for increasing the participation, and propen-
sity of people of the United States to participate, in 
military service, national service, and public service 
in order to address national security and domestic 
investment; 
(3) serve as a forum for Federal officials re-
sponsible for military service, national service, and 
public service programs to, as feasible and prac-
ticable— 
(A) coordinate and share best practices for 
service recruitment; and 
(B) develop common interagency, cross- 
service initiatives and pilots for service recruit-
ment; 
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(4) lead a strategic, interagency coordinated ef-
fort on behalf of the Federal Government to develop 
joint awareness and recruitment, retention, and mar-
keting initiatives involving military service, national 
service, and public service; 
(5) consider approaches for assessing impacts 
of service on the needs of the United States and in-
dividuals participating in and benefitting from such 
service; 
(6) consult, as the Council considers advisable, 
with representatives of non-Federal entities, includ-
ing State, local, and Tribal governments, State and 
local educational agencies, State Service Commis-
sions, institutions of higher education, nonprofit or-
ganizations, faith-based organizations, philanthropic 
organizations, and the private sector, in order to 
promote and develop initiatives to foster and reward 
military service, national service, and public service; 
(7) not later than 2 years after the date of en-
actment of this Act, and quadrennially thereafter, 
prepare and submit to the President and Congress 
a Service Strategy, which shall set forth— 
(A) a review of programs and initiatives of 
the Federal Government relating to the man-
date of the Council; 
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(B) a review of Federal Government online 
content relating to the mandate of the Council, 
including user experience with such content; 
(C) current and foreseeable trends for 
service to address the needs of the United 
States; 
(D) 
recommended 
service 
recruitment 
strategies and branding opportunities to ad-
dress outreach and communication deficiencies 
identified by the Council; and 
(E) to the extent practical, a joint service 
messaging strategy for military service, national 
service, and public service; 
(8) identify any notable initiatives by State, 
local, and Tribal governments and by public and 
nongovernmental entities to increase awareness of 
and participation in national service programs; and 
(9) perform such other functions as the Presi-
dent may direct. 
SEC. 3. JOINT MARKET RESEARCH TO ADVANCE MILITARY 
AND NATIONAL SERVICE. 
(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of De-
fense, the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for 
National and Community Service, and the Director of the 
Peace Corps may carry out a joint market research, mar-
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ket studies, recruiting, and advertising programs to com-
plement the existing programs of the military depart-
ments, the national service programs administered by the 
Corporation, and the Peace Corps. 
(b) INFORMATION SHARING PERMITTED.—Section 
503 of title 10, United States Code, shall not be construed 
to prohibit sharing of information among, or joint mar-
keting efforts of, the Department of Defense, the Corpora-
tion for National and Community Service, and the Peace 
Corps to carry out this section. 
SEC. 
4. 
TRANSITION 
OPPORTUNITIES 
FOR 
MILITARY 
SERVICEMEMBERS AND NATIONAL SERVICE 
PARTICIPANTS. 
(a) EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.—Section 1143(c)(1) 
of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
‘‘the Corporation for National and Community Service,’’ 
after ‘‘State employment agencies,’’. 
(b) EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE, JOB TRAINING AS-
SISTANCE, AND OTHER TRANSITIONAL SERVICES: DE-
PARTMENT OF LABOR.—Section 1144 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(11) Provide information on public service op-
portunities, training on public service job recruiting, 
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and the advantages of careers with the Federal Gov-
ernment.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (f)(1)(D)— 
(A) by redesignating clause (v) as clause 
(vi); and 
(B) by inserting after clause (iv) the fol-
lowing new clause: 
‘‘(v) National and community service, 
taught in conjunction with the Chief Executive 
Officer of the Corporation for National and 
Community Service.’’. 
(c) AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE CHIEF EXEC-
UTIVE OFFICER.—Section 193A(b) of the National and 
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12651d(b)) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (24), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(26) ensure that individuals completing a par-
tial or full term of service in a program under sub-
title C or E or part A of title I of the Domestic Vol-
unteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.) 
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receive information about military and public service 
opportunities for which they may qualify or in which 
they may be interested.’’. 
SEC. 5. JOINT REPORT TO CONGRESS ON INITIATIVES TO 
INTEGRATE MILITARY AND NATIONAL SERV-
ICE. 
(a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 4 
years after the date of enactment of this Act and quadren-
nially thereafter, the Chair of the Interagency Council on 
Service, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the 
Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National 
and Community Service, and the Director of the Peace 
Corps, shall submit a joint report on cross-service mar-
keting, research, and promotion, including recommenda-
tions for increasing joint advertising and recruitment ini-
tiatives for the Armed Forces, programs administered by 
the Corporation for National and Community Service, and 
the Peace Corps, to the following congressional commit-
tees: 
(1) The Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 
(2) The Committee on Homeland Security of 
the House of Representatives. 
(3) The Committee on Oversight and Account-
ability of the House of Representatives. 
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(4) The Committee on Armed Services of the 
Senate. 
(5) The Committee on Armed Services of the 
House of Representatives. 
(6) The Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
Senate. 
(7) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives. 
(8) The Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 
(9) The Committee on Education and the 
Workforce of the House of Representatives. 
(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report under sub-
section (a) shall include the following: 
(1) The number of Peace Corps volunteers and 
participants in national service programs adminis-
tered by the Corporation for National and Commu-
nity Service, who previously served as a member of 
the Armed Forces. 
(2) The number of members of the Armed 
Forces who previously served in the Peace Corps or 
in a program administered by the Corporation for 
National and Community Service. 
(3) An assessment of existing (as of the date of 
the report submission) joint recruitment and adver-
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tising initiatives undertaken by the Department of 
Defense, the Peace Corps, or the Corporation for 
National and Community Service. 
(4) An assessment of the feasibility and cost of 
expanding such existing initiatives. 
(5) An assessment of ways to improve the abil-
ity of the reporting agencies to recruit individuals 
from the other reporting agencies. 
(6) A description of the information and data 
used to develop any initiative or campaign intended 
to advance military service or national service, in-
cluding with respect to any activity carried out 
under section 3. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—The Chair of the Interagency 
Council on Service, the Secretary of Defense, the Chief 
Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and 
Community Service, and the Director of the Peace Corps 
shall undertake studies of recruiting efforts that are nec-
essary to carry out the provisions of this section. Such 
studies may be conducted using any funds appropriated 
to those entities under Federal law other than this Act. 
SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON LESSONS LEARNED RE-
GARDING RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT. 
The Chair of the Interagency Council on Service 
shall— 
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(1) conduct a study on— 
(A) the effectiveness of past advertising 
campaigns for military service, national service, 
and public service; and 
(B) the role of vaccine requirements on the 
retention and recruitment of individuals for 
military service, national service, and public 
service; and 
(2) not later than 270 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, submit a report on the find-
ings of and lessons learned from the study under 
paragraph (1) to— 
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security 
of the House of Representatives. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON SERVICE.—The 
term ‘‘Interagency Council on Service’’ means the 
Interagency Council on Service established by sec-
tion 2(a). 
(2) MILITARY DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘mili-
tary department’’ means each of the military depart-
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ments listed in section 102 of title 5, United States 
Code. 
(3) MILITARY
SERVICE.—The term ‘‘military 
service’’ means active service (as defined in sub-
section (d)(3) of section 101 of title 10, United 
States Code) or active status (as defined in sub-
section (d)(4) of such section) in one of the Armed 
Forces (as defined in subsection (a)(4) of such sec-
tion). 
(4) NATIONAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘national 
service’’ means participation, other than military 
service or public service, in a program that— 
(A) is designed to enhance the common 
good and meet the needs of communities, the 
States, or the United States; 
(B) is funded or facilitated by— 
(i) an institution of higher education 
as defined in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); 
or 
(ii) the Federal Government or a 
State, Tribal, or local government; and 
(C) is a program authorized in— 
(i) the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 
2501 et seq.); 
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(ii) section 171 of the Workforce In-
novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
3226) relating to the YouthBuild Program; 
(iii) the Domestic Volunteer Service 
Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4950 et seq.); or 
(iv) the National and Community 
Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et 
seq.). 
(5) PUBLIC SERVICE.—The term ‘‘public serv-
ice’’ means civilian employment in the Federal Gov-
ernment or a State, Tribal, or local government. 
(6) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘service’’ means a 
personal commitment of time, energy, and talent to 
a mission that contributes to the public good by pro-
tecting the Nation and the citizens of the United 
States, strengthening communities, States, or the 
United States, or promoting the general social wel-
fare. 
(7) STATE
SERVICE
COMMISSION.—The term 
‘‘State Service Commission’’ means a State Commis-
sion on National and Community Service maintained 
by a State pursuant to section 178 of the National 
and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12638). 
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SEC. 8. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS. 
No additional funds are authorized to be appro-
priated for the purpose of carrying out this Act. 
SEC. 9. GAO REPORT. 
Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall report to Congress on the effectiveness of this Act 
and the amendments made by this Act. 
Æ 
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