I
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) intro-
duced 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 Representa-
tives 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 cul-
tural resources and enhancing and maintaining envi-
ronmentally important lands and waters through the
use of the Nation’s young men and women in a Pub-
lic Lands Corps can benefit those men and women
by providing them with education and work opportu-
nities, furthering their understanding and apprecia-
tion of the natural and cultural resources, and pro-
viding 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 lo-
cated on public lands and on Indian reservations are
in disrepair or degraded and in need of labor inten-
sive rehabilitation, restoration, and enhancement
work which cannot be carried out by Federal agen-
cies 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 effi-
cient 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, con-
servation, rehabilitation, restoration, and improve-
ment work on public lands and Indian lands where
that work will not be performed by existing employ-
ees, and to assist government and tribal land man-
aging 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 ap-
preciation of the nation’s natural and cultural re-
sources;
(3) expand educational opportunity by reward-
ing 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 adminis-
tered 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 expe-
rience, basic and life skills, education, training,
and support services; and
(C) provides participants with the oppor-
tunity 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 recog-
nized as an Indian tribe by the Secretary of the In-
terior. 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 Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Is-
lands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands.
(8) The term ‘‘conservation, restoration, or re-
habilitation project’’ means any project for the con-
servation, 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 Inte-
rior 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 Unit-
ed 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 classi-
fication laws, rules, or regulations of the United States.
(b) QUALIFIED YOUTH OR CONSERVATION CORPS.—
The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agri-
culture are authorized to enter into contracts and coopera-
tive 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, restora-
tion, or rehabilitation project which such Secretary is au-
thorized to carry out under other authority of law on pub-
lic lands or Indian lands.
(d) PREFERENCE FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.—In se-
lecting projects to be carried out under this Act, a pref-
erence 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 en-
vironmental education opportunities.
(e) CONSISTENCY.—All projects carried out under
this Act on any public lands or Indian lands shall be con-
sistent 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 manage-
ment, 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 author-
ized to provide such quarters, board, medical care, trans-
portation, and other services, facilities, supplies, and
equipment as such Secretary deems necessary in connec-
tion with the programs carried out under this section and
to establish and use conservation centers owned and oper-
ated 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 su-
pervision. Such Secretaries shall establish basic standards
of health, nutrition, sanitation, and safety for all conserva-
tion centers and shall assure that such standards are en-
forced. Where necessary or appropriate, such Secretaries
may enter into contracts and other appropriate arrange-
ments with State and local government agencies and pri-
vate organizations for the management of such conserva-
tion 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 re-
source assistants to carry out such research or other tech-
nical 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 univer-
sities throughout the United States, with particular atten-
tion given to ensure full representation of women and par-
ticipants 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.—When-
ever 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 sec-
tion, 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 conserva-
tion service organization shall be required, by the respec-
tive land managing agency, to submit an annual report
evaluating the scope, size, and quality of the program, in-
cluding 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 In-
terior 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 partici-
pating 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 Sec-
retary 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 Na-
tional and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
12571 et seq.)
SEC. 7. EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OR AWARDS FOR PARTICI-
PANTS.
(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 sub-
title D.
(b) FORBEARANCE IN THE COLLECTION OF STAF-
FORD 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 As-
sistants participating in the program established under
section 5, upon written request, a lender shall grant a bor-
rower forbearance on such terms as are otherwise consist-
ent 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 CON-
SERVATION 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 pro-
vided from nonfederal sources in the form of funds,
services, facilities, materials, equipment, or any com-
bination 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 asso-
ciated 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 COM-
MUNITY SERVICE ACT.—For programs carried out under
this section (including the Resource Assistant Program),
the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agri-
culture shall be eligible to receive funds available to any
corps programs under the National and Community Serv-
ice 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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