I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1153 
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish 
a Summer of Service State grant program, a Summer of Service national 
direct grant program, and related national activities, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 24, 2009 
Ms. 
DELAURO
(for 
herself, 
Mr. 
MCDERMOTT, 
Ms. 
MATSUI, 
Mr. 
BLUMENAUER, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts, and 
Mr. FATTAH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 
to establish a Summer of Service State grant program, 
a Summer of Service national direct grant program, and 
related national activities, 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 ‘‘Summer of Service 
Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Throughout the United States, there are 
pressing unmet human, educational, environmental 
and public safety needs. 
(2) Americans desire to affirm common respon-
sibilities and shared values, and join together in 
positive experiences, that transcend race, religion, 
gender, age, disability, region, income, and edu-
cation. 
(3) Americans of all ages can improve their 
communities and become better citizens through 
service to their communities. 
(4) When youth participate in service activities 
and see that they are able to improve the lives of 
others, the youth feel better able to control their own 
lives in a positive way, avoiding risky behaviors, 
strengthening their community connections, and be-
coming more engaged in their own education. 
(5) When youth service is tied to learning objec-
tives, that service is shown to decrease alienation 
and behavior problems, and increase knowledge of 
community needs, commitment to an ethic of service, 
and understanding of politics and morality. 
(6) When service is tied to what students are 
learning in school, the students make gains on 
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achievement tests, complete their homework more 
often, and increase their grade point averages. 
(7) Students who engage in service-learning im-
prove their communication skills, increase their 
awareness of career possibilities, have a deeper un-
derstanding of social and economic issues that face 
the United States, and develop more positive work-
place attitudes, preparing them to take their places 
as future leaders of the United States. 
(8) In a national poll, more than 80 percent of 
parents said that their child would benefit from an 
after school program that offered community service 
and 95 percent of teens agreed that is important to 
volunteer time to community efforts. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) offer youth the chance to spend a summer 
in service to their communities as a rite of passage 
before high school; 
(2) teach civic participation skills to youth and 
help youth see themselves as resources and leaders 
for their communities; 
(3) expand educational opportunities and dis-
courage ‘‘summer slide’’ by engaging youth in sum-
mer service-learning opportunities; 
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(4) encourage youth, regardless of age, income, 
or disability, to engage in community service; 
(5) provide tangible benefits to the communities 
in which Summer of Service programs are per-
formed; and 
(6) enhance the social-emotional development of 
youth of all backgrounds. 
SEC. 3. SUMMER OF SERVICE PROGRAMS. 
Title I of the National and Community Service Act 
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subtitles F, G, H, and I as 
subtitles G, H, I, and J, respectively; 
(2) by redesignating sections 160 through 166 
as sections 159A through 159G, respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after subtitle E the following: 
‘‘Subtitle F—Summer of Service 
Programs 
‘‘SEC. 161. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subtitle: 
‘‘(1) EDUCATIONAL
AWARD.—The term ‘edu-
cational award’ means an award disbursed under 
section 162B(d) or 163B(d). 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means a public or private nonprofit organiza-
tion, an institution of higher education, a local edu-
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cational agency, a public elementary school or public 
secondary school, or a consortium of 2 or more of 
the entities described in this paragraph. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE
YOUTH.—The term ‘eligible 
youth’ means a youth who will be enrolled in the 
sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth grade at the end of 
the summer for which the youth would participate in 
community service under this subtitle. 
‘‘PART I—SUMMER OF SERVICE STATE GRANT 
PROGRAM 
‘‘SEC. 162. GRANTS TO STATES. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive Offi-
cer shall award grants on a competitive basis to 
States, to enable the State Commissions— 
‘‘(A) to carry out State-level activities 
under subsection (d); and 
‘‘(B) to award subgrants on a competitive 
basis under section 162A to eligible entities to 
pay for the Federal share of the cost of car-
rying out community service projects. 
‘‘(2) FUNDS FOR EDUCATIONAL AWARDS.—The 
Chief Executive Officer shall decide whether funds 
appropriated to carry out this part and available for 
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