CORPS Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4100 To amend the national service laws to prioritize national service programs and projects that are directly related to the response to and recovery from the COVID–19 public health emergency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 23, 2021 Mr. PRICE of North Carolina (for himself, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. COLE, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. EVANS, Mr. CARSON, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. LAMB, Mr. MEIJER, Mr. KAHELE, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. POCAN, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. BACON, Mr. CROW, Mr. NEGUSE, and Mr. BAIRD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the national service laws to prioritize national service programs and projects that are directly related to the response to and recovery from the COVID–19 public health emergency, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4100 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cultivating Oppor- 2 tunity and Recovery from the Pandemic through Service 3 Act’’ or the ‘‘CORPS Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds the following: 6 (1) The United States has a strong history of 7 citizen response to national calls to service in order 8 to help the Nation recover in times of crisis. 9 (2) More than 80 years ago, the Nation rose to 10 the challenge of the Great Depression with the cre- 11 ation of citizen service programs. 12 (3) Millions of participants benefitted from paid 13 employment and opportunities to develop their skills 14 while constructing national parks and public lands 15 infrastructure and producing cultural works still en- 16 joyed today. 17 (4) Founded in 1990, the Corporation for Na- 18 tional and Community Service today coordinates na- 19 tional service by individuals in the United States 20 across every State and territory, partnering with 21 State-level commissions and supporting locally driv- 22 en services in partnership with nongovernmental or- 23 ganizations and State governments. 24 (5) National service programs provide public 25 health, education, employment training, and nutri- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4100 IH tion services for which the Nation has a critical need 1 in the current crisis. 2 (6) The signature programs of the Corporation 3 for National and Community Service, which are the 4 AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps Na- 5 tional Civilian Community Corps, AmeriCorps Vol- 6 unteers in Service to America (referred to in this 7 Act as ‘‘VISTA’’), and National Senior Service 8 Corps programs, can and should be expanded to 9 meet current needs. 10 (7) The novel coronavirus pandemic has in- 11 fected and killed individuals in every State and terri- 12 tory, causing more than 31,000,000 cases and 13 560,000 deaths so far. 14 (8) In response, States, Tribal governments, 15 and cities across the country have closed down busi- 16 nesses, schools, and public events, leading to dra- 17 matic swings in the economy. 18 (9) Millions of people in the United States have 19 filed for unemployment benefits since the start of 20 the pandemic, with unemployment rates peaking at 21 an unprecedented level. 22 (10) More than 1 in every 10 adults in the 23 United States has applied for unemployment insur- 24 ance since the crisis began. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4100 IH (11) The pandemic and the associated economic 1 consequences have disproportionately impacted peo- 2 ple of color across many States. 3 (12) To recover, the Nation needs meaningful 4 employment opportunities, as well as a significant 5 expansion of the human capital working to address 6 community needs around public health, behavioral 7 health, hunger, education, and conservation. 8 (13) Experience has demonstrated the cen- 9 trality of community participation in pandemic re- 10 sponse, to overcome stigma and structural barriers 11 and meet the full needs of all members of a diverse 12 community. 13 (14) As the Nation works to respond to and re- 14 cover from the current twin challenges of a public 15 health pandemic and an economic crisis, national 16 service presents a unique opportunity for flexible, lo- 17 cally driven responses to meet State and local em- 18 ployment and recovery needs. 19 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 20 The purposes of this Act are— 21 (1) to provide for annual growth in the number 22 of participants, over 3 years, in national service pro- 23 grams that will provide services in response to the 24 pandemic and economic crisis; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4100 IH (2) to ensure that participant allowances cover 1 the reasonable cost of participation and provide par- 2 ticipants with economic and educational opportunity; 3 (3) to stabilize such national service programs 4 during economic crisis, including by supporting ad- 5 aptations to service models in light of the crisis; and 6 (4) to support opportunities for all individuals 7 in the United States to engage in service, including 8 through the recruitment of increasingly diverse and 9 representative participants. 10 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 11 In this Act: 12 (1) NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ACT 13 DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘approved national serv- 14 ice position’’, ‘‘Corporation’’, ‘‘disadvantaged 15 youth’’, ‘‘national service laws’’, ‘‘participant’’, 16 ‘‘service sponsor’’, and ‘‘State Commission’’ have the 17 meanings given such terms in section 101 of the Na- 18 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 19 U.S.C. 12511). 20 (2) COVID–19 EMERGENCY RECOVERY PE- 21 RIOD.—The term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency recovery 22 period’’ means the period beginning on the date of 23 enactment of this Act and ending at the end of fiscal 24 year 2024. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4100 IH (3) HIGH-POVERTY AREA.—The term ‘‘high- 1 poverty area’’ means a census tract defined as high- 2 poverty by the Bureau of the Census. 3 SEC. 5. ECONOMIC EQUITY AND OPPORTUNITY. 4 (a) LIVING ALLOWANCE.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 6 105(b) of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 7 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4955(b)) and section 140 of the 8 National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 9 U.S.C. 12594), during the COVID–19 emergency re- 10 covery period, the minimum subsistence or living al- 11 lowance for an individual under section 105 of the 12 Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 and section 13 140 of the National and Community Service Act of 14 1990 shall, subject to paragraph (3), be an amount 15 equal to 175 percent of the poverty line (as defined 16 in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block 17 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) for a single indi- 18 vidual as expected for each fiscal year. 19 (2) GRANTS FOR LIVING ALLOWANCE IN- 20 CREASES.—Notwithstanding the limits described in 21 subsections (a) and (e) of section 189 of the Na- 22 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 23 U.S.C. 12645c) or any other limitation imposed by 24 the Corporation, during the COVID–19 emergency 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4100 IH recovery period, the Corporation shall, for purposes 1 of paragraph (1), award supplemental grant funds 2 to entities operating a program receiving grant 3 funds under the national service laws (referred to in 4 this paragraph as ‘‘grantees’’), including continuing 5 grantees, to— 6 (A) increase the minimum subsistence or 7 living allowance provided under section 105(b) 8 of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 9 (42 U.S.C. 4955(b)) or section 140 of the Na- 10 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 11 U.S.C. 12594); and 12 (B) cover additional costs associated with 13 the increase to the minimum subsistence or liv- 14 ing allowance required under paragraph (1). 15 (3) LIMITATION.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 17 graph (B), a stipend or allowance under section 18 105 of the Domestic and Volunteer Service Act 19 of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4955) or an allowance 20 under section 140 of the National and Commu- 21 nity Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12594) 22 shall not be increased by this Act unless the 23 funds appropriated for carrying out part A of 24 the Domestic and Volunteer Service Act of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4100 IH 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.) or subtitle C of 1 the National and Community Service Act of 2 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.), respectively, 3 are sufficient to maintain, for the fiscal year in- 4 volved, a number of participants to serve under 5 that part A or that subtitle C, respectively, that 6 is at least equal to the number of such partici- 7 pants so serving during the fiscal year pre- 8 ceding such fiscal year involved. 9 (B) ADJUSTMENT FOR INSUFFICIENT AP- 10 PROPRIATIONS.—In the event that sufficient ap- 11 propriations for any fiscal year are not available 12 to increase any stipend or allowance under sec- 13 tion 105 of the Domestic and Volunteer Service 14 Act of 1973 or allowance under section 140 of 15 the National and Community Service Act of 16 1990 to the minimum amount specified under 17 paragraph (1), the Corporation shall increase 18 the stipend or allowance involved to such 19 amount as appropriations for such year permit 20 consistent with subparagraph (A). 21 (b) CONCURRENT COVID–19 EDUCATIONAL 22 AWARD.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall award 24 to any individual who successfully completes a term 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4100 IH of service resulting in an educational award under 1 section 147 of the National and Community Service 2 Act (42 U.S.C. 12603), with any part of such term 3 of service occurring within the COVID–19 emer- 4 gency recovery period, a concurrent COVID–19 edu- 5 cational award for an amount described under para- 6 graph (2). 7 (2) AMOUNT OF AWARD.—The concurrent 8 COVID–19 educational award awarded under this 9 subsection shall be in an amount which bears the 10 same proportion to the full amount of the education 11 award the individual received under section 147 of 12 such Act as the length of time of the term of service 13 of such individual that occurs within the COVID–19 14 emergency recovery period bears to the total length 15 of time of the term of service of such individual. 16 (c) NATIONAL SENIOR SERVICE CORPS.—Notwith- 17 standing section 201, subsections (d) and (e) of section 18 211, and section 213(a) of the Domestic Volunteer Service 19 Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5001, 5011, 5013(a)), to address 20 the critical needs of local communities across the United 21 States, during the COVID–19 pandemic emergency recov- 22 ery period— 23 (1) individuals age 45 or older may be enrolled 24 as volunteers to provide services under part A of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4100 IH title II of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5001); and 2 (2) for purposes of parts B and C of title II of 3 the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 4 U.S.C. 5002, 5003), the terms ‘‘low-income person’’ 5 and ‘‘person of low income’’ mean a person whose 6 income is not more than 400 percent of the poverty 7 line defined in section 673(2) of the Community 8 Services Block Grant (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) and ad- 9 justed by the Director of the Retired and Senior 10 Volunteer and Foster Grandparent programs in the 11 manner described in such parts. 12 (d) TAX PROVISIONS.— 13 (1) INCOME TAX EXCLUSION FOR LIVING AL- 14 LOWANCE.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter 16 B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 17 1986 is amended by inserting after section 139I 18 the following new section: 19 ‘‘SEC. 139J. LIVING ALLOWANCE FOR NATIONAL SERVICE 20 PARTICIPANTS. 21 ‘‘Gross income does not include the amount of any 22 living allowance provided under section 105(b) of the Do- 23 mestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4955(b)) 24 or section 140(a) or 158(b) of the National and Commu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4100.IH H4100 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4100 IH nity Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12594(a), 1 12618(b)).’’. 2 (B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 3 sections for part III of subchapter B of chapter 4 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 5 amended by inserting after the item relating to 6 section 139I the following new item: 7 ‘‘Sec. 139J. Living allowance for national service participants.’’. (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 8 made by this paragraph shall apply to taxable 9 years beginning after the date of the enactment 10 of this Act. 11 (2) EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME OF NA- 12 TIONAL SERVICE EDUCATIONAL AWARDS.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 117 of the In- 14 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to quali- 15 fied scholarships) is amended by adding at the 16 end the following new subsection: 17 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL SERVICE EDUCATIONAL AWARDS.— 18 Gross income shall not include any payments from the Na- 19 tional Service Trust established under section 145 of the 20 National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 21 12601), including the national service educational award 22 described in subtitle D of tit [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]