[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 235 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 235
To amend the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to establish an
online service platform for volunteers in the National Senior Service
Corps.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 4, 2021
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to establish an
online service platform for volunteers in the National Senior Service
Corps.
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 ``Senior Corps Distance Volunteering
Act''.
SEC. 2. ONLINE SERVICE PLATFORM.
Title IV of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 421 (42 U.S.C. 5061) as
section 401;
(2) by moving that section 401 so as to follow the title
heading for title IV; and
(3) by inserting after section 420 (42 U.S.C. 5059) the
following:
``SEC. 421. ONLINE SERVICE PLATFORM.
``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `COVID-19 public
health emergency period' means the period of the public health
emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under
section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on
January 31, 2020, with respect to COVID-19.
``(b) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of the Senior Corps Distance Volunteering Act, the Chief
Executive Officer of the Corporation shall establish an online service
platform to connect volunteers in the National Senior Service Corps
with service projects, and enable the volunteers to carry out distance
volunteering on an online network. The platform shall be linked to and
placed prominently on the website of the Corporation. The Corporation
may enter into a contract with a public entity to create the platform.
``(c) Information and Guidance.--
``(1) Information.--The Corporation shall provide
information to regional offices of the Corporation about how to
get volunteers in the National Senior Service Corps connected
to the platform.
``(2) Guidance.--The Corporation shall issue guidance for
the regional offices about how to transfer the programs of the
National Senior Service Corps to the platform.
``(d) Outreach.--The Corporation shall provide outreach services to
promote the platform, including outreach to institutions of higher
education, the Department of Veterans Affairs for mentorship projects,
and State and local governments for community engagement projects.
``(e) Report on Impact of Online Service Platform.--
``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term
`appropriate committees of Congress' means--
``(A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives;
``(B) the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate;
``(C) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions of the Senate; and
``(D) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate.
``(2) Report.--
``(A) Preparation.--The Corporation shall prepare a
report that--
``(i) describes the use of funds
appropriated to carry out this section,
concerning the online service platform
described in subsection (b);
``(ii) describes the ways in which the
platform has enabled volunteers in the National
Senior Service Corps, many of whom are at
higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19,
to apply their skills, knowledge, and expertise
to directly serve the community through
distance volunteering by providing assistance
during the COVID-19 public health emergency
period;
``(iii) measures the number of volunteers
in the National Senior Service Corps volunteers
who do, and the number of such volunteers who
do not, serve through the online service
platform, during the COVID-19 public health
emergency period; and
``(iv) assesses the impact of volunteers in
the National Senior Service Corps who do, and
the number of such volunteers who do not, serve
through the online service platform, during the
COVID-19 public health emergency period.
``(B) Submission.--Not later than 1 year after the
end of the COVID-19 public health emergency period, the
Corporation shall submit the report to the appropriate
committees of Congress.
``(f) Recommendation.--Not later than 6 months after the end of the
COVID-19 public health emergency period, the Chief Executive Officer of
the Corporation shall submit a recommendation to Congress regarding
whether the Corporation should continue to use the platform as a main
resource for connecting volunteers in the National Senior Service Corps
with service projects and enabling the volunteers to carry out distance
volunteering.''.
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION.
The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2021, and for other purposes, namely:
Corporation for National and Community Service
operating expenses
For an additional amount for ``Operating Expenses'', for necessary
expenses for the Corporation for National and Community Service to
carry out section 421 of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973,
$5,000,000: Provided, That the amount appropriated under this heading
is designated by Congress as being for an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)).
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