[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1486 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1486

             To establish a Take Pride in America Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 4, 1999

  Mr. Gorton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
             To establish a Take Pride in America Program.

    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 ``Take Pride in America Volunteer 
Recognition Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Take Pride in 
        America Program established by section 3(a).
            (2) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the 
        Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF TAKE PRIDE IN AMERICA PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--There is established the Take Pride in America 
Program in the Department of the Interior and Department of 
Agriculture.
    (b) Duties.--The Program shall--
            (1) establish and maintain a public awareness campaign in 
        cooperation with public and private organizations and 
        individuals--
                    (A) to instill in the public the importance of the 
                appropriate use of, and appreciation for, Federal, 
                State, and local land, facilities, and natural and 
                cultural resources;
                    (B) to encourage an attitude of stewardship and 
                responsibility toward land, facilities, and resources 
                described in subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) to promote participation by individuals, 
                organizations, and communities in developing a 
                conservation ethic to care for the land, facilities, 
                and resources described in subparagraph (A); and
            (2) conduct a national award program in accordance with 
        section 4 to honor individuals and entities that have 
        distinguished themselves in the activities described in 
        paragraph (1).

SEC. 4. RECOGNITION OF VOLUNTEERS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretaries shall establish a 
        program to recognize volunteers under the Program.
            (2) Volunteer work.--Volunteer work that qualifies toward 
        earning credit for an award described in subsection (b) shall 
        be directed and supervised by an official designated by the 
        Secretaries.
    (b) Program Pass.--
            (1) In general.--A Program pass that may be redeemed for 
        free access to Federal recreational land and facilities shall 
        be awarded to each volunteer described in subsection (a)(2) 
        that completes the required number of hours of volunteer 
        service determined by the Secretaries under paragraph (2).
            (2) Required service.--The number of hours of volunteer 
        service required for receipt of a Program pass under paragraph 
        (1)--
                    (A) shall be determined by the Secretaries; but
                    (B) shall be not less than 50 hours, of which not 
                less than 20 hours shall be devoted to any 1 individual 
                project.

SEC. 5. GUIDELINES WITH RESPECT TO VOLUNTEERS.

    (a) Authority To Use Volunteers.--The Secretaries may recruit, 
train, and accept the services of individuals or entities, without 
compensation, as volunteers in carrying out the Program, without regard 
to--
            (1) the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating 
        to appointments in the competitive service; or
            (2) chapter 51 or subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, 
        United States Code.
    (b) Status of Volunteers as Federal Employees.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
        volunteer shall not--
                    (A) be considered to be a Federal employee; and
                    (B) be subject to the provisions of law relating to 
                Federal employment (including provisions relating to 
                hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, 
                unemployment compensation, and Federal employee 
                benefits).
            (2) Exceptions.--
                    (A) Federal tort claims act.--For purposes of 
                chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, a 
                volunteer described in subsection (a) shall be 
                considered to be an employee of the government (as 
                defined in section 2671 of that title).
                    (B) Compensation for work injuries.--For purposes 
                of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, United States 
                Code, a volunteer described in subsection (a) shall be 
                considered to be an employee (as defined in section 
                8101 of title 5, United States Code).
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