[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3958 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3958

         To establish the United States Public Service Academy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 27, 2006

Mrs. Clinton (for herself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Kennedy, and Ms. Mikulski) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
        Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
         To establish the United States Public Service Academy.

    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 ``Public Service Academy Act of 
2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) National disasters such as September 11, 2001, and 
        Hurricane Katrina, along with the United States' struggle 
        against international terrorism, have highlighted the 
        importance of public service and the need for the United States 
        to improve its capacity to effectively handle future 
        catastrophes, as well as the daily challenges of life in a 
        global society.
            (2) Young Americans, particularly after the September 11, 
        2001 attacks, have a strong ethic of public service. According 
        to the Higher Education Research Institute, more than \2/3\ of 
        the 2005 freshman class at institutions of higher education in 
        the United States expressed a desire to serve others, the 
        highest rate in a generation. Applications to private programs 
        such as Teach for America and City Year, publicly funded public 
        service programs within USA Freedom Corps, and religious 
        mission trips have increased dramatically since 2001. Yet with 
        the increase in college tuition causing the average college 
        graduate to owe about $20,000, many students often can afford 
        to pursue public service only for short periods of time and 
        avoid public service careers in favor of more lucrative fields.
            (3) The aging of the population of the United States and 
        the subsequent retirement of the Baby Boomer generation will 
        create serious shortages in critically needed public service 
        positions at all levels of our society, as evidenced by the 
        following:
                    (A) A recent study by the Congressional Budget 
                Office highlighted ``the graying of the Federal work 
                force,'' while the Partnership for Public Service warns 
                of a ``Federal brain drain'' as 44 percent of all 
                Federal workers become eligible to retire in the next 5 
                years.
                    (B) The National Center for Education Statistics 
                estimates that more than 2,000,000 teachers will be 
                needed in the next 10 years due to teacher retirement 
                and increased student enrollment. The teacher shortages 
                will particularly affect high-need rural and inner-city 
                local educational agencies.
                    (C) More than 80 percent of the Nation's 17,000 law 
                enforcement agencies report that they cannot fill 
                needed positions due to a lack of qualified candidates.
                    (D) The Bridgespan Group reports that nonprofit 
                organizations will need to attract and develop 640,000 
                new senior managers by 2016, nearly 2\1/2\ times the 
                number in 2006.
            (4) The United States does not have a national 
        undergraduate institution to promote public service and develop 
        well-trained, highly qualified civilian leaders.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to establish a United States Public 
Service Academy that will--
            (1) strengthen and protect the United States by creating a 
        corps of well-trained, highly qualified civilian leaders 
        willing to devote themselves to leadership through patriotic 
        public service;
            (2) be the first national civilian institution of higher 
        education in the United States; and
            (3) provide competitive, federally subsidized, public 
        service-driven undergraduate education to students from across 
        the United States and the world.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Public service.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``public service'' 
                includes a variety of public, private, and non-profit 
                endeavors that strengthen and protect living 
                conditions, create opportunities, and enhance the civic 
                well-being of communities across the United States and 
                the world.
                    (B) Preapproved public service endeavors.--The 
                following fields shall be deemed to meet the 
                requirement of subparagraph (A):
                            (i) Economy.
                            (ii) Education.
                            (iii) Emergency management.
                            (iv) Environment.
                            (v) Foreign policy.
                            (vi) Health care.
                            (vii) Law enforcement.
                            (viii) Public infrastructure.
            (2) Board of visitors.--The term ``Board of Visitors'' 
        means an appointed board of not more than 15 members, including 
        the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, to 
        oversee the Public Service Academy established under section 5. 
        The remaining board members shall be appointed by the President 
        with the advice and consent of the Senate.
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States of the United States and the District of Columbia.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established, in the Department of 
Homeland Security, a United States Public Service Academy (referred to 
in this Act as the ``Academy''), at the location to be determined by an 
Act of Congress, for the instruction in and preparation for public 
service of selected individuals, who shall be called Academy students.
    (b) Organization.--The Secretary of the Department of Homeland 
Security shall prescribe the organization of the Academy, in accordance 
with the requirements of this section.
    (c) Key Positions.--There shall be at the Academy the following:
            (1) A Superintendent.
            (2) A Dean of the Academic Board, who is a permanent 
        professor.
            (3) A Director of Admissions.
            (4) A Director of Placement.
    (d) Superintendent.--The Superintendent shall oversee the immediate 
government of the Academy.
    (e) Dean of the Academic Board.--
            (1) Appointment.--The Superintendent shall appoint the Dean 
        of the Academic Board as an additional permanent professor from 
        the permanent professors who have served as heads of 
        departments of instruction at the Academy, except that for the 
        first year of the Academy the Superintendent shall appoint the 
        Dean of the Academic Board from qualified applicants.
            (2) Duties.--The Dean of the Academic Board shall perform 
        such duties as the Superintendent of the Academy may prescribe, 
        with the approval of the Board of Visitors.

SEC. 6. FACULTY AND DEPARTMENTS.

    (a) Number of Faculty.--The Superintendent may employ as many 
professors, instructors, and lecturers at the Academy as the Secretary 
of the Department of Homeland Security considers necessary to ensure 
that the student-faculty ratio is not more than 16 to 1.
    (b) Faculty Compensation.--The Superintendent may prescribe the 
compensation of persons employed under this section.
    (c) Department Titles.--The Superintendent may prescribe the titles 
of each of the departments of instruction and the professors of the 
Academy.
    (d) Department Head.--Upon becoming the senior professor in a 
department, a permanent professor becomes the head of that department.

SEC. 7. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION.

    (a) Student Qualifications.--A student wishing to be admitted to 
the Academy shall--
            (1) be 17 years of age or older;
            (2) be unmarried; and
            (3) have no dependents, as defined in section 152(a) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    (b) Admission Requirements.--A student wishing to be admitted to 
the Academy shall fulfill the following requirements:
            (1) Earn a secondary school diploma.
            (2) Take the SAT or ACT or an equivalent college-level 
        aptitude test.
            (3) Sit for a personal interview with representatives of 
        the Academy.
            (4) Any further admissions requirements, as determined by 
        the Director of Admissions.
    (c) Honor Code.--A student wishing to be admitted to the Academy 
shall sign an Honor Code developed by the Superintendent and approved 
by the Board of Visitors.

SEC. 8. APPOINTMENT OF STUDENTS.

    (a) Nomination Process.--Prospective applicants to the Academy for 
seats described in paragraphs (1) and (3) of subsection (b) shall 
follow a nomination process established by the Director of Admissions 
that is similar to the process used for admission to the military 
academies of the United States Armed Forces.
    (b) Appointments.--
            (1) Congressional seats.--
                    (A) Seats allocated per state.--The Director of 
                Admissions shall allocate the congressional seats for 
                incoming first-year students of the Academy by State on 
                the basis of 2 seats per electoral vote from each 
                State.
                    (B) Nominees required per each senator and 
                representative.--Each member of the Senate or the House 
                of Representatives shall nominate a minimum of 5 
                candidates from the State that the member represents 
                for each incoming first-year class of the Academy.
                    (C) Competition.--In selecting nominees for a 
                first-year incoming class for the congressional seats 
                reserved for a State, the Director of Admissions shall 
                only consider the candidates nominated by members of 
                Congress from the State.
            (2) International students.--
                    (A) Seats.--The Director of Admissions shall 
                reserve in each incoming first-year class of the 
                Academy 100 seats for international students.
                    (B) Tuition; agreement.--In order for an 
                international student to attend the Academy, the 
                student's home country shall--
                            (i) be responsible for subsidizing the 
                        student's tuition, fees, room and board, and 
                        other expenses at the Academy; and
                            (ii) enter into an agreement described in 
                        section 10(b) with the student.
            (3) Executive branch nominees.--
                    (A) Seats.--The Director of Admissions shall 
                reserve in each incoming first-year class of the 
                Academy 25 seats for executive branch nominees.
                    (B) Nominees.--The President shall nominate a 
                minimum of 75 candidates to compete for the 25 
                executive branch seats.
            (4) Other.--The Director of Admissions shall reserve in 
        each incoming first-year class of the Academy 75 seats for at-
        large selections from the remaining pool of congressional 
        nominees described in paragraph (1)(B).

SEC. 9. ACADEMIC FOCUS OF THE UNITED STATES PUBLIC SERVICE ACADEMY.

    (a) Curriculum.--Each Academy student shall follow a structured 
curriculum that is self-reinforcing to emphasize leadership development 
and public service.
    (b) Degree.--
            (1) Degree conferred upon graduation.--Under such 
        conditions as the Board of Visitors may prescribe, the 
        Superintendent of the Academy may confer a baccalaureate of 
        science or baccalaureate of arts degree upon a graduate of the 
        Academy.
            (2) Majors.--Each Academy student shall pursue a program of 
        study for a baccalaureate of arts or a baccalaureate of 
        sciences degree in traditional liberal arts subjects.
    (c) Breadth of Required Subject Areas Studied.--Each Academy 
student shall take courses in a broad array of subject areas as part of 
the student's program of study.
    (d) Public Service Concentration.--Not later than the completion of 
the fourth semester, each Academy student shall choose a public service 
concentration from the fields described in section 4(1)(B), which shall 
be the field in which the student ultimately will serve upon 
graduation.
    (e) Public Service Requirements Before Graduation.--
            (1) Public service programming.--Each Academy student shall 
        participate in daily public service programming, to be 
        determined by the Dean of the Academic Board.
            (2) Public service project.--Each Academy student shall 
        plan and implement a 1-year public service project during the 
        student's final year at the Academy.
    (f) Study Abroad Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--Each Academy student shall spend the 
        student's junior year in a study abroad program approved by the 
        Dean of the Academic Board.
            (2) Classes in preparation for study abroad.--In 
        preparation for the junior year study abroad program, each 
        Academy student shall take courses in foreign languages and 
        international relations.
            (3) Internship during study abroad.--As part of an Academy 
        student's junior year study abroad program, each Academy 
        student shall participate in an internship at the United States 
        mission in the student's junior year study abroad program 
        location.
    (g) Summer Learning Program Requirements.--For each year of 
attendance at the Academy, each Academy student shall spend 8 weeks 
each summer participating in the following structured learning 
programs:
            (1) Following the first year at the Academy, emergency 
        response training.
            (2) Following the second year, a civilian internship in the 
        United States Armed Forces.
            (3) Following the third year, an internship with a 
        preapproved organization described in section 10(g)(3)(B).

SEC. 10. PUBLIC SERVICE REQUIREMENTS FOLLOWING GRADUATION.

    (a) Public Service Agreement.--Each Academy student from the United 
States shall sign an agreement with respect to the student's length of 
public service to the United States. The agreement shall provide that 
the student agrees to the following:
            (1) That the student will complete the course of 
        instruction at the Academy, culminating in graduation from the 
        Academy.
            (2) That upon graduation from the Academy, the student--
                    (A) will accept an appointment, if tendered, in the 
                location assigned, as a public servant of the United 
                States; and
                    (B) will serve as a public servant of the United 
                States for not less than 5 years immediately after such 
                appointment, unless the student continues the student's 
                education in accordance with subsection (h).
    (b) International Student Agreement.--Each international Academy 
student shall sign an agreement with the student's home country 
regarding public service in the student's home country that meets the 
same conditions set forth in subsection (a).
    (c) Failure To Graduate.--
            (1) In general.--An Academy student who has completed a 
        minimum of 4 semesters at the Academy but fails to fulfill the 
        Academy's requirements for graduation within 4 years shall be--
                    (A) dishonorably discharged from the Academy; and
                    (B) obligated to repay the Academy for the cost of 
                the delinquent student's education in the amount 
                described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Amount of repayment.--The delinquent student shall be 
        financially responsible for each semester that the student was 
        officially enrolled in the Academy.
    (d) Failure To Accept or Complete Assigned Public Service.--
            (1) In general.--A delinquent graduate shall be--
                    (A) dishonorably discharged from the Academy; and
                    (B) obligated to repay the Academy for the cost of 
                the delinquent graduate's education in the amount 
                described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Amount of repayment.--In the case of a delinquent 
        graduate who fails to complete all years of public service 
        required under subsection (a)(2) (including any additional 
        years required for graduate education under subsection (h)), 
        the delinquent graduate shall be financially responsible for 
        the cost of the delinquent graduate's education (including the 
        costs of any graduate education), except that the amount of 
        financial responsibility under this paragraph shall be reduced 
        by 10 percent for each year of public service under subsection 
        (a)(2) that the delinquent graduate did complete.
            (3) Definition of delinquent graduate.--In this subsection, 
        the term ``delinquent graduate'' means a graduate of the 
        Academy who violates the agreement entered into under 
        subsection (a) by--
                    (A) not accepting the graduate's public service 
                assignment upon graduation from the Academy; or
                    (B) not completing the required years of public 
                service in the assignment due to--
                            (i) voluntarily quitting the assignment; or
                            (ii) being fired from the assignment.
    (e) Exceptions.--The Superintendent may provide for the partial or 
total waiver or suspension of any public service or payment obligation 
by an individual under this section whenever compliance by the 
individual with the obligation is impossible or deemed to involve 
extreme hardship to the individual, or if enforcement of such 
obligation with respect to the individual would be unconscionable.
    (f) Student Salaries and Benefits.--The Academy shall not be 
responsible for the salaries and benefits of graduates of the Academy 
while the graduates are fulfilling the public service requirement under 
this section. All salaries and benefits shall be paid by the employer 
with whom the Academy graduate is placed.
    (g) Determining Student Assignments.--
            (1) In general.--The Superintendent, acting through the 
        Academy Placement Office, shall assign graduates to appropriate 
        public service employment that satisfies the public service 
        requirements of this section.
            (2) Considerations.--The Academy Placement Office shall 
        assess the following when determining the appropriate public 
        service employment for a graduate:
                    (A) National security needs.
                    (B) State and local community needs.
                    (C) Student experience.
                    (D) Student academic performance.
            (3) Preapproved public service placements.--Postgraduation 
        public service requirements under this subsection shall be 
        fulfilled through placements in public service employment in 
        any of the following sectors:
                    (A) Public.--
                            (i) Civil service employment at the 
                        Federal, State, or local level.
                            (ii) Civilian service in the United States 
                        Armed Forces.
                    (B) Private.--Employment in an organization that--
                            (i) is described in section 501(c)(3) of 
                        the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
                            (ii) is exempt from tax under section 
                        501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
                        and
                            (iii) provides a service determined by the 
                        Board of Visitors to meet critical national 
                        needs.
            (4) Review and approval of student assignments.--The 
        Superintendent shall review and approve each Academy graduate's 
        assignment.
    (h) Graduate Education.--
            (1) Subsidy.--The Academy may subsidize an Academy 
        student's graduate education in return for an extended public 
        service commitment.
            (2) Extended public service.--For every year of subsidized 
        graduate education, the Academy student shall agree to add 2 
        additional years to such Academy student's public service 
        commitment required under the agreement described in subsection 
        (a).

SEC. 11. FUNDING THE UNITED STATES PUBLIC SERVICE ACADEMY.

    (a) Fully-Subsidized Education.--Each Academy student's tuition at 
the Academy shall be fully subsidized.
    (b) Public-Private Partnership.--The Academy will be a public-
private partnership funded by the following:
            (1) Public funds.--Congress shall fund 80 percent of the 
        Academy's annual budget.
            (2) Private funds.--The Academy officials shall raise 20 
        percent of the Academy's annual budget in private funds.
    (c) Initial Appropriations.--For each of the first 2 fiscal years 
for which funds are appropriated under section 13, the Superintendent 
shall use such funds, and any matching private funds, to acquire land, 
construct facilities, recruit faculty and students, hire employees, and 
develop curricula in preparation for the opening of the Academy.
    (d) Subsequent Appropriations.--For each of the 4 subsequent fiscal 
years following the second fiscal year described in subsection (c) and 
for which funds are appropriated under section 13, the Superintendent 
shall use such funds, and any matching private funds, to fund the 
Academy as it grows 1 class at a time into a 4-year institution.

SEC. 12. USE OF CERTAIN GIFTS TO THE ACADEMY.

    (a) Gifts Not Exceeding $20,000.--Under regulations prescribed by 
the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the 
Superintendent of the Academy may accept, hold, administer, invest, and 
spend any gift, devise, or bequest of personal property of a value of 
$20,000 or less made to the United States on the condition that such 
gift, devise, or bequest be used for the benefit of the Academy or any 
entity thereof. The Superintendent may pay or authorize the payment of 
all reasonable and necessary expenses in connection with the conveyance 
or transfer of a gift, devise, or bequest under this section.
    (b) Gifts Exceeding $20,000.--The Board of Visitors may accept, 
hold, administer, invest, and spend any gift, devise, or bequest of 
personal property of a value of more than $20,000 made to the United 
States on the condition that such gift, devise, or bequest be used for 
the benefit of the Academy or any entity thereof. The Board of Visitors 
may pay or authorize the payment of all reasonable and necessary 
expenses in connection with the conveyance or transfer of a gift, 
devise, or bequest under this section.

SEC. 13. AMOUNTS APPROPRIATED.

    There is authorized to be appropriated, and there is appropriated, 
$164,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal 
years.
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