[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7161 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7161

 To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish 
 service programs dedicated to digital equity, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 2022

 Mr. Kilmer (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) 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 
 service programs dedicated to digital equity, and for other purposes.

    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 ``IT Service Corps Act''.

SEC. 2. STATE AND NATIONAL.

    (a) State and National.--Section 122(b)(2) of the National and 
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12572(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as subparagraph (J); 
        and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the following:
                    ``(I) A program that--
                            ``(i) is dedicated to the achievement of 
                        digital equity in underserved communities, 
                        including through supporting digital inclusion 
                        activities and enhancing digital literacy among 
                        individuals in such communities;
                            ``(ii) provides participants--
                                    ``(I) assistance in the development 
                                of professional and technical skills 
                                with respect to information technology, 
                                including--
                                            ``(aa) by providing and 
                                        preparing participants with 
                                        sufficient training to 
                                        effectively operate, maintain, 
                                        or otherwise adapt to new 
                                        technologies related to 
                                        information technology; and
                                            ``(bb) to the extent 
                                        practicable, training and 
                                        financial support for training 
                                        that prepares such participants 
                                        to acquire an industry 
                                        recognized, vendor-neutral 
                                        certification in information 
                                        technology;
                                    ``(II) guidance that may be used in 
                                careers in information technology, or 
                                in pursuing further education or 
                                apprenticeships relating to information 
                                technology;
                                    ``(III) the necessary equipment, or 
                                assistance in purchasing such 
                                equipment, for such program, including 
                                computer devices and smartphones; and
                                    ``(IV) with mentors who are 
                                information technology professionals;
                            ``(iii) in recruiting participants--
                                    ``(I) conducts outreach and 
                                recruitment in underserved communities 
                                and other local communities; and
                                    ``(II) gives consideration to 
                                individuals who are from a marginalized 
                                community or background, have been 
                                dislocated from their jobs as a result 
                                of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent 
                                economic crisis, or have experienced 
                                long-term unemployment;
                            ``(iv) using data available by the 
                        Corporation, if any, with respect to 
                        participants, collects and reports to Congress 
                        workforce information on participants, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) demographic data;
                                    ``(II) prior career background, 
                                including prior career industry, role, 
                                and years of experience;
                                    ``(III) future career intentions, 
                                including desired industry and role; 
                                and
                                    ``(IV) any job, education, or 
                                apprenticeship placements after 
                                participation in the program; and
                            ``(v) defines the following terms as 
                        follows:
                                    ``(I) Digital equity.--The term 
                                `digital equity' means the condition in 
                                which individuals and communities have 
                                the information technology capacity 
                                that is needed for full participation 
                                in the society and economy of the 
                                United States.
                                    ``(II) Digital inclusion.--The term 
                                `digital inclusion'--
                                            ``(aa) means the activities 
                                        that are necessary to ensure 
                                        that all individuals in the 
                                        United States have access to, 
                                        and the use of, affordable 
                                        information and communication 
                                        technologies, such as--

                                                    ``(AA) reliable 
                                                fixed and wireless 
                                                broadband internet 
                                                service;

                                                    ``(BB) internet-
                                                enabled devices that 
                                                meet the needs of the 
                                                user; and

                                                    ``(CC) applications 
                                                and online content 
                                                designed to enable and 
                                                encourage self-
                                                sufficiency, 
                                                participation, and 
                                                collaboration; and

                                            ``(bb) includes access to 
                                        digital literacy training, 
                                        quality technical support, and 
                                        basic awareness of measures to 
                                        ensure online privacy and 
                                        cybersecurity.
                                    ``(III) Digital literacy.--The term 
                                `digital literacy' means the skills 
                                associated with using technology to 
                                enable users to find, evaluate, 
                                organize, create, and communicate 
                                information.
                                    ``(IV) Underserved community.--The 
                                term `underserved community' means a 
                                community with digital equity, health, 
                                financial, education, or housing 
                                disparities.''.
    (b) National Civilian Community Corps.--Section 157(a)(1) of the 
National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12617(a)(1)) is 
amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: ``, which may 
include a program dedicated to digital equity described in section 
122(b)(2)(I)''.
    (c) VISTA.--Section 103(a) of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 
1973 (42 U.S.C. 4953(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(14) in addressing digital equity, which meets the 
        requirements of a program described in section 122(b)(2)(I) of 
        the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
        12572(b)(2)(I)).''.
    (d) AmeriCorps Senior Programs.--Section 225(b)(5) of the Domestic 
Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5025(b)(5)) is amended by 
inserting before the period the following: ``, including a program 
dedicated to digital equity described in section 122(b)(2)(I) of the 
National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12572(b)(2)(I))''.
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