[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6489-S6493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Levin, 
        Ms. Cantwell, and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 1247. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to 
establish a scholarship program to encourage and support students who 
have contributed substantial public services; to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to introduce, along with Senators 
Mikulski, Landrieu, Levin, Cantwell and Kerry, the Youth Service 
Scholarship Act. This Act would authorize the Secretary of Education to 
award college scholarships of up to $5,000 a year to high school 
students and undergraduates who perform community service.
  A recent study titled Community Service and Service Learning in U.S. 
Public Schools reveals that 66 percent of public schools involve 
students in community service. This means that approximately 54,000 
public schools in America currently engage about 13.7 million students 
in community service each year. Other studies have shown that nearly 84 
percent of high school students participate in volunteer activities 
either in or out of school and two-thirds of college students have 
recently participated in volunteer activities.
  The Youth Service Scholarship Act is designed to assist low-income 
students who dedicate a significant portion of their time to volunteer 
service with money for college. This Act would authorize the Secretary 
of Education to award college scholarships of up to $5,000 to high 
school students who perform over 300 hours of community service in both 
their junior and senior years. In order to be considered, high school 
applicants must maintain a 3.0 grade point average, submit character 
recommendations, and write an essay

[[Page S6493]]

on the nature of their community service. Additional money will be 
available if the student continues to participate in a significant 
amount of community service once they are in college.
  Voluntarism not only brings support and services to communities in 
need, it provides significant benefits to the students who participate. 
Research has shown that students who volunteer are 50 percent less 
likely to use drugs and alcohol or engage in destructive behavior. 
Additionally, students who volunteer are more likely to receive good 
grades, be philanthropic, graduate, and be interested in going to 
college.
  In the 21st Century, higher education is not a luxury, it is a 
necessity. For many of our low-income youth, finding money to pay for 
college is an obstacle to enrollment. This scholarship program provides 
aid to motivated and inspired youth.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Youth Service 
Scholarship Act. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1247

       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 ``Youth Service Scholarship 
     Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) young people under 18 years of age are now our Nation's 
     most impoverished age group, with 1 of every 5 living in 
     poverty, a higher proportion than in 1968, and the percentage 
     of minority children living in poverty is about twice as 
     high;
       (2) more than 1 of 4 families is headed by a single parent 
     and the percentage of such families has risen steadily over 
     the past few decades, rising 13 percent since 1990;
       (3) there is a need to engage youth as active participants 
     in decisionmaking that affects their lives, including in the 
     design, development, implementation, and evaluation of youth 
     development programs at the Federal, State, and community 
     levels;
       (4) existing outcome driven youth development strategies, 
     pioneered by community-based organizations, hold real promise 
     for promoting positive behaviors and preventing youth 
     problems;
       (5) formal evaluations of youth development programs have 
     documented significant reductions in drug and alcohol use, 
     school misbehavior, aggressive behavior, violence, truancy, 
     high-risk sexual behavior, and smoking;
       (6) compared to youth in the United States generally, youth 
     participating in community-based organizations are more than 
     26 percent more likely to report having received recognition 
     for good grades than youth in the United States generally and 
     nearly 20 percent more likely to rate the likelihood of their 
     going to college as very high; and
       (7) the availability and use of Federal resources can be an 
     effective incentive to leverage broader community support to 
     enable local programs, activities, and services to provide 
     the full array of developmental core resources, remove 
     barriers to access, promote program effectiveness, and 
     facilitate coordination and collaboration within the 
     community.

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

       Subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act 
     of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating section 407E as section 406E; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:

                 ``CHAPTER 4--PUBLIC SERVICE INCENTIVES

     ``SEC. 407A. PURPOSE.

       ``The purpose of this chapter is to establish a scholarship 
     program to reward low-income students who have, during high 
     school, and who continue, during college, to make significant 
     public service contributions to their communities.

     ``SEC. 407B. SCHOLARSHIPS AUTHORIZED.

       ``(a) Qualifications for Scholarships.--The Secretary is 
     authorized to award a scholarship to enable a student to pay 
     the cost of attendance at an institution of higher education 
     during the student's first 4 academic years of undergraduate 
     education, if the student--
       ``(1) in order to be eligible for the first year of such 
     scholarship, performed not less than 300 hours of qualifying 
     public service during each of 2 academic years of the 
     student's secondary school enrollment;
       ``(2) in order to be eligible for the second or any 
     subsequent year of such scholarship, performed not less than 
     300 hours of qualifying public service during the academic 
     year of postsecondary school attendance preceding the 
     academic year for which the student seeks such scholarship;
       ``(3) was eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under 
     the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1721 et seq.);
       ``(4) is eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants for the 
     year in which the scholarships are awarded, except that a 
     student shall not be required to comply or verify compliance 
     with section 484(a)(5) for purposes of receiving a 
     scholarship under this chapter; and
       ``(5) otherwise demonstrates compliance with regulations 
     prescribed by the Secretary under section 407G.
       ``(b) Definition of Qualifying Public Service.--For 
     purposes of subsection (a), the term `qualifying public 
     service' means service that would be eligible for treatment 
     as community service under the National and Community Service 
     Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.) or under the Federal 
     work-study program under part C.

     ``SEC. 407C. AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP.

       ``(a) Amount of Award.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) and 
     subsection (b), the amount of a scholarship awarded under 
     this chapter for any academic year shall be equal to $5,000.
       ``(2) Adjustment for insufficient appropriations.--If, 
     after the Secretary determines the total number of students 
     selected under section 407D for an academic year, funds 
     available to carry out this chapter for the academic year are 
     insufficient to fully fund all awards under this chapter for 
     the academic year, the amount of the scholarship paid to each 
     student under this chapter shall be reduced proportionately.
       ``(b) Assistance Not to Exceed Cost of Attendance.--A 
     scholarship awarded under this chapter to any student, in 
     combination with the Federal Pell Grant assistance and other 
     student financial assistance available to such student, may 
     not exceed the student's cost of attendance.

     ``SEC. 407D. SELECTION OF SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS.

       ``The Secretary shall designate a panel to select students 
     for the award of scholarships under this chapter. Such panel 
     shall be composed of 9 individuals who are selected by the 
     Secretary and shall be composed of equal numbers of youths, 
     community representatives, and teachers. The Secretary shall 
     ensure that no individual assigned under this section to 
     review any application has any conflict of interest with 
     regard to the application that might impair the impartiality 
     with which the individual conducts the review under this 
     section.

     ``SEC. 407E. APPLICATIONS.

       ``Any eligible student desiring to obtain a scholarship 
     under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 
     application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
     information or assurances as the Secretary may require. Such 
     application shall--
       ``(1) demonstrate that the eligible student is maintaining 
     satisfactory academic progress and is achieving a grade point 
     average of at least 3.0 (on a scale of 4), or its equivalent;
       ``(2) include a recommendation from--
       ``(A) the supervisor of the community service project of 
     the applicant; and
       ``(B) another individual not related to, but familiar with 
     the character of the applicant such as a teacher, coach, or 
     employer; and
       ``(3) include an essay by the applicant on the nature of 
     the community service performed by the applicant.

     ``SEC. 407F. PROGRAM DISSEMINATION AND PROMOTION.

       ``(a) Development and Dissemination.--The Secretary shall 
     develop and disseminate to the public information on the 
     availability of, and application process for, scholarships 
     under this chapter.
       ``(b) Promotion.--In disseminating information about the 
     scholarship program under this chapter, the Secretary shall--
       ``(1) disseminate such information directly or through 
     arrangements with local educational agencies, public and 
     private elementary schools and secondary schools, nonprofit 
     organizations, consumer groups, Federal, State, or local 
     agencies, and the media; and
       ``(2) at a minimum, include a description and the purpose 
     of the scholarship program, an explanation of how to obtain 
     an application, and a description of the application process 
     and procedures.

     ``SEC. 407G. REGULATIONS.

       ``The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be 
     necessary to carry out this chapter.

     ``SEC. 407H. EVALUATION.

       ``Not earlier than 2 years after the first fiscal year for 
     which funds are made available under this chapter, the 
     Secretary shall prepare and submit to Congress an evaluation 
     of the effectiveness of the program under this chapter. Such 
     evaluation shall include--
       ``(1) an evaluation of the demand, by grade level and types 
     of community service sites, for the scholarships provided 
     under this chapter;
       ``(2) general data on the background of program 
     participants and the types of service performed; and
       ``(3) an itemization of the costs of administering the 
     program under this chapter.

     ``SEC. 407I. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     chapter $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such sums as are 
     necessary for each of the 3 succeeding fiscal years.''.
                                 ______