[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4583-S4584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2261. Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Young, Mr. Coons, and Mrs. Hyde-
Smith) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 
bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle K of title V, add the following:

     SEC. 599C. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON SERVICE.

       (a) Establishment of Interagency Council on Service.--
       (1) Establishment.--
       (A) In general.--There is established an Interagency 
     Council on Service (in this section referred to as the 
     ``Council'').
       (B) Functions.--The Council shall--
       (i) advise the President with respect to promoting, 
     strengthening, and expanding opportunities for military 
     service, national service, and public service for all people 
     of the United States; and
       (ii) review, assess, and coordinate holistic recruitment 
     strategies and initiatives of the executive branch to foster 
     an increased sense of service and civic responsibility among 
     all people of the United States and to explore ways of 
     enhancing connectivity of interested applicants to national 
     service programs and opportunities.
       (2) Composition.--
       (A) Membership.--The Council shall be composed of such 
     officers and employees of the Federal Government as the 
     President may designate, including not less than 1 such 
     officer or employee the appointment of whom as such officer 
     or employee was made by the President by and with the advice 
     and consent of the Senate.
       (B) Chair.--The President shall annually designate to serve 
     as the Chair of the Council a member of the Council under 
     subparagraph (A), the appointment of whom as an officer or 
     employee of the Federal Government was made by the President 
     by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
       (C) Meetings.--The Council shall meet on a quarterly basis 
     or more frequently as the Chair of the Council may direct.
       (3) Responsibilities of the council.--The Council shall--
       (A) assist and advise the President in the establishment of 
     strategies, goals, objectives, and priorities to promote 
     service and civic responsibility among all people of the 
     United States;
       (B) develop and recommend to the President common 
     recruitment strategies and outreach opportunities for 
     increasing the participation, and propensity of people of the 
     United States to participate, in military service, national 
     service, and public service in order to address national 
     security and domestic investment;
       (C) serve as a forum for Federal officials responsible for 
     military service, national service, and public service 
     programs to, as feasible and practicable--
       (i) coordinate and share best practices for service 
     recruitment; and
       (ii) develop common interagency, cross-service initiatives 
     and pilots for service recruitment;
       (D) lead a strategic, interagency coordinated effort on 
     behalf of the Federal Government to develop joint awareness 
     and recruitment, retention, and marketing initiatives 
     involving military service, national service, and public 
     service;
       (E) consider approaches for assessing impacts of service on 
     the needs of the United States and individuals participating 
     in and benefitting from such service;
       (F) consult, as the Council considers advisable, with 
     representatives of non-Federal entities, including State, 
     local, and Tribal governments, State and local educational 
     agencies, State Service Commissions, institutions of higher 
     education, nonprofit organizations, faith-based 
     organizations, philanthropic organizations, and the private 
     sector, in order to promote and develop initiatives to foster 
     and reward military service, national service, and public 
     service;
       (G) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, and quadrennially thereafter, prepare and submit to 
     the President and Congress a Service Strategy, which shall 
     set forth--
       (i) a review of programs and initiatives of the Federal 
     Government relating to the mandate of the Council;
       (ii) a review of Federal Government online content relating 
     to the mandate of the Council, including user experience with 
     such content;
       (iii) current and foreseeable trends for service to address 
     the needs of the United States;
       (iv) recommended service recruitment strategies and 
     branding opportunities to address outreach and communication 
     deficiencies identified by the Council; and
       (v) to the extent practical, a joint service messaging 
     strategy for military service, national service, and public 
     service;
       (H) identify any notable initiatives by State, local, and 
     Tribal governments and by public and nongovernmental entities 
     to increase awareness of and participation in national 
     service programs; and
       (I) perform such other functions as the President may 
     direct.
       (b) Joint Market Research to Advance Military and National 
     Service.--
       (1) Program authorized.--The Secretary of Defense, the 
     Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and 
     Community Service, and the Director of the Peace Corps may 
     carry out a joint market research, market studies, 
     recruiting, and advertising program to complement the 
     existing programs of the military departments, the national 
     service programs administered by the Corporation, and the 
     Peace Corps.
       (2) Information sharing permitted.--Section 503 of title 
     10, United States Code, shall not be construed to prohibit 
     sharing of information among, or joint marketing efforts of, 
     the Department of Defense, the Corporation for National and 
     Community Service, and the Peace Corps to carry out this 
     subsection.
       (c) Transition Opportunities for Military Servicemembers 
     and National Service Participants.--
       (1) Employment assistance.--Section 1143(c)(1) of title 10, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting ``the Corporation 
     for National and Community Service,'' after ``State 
     employment agencies,''.
       (2) Employment assistance, job training assistance, and 
     other transitional services: department of labor.--Section 
     1144 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(11) Provide information on public service opportunities, 
     training on public service job recruiting, and the advantages 
     of careers with the Federal Government.''; and
       (B) in subsection (f)(1)(D)--
       (i) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vi); and
       (ii) by inserting after clause (iv) the following:
       ``(v) National and community service, taught in conjunction 
     with the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for 
     National and Community Service.''.
       (3) Authorities and duties of the chief executive 
     officer.--Section 193A(b) of the National and Community 
     Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12651d(b)) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (24), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(26) ensure that individuals completing a partial or full 
     term of service in a program under subtitle C or E or part A 
     of title I of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 
     U.S.C. 4951 et seq.) receive information about military and 
     public service opportunities for which they may qualify or in 
     which they may be interested.''.
       (d) Joint Report to Congress on Initiatives to Integrate 
     Military and National Service.--
       (1) Reporting requirement.--Not later than 4 years after 
     the date of enactment of this Act and quadrennially 
     thereafter, the Chair of the Interagency Council on Service, 
     in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Chief 
     Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and 
     Community Service, and the Director of the Peace Corps,

[[Page S4584]]

     shall submit a joint report on cross-service marketing, 
     research, and promotion to Congress, including 
     recommendations for increasing joint advertising and 
     recruitment initiatives for the Armed Forces, programs 
     administered by the Corporation for National and Community 
     Service, and the Peace Corps.
       (2) Contents of report.--Each report under paragraph (1) 
     shall include the following:
       (A) The number of Peace Corps volunteers and participants 
     in national service programs administered by the Corporation 
     for National and Community Service, who previously served as 
     a member of the Armed Forces.
       (B) The number of members of the Armed Forces who 
     previously served in the Peace Corps or in a program 
     administered by the Corporation for National and Community 
     Service.
       (C) An assessment of existing (as of the date of the report 
     submission) joint recruitment and advertising initiatives 
     undertaken by the Department of Defense, the Peace Corps, or 
     the Corporation for National and Community Service.
       (D) An assessment of the feasibility and cost of expanding 
     such existing initiatives.
       (E) An assessment of ways to improve the ability of the 
     reporting agencies to recruit individuals from the other 
     reporting agencies.
       (F) A description of the information and data used to 
     develop any initiative or campaign intended to advance 
     military service or national service, including with respect 
     to any activity carried out under subsection (b).
       (3) Consultation.--The Chair of the Interagency Council on 
     Service, the Secretary of Defense, the Chief Executive 
     Officer of the Corporation for National and Community 
     Service, and the Director of the Peace Corps shall undertake 
     studies of recruiting efforts that are necessary to carry out 
     the provisions of this subsection. Such studies may be 
     conducted using any funds appropriated to those entities 
     under Federal law other than this Act.
       (e) Reports to Congress on Lessons Learned Regarding 
     Retention and Recruitment.--The Chair of the Interagency 
     Council on Service shall--
       (1) conduct a study on--
       (A) the effectiveness of past advertising campaigns for 
     military service, national service, and public service; and
       (B) the role of vaccine requirements on the retention and 
     recruitment of individuals for military service, national 
     service, and public service; and
       (2) not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, submit a report on the findings of and lessons 
     learned from the study under paragraph (1) to--
       (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (f) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Interagency council on service.--The term ``Interagency 
     Council on Service'' means the Interagency Council on Service 
     established by subsection (a)(1).
       (2) Military department.--The term ``military department'' 
     means each of the military departments listed in section 102 
     of title 5, United States Code.
       (3) Military service.--The term ``military service'' means 
     active service (as defined in subsection (d)(3) of section 
     101 of title 10, United States Code) or active status (as 
     defined in subsection (d)(4) of such section) in one of the 
     Armed Forces (as defined in subsection (a)(4) of such 
     section).
       (4) National service.--The term ``national service'' means 
     participation, other than military service or public service, 
     in a program that--
       (A) is designed to enhance the common good and meet the 
     needs of communities, the States, or the United States;
       (B) is funded or facilitated by--
       (i) an institution of higher education as defined in 
     section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1001); or
       (ii) the Federal Government or a State, Tribal, or local 
     government; and
       (C) is a program authorized in--
       (i) the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.);
       (ii) section 171 of the Workforce Innovation and 
     Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3226) relating to the YouthBuild 
     Program;
       (iii) the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 
     4950 et seq.); or
       (iv) the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 
     U.S.C. 12501 et seq.).
       (5) Public service.--The term ``public service'' means 
     civilian employment in the Federal Government or a State, 
     Tribal, or local government.
       (6) Service.--The term ``service'' means a personal 
     commitment of time, energy, and talent to a mission that 
     contributes to the public good by protecting the Nation and 
     the citizens of the United States, strengthening communities, 
     States, or the United States, or promoting the general social 
     welfare.
       (7) State service commission.--The term ``State Service 
     Commission'' means a State Commission on National and 
     Community Service maintained by a State pursuant to section 
     178 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 
     U.S.C. 12638).
       (g) No Additional Funds.--No additional funds are 
     authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of carrying out 
     this section.
       (h) Gao Report.--Not later than 30 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall report to Congress on the effectiveness of this 
     section and the amendments made by this section.
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