April 17, 2025
Ms. Houlahan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
To prohibit the use of funds to eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Protect National Service Act
.
Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress
(a) Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
A recent study from Voices for National Service found that every $1 in Federal taxes invested in AmeriCorps and Senior Corps returns $17.30 to society.
(2)
Over the last 30 years, more than 900,000 Americans have served as AmeriCorps members, contributing more than 1,200,000,000 hours of service to their communities and accounting for a value of more than $38,000,000,000 across every United States State and United States Territory.
(3)
The statute first authorizing the agency, and subsequent reform efforts, have received strong bipartisan support over multiple decades, including from Presidential administrations of both parties.
(b) Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that—
(1)
any reform or reorganization of the Corporation for National and Community Service should be done—
(A)
in accordance with existing laws;
(B)
in a manner that maintains the United States support for national service;
(C)
in a manner that allows the National Service Trust to continue to meet all of its obligations to participants in AmeriCorps; and
(D)
in a manner that maintains the Federal Government’s active role in meeting unmet human, educational, environmental, and public safety needs, as well as in renewing the ethic of civic responsibility by encouraging citizens to participate in national service programs; and
(2)
only an act of Congress can eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service as a Government corporation, as defined in section 103 of title 5, United States Code.
Sec. 3. Prohibition of funds to eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service
(a) In general
Consistent with section 1413 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999 (22 U.S.C. 6563), no Federal funds appropriated or otherwise made available by the American Relief Act, 2025 (Public Law 118–158) or any other or prior appropriations Act may be made available to eliminate the status of the Corporation for National and Community Service as a Government corporation, as defined in section 103 of title 5, United States Code.
(b) Rule of construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to indicate that the elimination, dismantlement, or subsummation of the Corporation for National and Community Service is permissible under existing law.
(c) Certification
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this act, and annually for 5 years thereafter, the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service shall certify to the appropriate Committees compliance with this section.
(d) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined
In this section, the term appropriate committees of Congress means—
(1)
the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives; and
(2)
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.