§12606 Approval Process for Approved Positions

Summary

Requires the Corporation to approve three types of service positions—approved national service positions, approved summer of service positions, and approved silver scholar positions—when it either signs an enforceable service agreement with a participant or awards a grant or contract to run a program. For each approved position, the Corporation must record an obligation equal to the net present value (the estimated current cost) of the related educational award. That estimate must use a formula based on past enrollment and on how often people earn and use awards, and the Corporation must consult the Director of the Congressional Budget Office about the formula. The Chief Executive Officer must send an annual certification to the authorizing committees saying the Corporation followed these rules. The Corporation must create a reserve account inside the National Service Trust and put parts of available appropriations into it during fiscal year 2010 and in fiscal year 2011 and later, as described. Money in the reserve cannot be spent until the Corporation decides it is not needed for payments on previously approved positions or uses it to pay those awards. The accounts and the recorded cost estimates must be audited every year by independent certified or licensed public accountants under generally accepted auditing standards, and the audit results go into the CEO’s annual report. Except for the reserve rules, Trust funds listed under section 12601(a) remain available to pay educational awards.