§12606 Approval Process for Approved Positions

Summary

When the Corporation approves a national service, summer of service, or silver scholar position, it must do so when it either signs a binding agreement with a participant or, if not, when it gives a grant or contract to an organization to run the program. At that time the Corporation must record an estimate of how much the educational award is worth now, using a formula that looks at past enrollment and how often people earn and use awards. The Corporation must work with the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to make that formula. The Chief Executive Officer must send a yearly report to the authorizing committees saying the Corporation followed these rules. These rules apply to positions approved in fiscal year 2010 and any year after. The Corporation must also make a reserve account inside the National Service Trust. Each year it must put part of available appropriation funds into that reserve (for fiscal year 2010, funds from FY2010 or earlier that are still available; for fiscal year 2011 and later, funds from that fiscal year that are still available). The reserve money cannot be spent until the Corporation decides it is not needed for awards tied to previously approved positions or it spends the money to pay those awards. The Trust accounts and the records showing the set-asides must be audited every year by independent accountants, and the audit results must be included in the annual report. Except for the reserve rules, money in the Trust is available to pay educational awards.