
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC4954]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                 CHAPTER 66--DOMESTIC VOLUNTEER SERVICES
 
          SUBCHAPTER I--NATIONAL VOLUNTEER ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS
 
                Part A--Volunteers in Service to America
 
Sec. 4954. Terms and periods of service


(a) Personal commitment; scope of commitment

    Volunteers serving under this part shall be required to make a full-
time personal commitment to combating poverty and poverty-related 
problems. To the maximum extent practicable, the requirement for full-
time commitment shall include a commitment to live among and at the 
economic level of the people served, and to remain available for service 
without regard to regular working hours, at all times during their 
periods of service, except for authorized periods of leave.

(b) Minimum period of service; critical scarce-skill needs exception; 
        reenrollment; limitation

    (1) Volunteers serving under this part may be enrolled initially for 
periods of service of not less than 1 year, nor more than 2 years, 
except as provided in paragraph (2) or subsection (e) of this section.
    (2) Volunteers serving under this part may be enrolled for periods 
of service of less than 1 year if the Director determines, on an 
individual basis, that a period of service of less than 1 year is 
necessary to meet a critical scarce skill need.
    (3) Volunteers serving under this part may be reenrolled for periods 
of service in a manner to be determined by the Director. No volunteer 
shall serve for more than a total of 5 years under this part.

(c) Oath or affirmation

    Volunteers under this part shall, upon enrollment, take the oath of 
office as prescribed for persons appointed to any office of honor or 
profit by section 3331 of title 5, and shall swear (or affirm) that the 
volunteer does not advocate the overthrow of the constitutional form of 
government of the United States and that the volunteer is not a member 
of an organization that advocates the overthrow of the constitutional 
form of government of the United States, knowing that such organization 
so advocates, except that persons legally residing within a State but 
who are not citizens or nationals of the United States, may serve under 
this part without taking or subscribing to such oath, if the Director 
determines that the service of such persons will further the interests 
of the United States. Such persons shall take such alternative oath or 
affirmation as the Director shall deem appropriate.

(d) Grievance and personal view presentation procedure; notice and 
        hearing; information

    The Director shall establish a procedure, including notice and 
opportunity to be heard, for volunteers under this part to present and 
obtain resolution of grievances and to present their views in connection 
with the terms and conditions of their service. The Director shall 
promptly provide to each volunteer in service on October 1, 1973, and to 
each such volunteer beginning service thereafter, information regarding 
such procedure and the terms and conditions of their service.

(e) Summer associates

    (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the Director 
may enroll full-time VISTA summer associates in a program for the summer 
months only, under such terms and conditions as the Director shall 
determine to be appropriate. Such individuals shall be assigned to 
projects that meet the criteria set forth in section 4953(a) of this 
title.
    (2) In preparing reports relating to programs under this chapter, 
the Director shall report on participants, costs, and accomplishments 
under the summer program separately.
    (3) The limitation on funds appropriated for grants and contracts, 
as contained in section 4958 of this title, shall not apply to the 
summer program.

(Pub. L. 93-113, title I, Sec. 104, Oct. 1, 1973, 87 Stat. 397; Pub. L. 
98-288, Sec. 5, May 21, 1984, 98 Stat. 190; Pub. L. 101-204, title VII, 
Sec. 702, Dec. 7, 1989, 103 Stat. 1821; Pub. L. 103-82, title III, 
Sec. 324, Sept. 21, 1993, 107 Stat. 900.)


                               Amendments

    1993--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-82, Sec. 324(a), amended subsec. (b) 
generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: ``Volunteers 
serving under this part may be enrolled for periods of service not 
exceeding two years, but for not less than one-year periods of service, 
except that volunteers serving under this part may be enrolled for 
periods of service of less than one year when the Director determines, 
on an individual basis, that a period of service of less than one year 
is necessary to meet a critical scarce-skill need. Volunteers serving 
under this part may be reenrolled for periods of service totaling not 
more than two years. No volunteer shall serve for more than a total of 
five years under this part.''
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 103-82, Sec. 324(b), added subsec. (e).
    1989--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-204 substituted ``for persons 
appointed to any office of honor or profit by section 3331 of title 5, 
and shall swear (or affirm) that the volunteer does not advocate the 
overthrow of the constitutional form of government of the United States 
and that the volunteer is not a member of an organization that advocates 
the overthrow of the constitutional form of government of the United 
States, knowing that such organization so advocates, except'' for ``in 
section 2504(j) of title 22, except''.
    1984--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-288 struck out ``human, social, and 
environmental'' in first sentence after ``poverty-related'', and 
substituted ``the requirement for full-time commitment'' for ``this'' in 
second sentence.


                    Effective Date of 1993 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 103-82 effective Oct. 1, 1993, see section 392 
of Pub. L. 103-82, set out as a note under section 4951 of this title.


         Temporary Authority for Extensions of Period of Service

    Section 101(c) of Pub. L. 101-204, as amended by Pub. L. 103-82, 
title IV, Sec. 405(h), Sept. 21, 1993, 107 Stat. 921, provided that:
    ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding the limitations established in 
section 104(b) of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 
4954(b)) for the maximum period of service as a volunteer under part A 
of title I of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.), the Chief Executive 
Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service may, 
subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), extend beyond such maximum the period 
of service for such volunteer in any case in which--
        ``(A) such extension is requested by the project or program to 
    which such volunteer involved is assigned; and
        ``(B) such Director determines that such extension is 
    appropriate with respect to meeting the goals of such project or 
    program.
    ``(2) Limitations on extensions.--With respect to extensions under 
paragraph (1) for volunteers described in such paragraph--
        ``(A) such an extension shall not exceed a 1-year period;
        ``(B) not more than two of such extensions may be made for any 
    one volunteer; and
        ``(C) not more than 1 percent of the total number of such 
    volunteers serving for the fiscal year involved may receive such 
    extensions.
    ``(2) [(3)] Duration of authority.--The authority established in 
paragraph (1) shall be effective only for fiscal years 1990 through 
1993.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 4972, 4973, 5081 of this 
title.
