Budget Report: H.R. 1388: Serve America Act
The following is a report prepared by the Congressional Budget Office. It has been coverted to a text-only format below by GovTrack.
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CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
COST ESTIMATE
March 17, 2009
H.R. 1388
Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Education and Labor
on March 11, 2009
SUMMARY
H.R. 1388 would amend and reauthorize programs established under the National and
Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of
1973 (DVSA).
Assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the
bill would cost $481 million in 2010 and about $6 billion over the 2010-2014 period.
Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or receipts.
H.R. 1388 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
H.R. 1388 contains no private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 1388 is shown in the following table. The costs
of this legislation fall within budget function 500 (education, employment, training, and
social services).
By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars
2009-
2014
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
NCSA and DVSA Spending
Under Current Law
Budget Authority a 1,084 0 0 0 0 0 1,084
Estimated Outlays 927 688 359 177 89 58 2,299
Proposed Changes
Estimated Authorization Level 0 1,312 1,580 1,860 2,151 2,454 9,356
Estimated Outlays 0 481 951 1,249 1,515 1,785 5,980
Spending Under H.R. 1388
Estimated Authorization Level a 1,084 1,340 1,611 1,894 2,189 2,496 10,440
Estimated Outlays 927 1,169 1,310 1,426 1,604 1,844 8,279
Note: NCSA = National and Community Service Act; DVSA = Domestic Volunteer Service Act.
a. The 2009 level is the amount appropriated for that year for NCSA and DVSA programs.
BASIS OF ESTIMATE
For some programs, the bill would authorize the appropriation of specified amounts for
fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent year through
2014. For those programs, CBO estimated the authorization level for fiscal years 2011
through 2014 by adjusting the amount authorized for 2010 for anticipated inflation. For
the remaining programs authorized by H.R. 1388, the bill would authorize such sums as
may be necessary for each fiscal year. CBO estimated those authorization levels based on
historical program costs for similar activities, anticipated inflation, and the bill's stated
goal of achieving 250,000 participants by 2014.
For this estimate, CBO assumes the bill will be enacted by October 1, 2009, and that
outlays will follow historical patterns for those programs.
Programs funded under NCSA and DVSA received appropriations of $1.1 billion for
fiscal year 2009, including $200 million in funding from the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
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Specified Authorizations
Under H.R. 1388, specified authorizations for 2010 would total $472 million.
Specifically, the bill would authorize the appropriation of the following amounts for
2010:
• Foster Grandparent Program ($115 million),
• VISTA ($100 million),
• Learn and Serve America ($97 million),
• Retire and Senior Volunteer Program ($70 million),
• Senior Companion Program ($55 million), and
• National Civilian Community Corps ($35 million).
CBO estimates that implementing those programs would cost $1.9 billion over the 2010-
2014 period, assuming appropriation of the specified amounts for 2010 and adjusting
those amounts for anticipated inflation for 2011 through 2014.
Indefinite Authorizations
The bill also would authorize the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary for
fiscal years 2010 through 2014 for other programs, including AmeriCorps and education
awards funded through the National Service Trust. CBO estimates those indefinite
authorizations would total $840 million in fiscal year 2010 and would rise to nearly
$2 billion by 2014.
H.R. 1388 includes a stated goal that participation in all AmeriCorps programs (including
the National Civilian Community Corps and VISTA) should increase to 250,000 people
by 2014 (participation in those programs was about 75,000 in 2008). For this estimate,
CBO assumes that sufficient funds would be provided to meet that goal—$3.6 billion
over the 2010-2014 period, CBO estimates. Those funds would be used primarily to
provide grants to states, territories, tribes, and nonprofit organizations to operate
volunteer service programs. CBO estimates that outlays for those programs would total
$2.7 billion over the 2010-2014 period.
Most participants in AmeriCorps programs (and some VISTA participants) earn
education awards for completing specific terms of service that can be used to repay
certain student loans or to pay for future education expenses. In 2009, the maximum
award is $4,725. Beginning in 2010, the maximum full-time education award would be
pegged to the amount authorized for Pell grants under the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Those amounts are $6,400 in 2010; $6,800 in 2011; $7,200 in 2012; $7,600 in 2013; and
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$8,000 in 2014. CBO estimates that over the 2010-2014 period another $2.4 billion
would be needed to fund education awards for AmeriCorps participants. Assuming the
appropriation of those sums, CBO estimates outlays would increase by $0.5 billion over
the five-year period (with significant additional outlays in subsequent years).
CBO also estimates that over the 2010-2014 period, the bill would authorize the
appropriation of funds for:
• Administrative expenses, including support to state service commissions and
evaluation of programs ($0.6 billion),
• Various demonstration programs ($0.2 billion),
• Training and technical assistance programs ($150 million), and
• A new Congressional Commission on Civic Service ($1 million).
In total, CBO estimates that outlays would rise by $0.8 billion over the next five years,
assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT
H.R. 1388 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in
UMRA. The bill would authorize grants to state, local, and tribal governments to support
national service programs including AmeriCorps, VISTA, and the National Senior
Service Corps. CBO estimates state, local, and tribal governments could receive grants
totaling more than $4 billion over the next five years. Any costs to those governments
would be incurred voluntarily as a condition of receiving federal assistance.
ESTIMATE PREPARED BY:
Federal Costs: Christina Hawley Anthony
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Burke Doherty
Impact on the Private Sector: Patrick Bernhardt
ESTIMATE APPROVED BY:
Peter H. Fontaine
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis
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