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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 509. National Guard Challenge Program of opportunities for civilian youth
(a) Program Authority and Purpose. - The Secretary of Defense may
use the National Guard to conduct a civilian youth opportunities
program, to be known as the "National Guard Challenge Program",
which shall consist of at least a 22-week residential program and a
12-month post-residential mentoring period. The National Guard
Challenge Program shall seek to improve life skills and employment
potential of participants by providing military-based training and
supervised work experience, together with the core program
components of assisting participants to receive a high school
diploma or its equivalent, leadership development, promoting
fellowship and community service, developing life coping skills and
job skills, and improving physical fitness and health and hygiene.
(b) Conduct of the Program. - (1) The Secretary of Defense shall
provide for the conduct of the National Guard Challenge Program in
such States as the Secretary considers to be appropriate.
(2) The Secretary shall carry out the National Guard Challenge
Program using -
(A) funds appropriated directly to the Secretary of Defense for
the program, except that the amount of funds appropriated
directly to the Secretary and expended for the program in fiscal
year 2001 or 2002 may not exceed $62,500,000; and
(B) nondefense funds made available or transferred to the
Secretary of Defense by other Federal agencies to support the
program.
(3) Federal funds made available or transferred to the Secretary
of Defense under paragraph (2)(B) by other Federal agencies to
support the National Guard Challenge Program may be expended for
the program in excess of the fiscal year limitation specified in
paragraph (2)(A).
(4) The Secretary of Defense shall remain the executive agent to
carry out the National Guard Challenge Program regardless of the
source of funds for the program or any transfer of jurisdiction
over the program within the executive branch. As provided in
subsection (a), the Secretary may use the National Guard to conduct
the program.
(c) Program Agreements. - (1) To carry out the National Guard
Challenge Program in a State, the Secretary of Defense shall enter
into an agreement with the Governor of the State or, in the case of
the District of Columbia, with the commanding general of the
District of Columbia National Guard, under which the Governor or
the commanding general will establish, organize, and administer the
National Guard Challenge Program in the State.
(2) The agreement may provide for the Secretary to provide funds
to the State for civilian personnel costs attributable to the use
of civilian employees of the National Guard in the conduct of the
National Guard Challenge Program.
(d) Matching Funds Required. - The amount of assistance provided
under this section to a State program of the National Guard
Challenge Program may not exceed -
(1) for fiscal year 1998, 75 percent of the costs of operating
the State program during that year;
(2) for fiscal year 1999, 70 percent of the costs of operating
the State program during that year;
(3) for fiscal year 2000, 65 percent of the costs of operating
the State program during that year; and
(4) for fiscal year 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year, 60
percent of the costs of operating the State program during that
year.
(e) Persons Eligible To Participate in Program. - A school
dropout from secondary school shall be eligible to participate in
the National Guard Challenge Program. The Secretary of Defense
shall prescribe the standards and procedures for selecting
participants from among school dropouts.
(f) Authorized Benefits for Participants. - (1) To the extent
provided in an agreement entered into in accordance with subsection
(c) and subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense, a
person selected for training in the National Guard Challenge
Program may receive the following benefits in connection with that
training:
(A) Allowances for travel expenses, personal expenses, and
other expenses.
(B) Quarters.
(C) Subsistence.
(D) Transportation.
(E) Equipment.
(F) Clothing.
(G) Recreational services and supplies.
(H) Other services.
(I) Subject to paragraph (2), a temporary stipend upon the
successful completion of the training, as characterized in
accordance with procedures provided in the agreement.
(2) In the case of a person selected for training in the National
Guard Challenge Program who afterwards becomes a member of the
Civilian Community Corps under subtitle E of title I of the
National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12611 et
seq.), the person may not receive a temporary stipend under
paragraph (1)(I) while the person is a member of that Corps. The
person may receive the temporary stipend after completing service
in the Corps unless the person elects to receive benefits provided
under subsection (f) or (g) of section 158 of such Act (42 U.S.C.
12618).
(g) Program Personnel. - (1) Personnel of the National Guard of a
State in which the National Guard Challenge Program is conducted
may serve on full-time National Guard duty for the purpose of
providing command, administrative, training, or supporting services
for the program. For the performance of those services, any such
personnel may be ordered to duty under section 502(f) of this title
for not longer than the period of the program.
(2) A Governor participating in the National Guard Challenge
Program and the commanding general of the District of Columbia
National Guard (if the District of Columbia National Guard is
participating in the program) may procure by contract the temporary
full time services of such civilian personnel as may be necessary
to augment National Guard personnel in carrying out the National
Guard Challenge Program in that State.
(3) Civilian employees of the National Guard performing services
for the National Guard Challenge Program and contractor personnel
performing such services may be required, when appropriate to
achieve the purposes of the program, to be members of the National
Guard and to wear the military uniform.
(h) Equipment and Facilities. - (1) Equipment and facilities of
the National Guard, including military property of the United
States issued to the National Guard, may be used in carrying out
the National Guard Challenge Program.
(2) Activities under the National Guard Challenge Program shall
be considered noncombat activities of the National Guard for
purposes of section 710 of this title.
(i) Status of Participants. - (1) A person receiving training
under the National Guard Challenge Program shall be considered an
employee of the United States for the purposes of the following
provisions of law:
(A) Subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5 (relating to
compensation of Federal employees for work injuries).
(B) Section 1346(b) and chapter 171 of title 28 and any other
provision of law relating to the liability of the United States
for tortious conduct of employees of the United States.
(2) In the application of the provisions of law referred to in
paragraph (1)(A) to a person referred to in paragraph (1) -
(A) the person shall not be considered to be in the performance
of duty while the person is not at the assigned location of
training or other activity or duty authorized in accordance with
a program agreement referred to in subsection (c), except when
the person is traveling to or from that location or is on pass
from that training or other activity or duty;
(B) the person's monthly rate of pay shall be deemed to be the
minimum rate of pay provided for grade GS-2 of the General
Schedule under section 5332 of title 5; and
(C) the entitlement of a person to receive compensation for a
disability shall begin on the day following the date on which the
person's participation in the National Guard Challenge Program is
terminated.
(3) A person referred to in paragraph (1) may not be considered
an employee of the United States for any purpose other than a
purpose set forth in that paragraph.
(j) Supplemental Resources. - To carry out the National Guard
Challenge Program in a State, the Governor of the State or, in the
case of the District of Columbia, the commanding general of the
District of Columbia National Guard may supplement funds made
available under the program out of other resources (including
gifts) available to the Governor or the commanding general. The
Governor or the commanding general may accept, use, and dispose of
gifts or donations of money, other property, or services for the
National Guard Challenge Program.
(k) Report. - Within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year,
the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the
design, conduct, and effectiveness of the National Guard Challenge
Program during the preceding fiscal year. In preparing the report,
the Secretary shall coordinate with the Governor of each State in
which the National Guard Challenge Program is carried out and, if
the program is carried out in the District of Columbia, with the
commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard.
(l) Definitions. - In this section:
(1) The term "State" includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
the territories, and the District of Columbia.
(2) The term "school dropout" means an individual who is no
longer attending any school and who has not received a secondary
school diploma or a certificate from a program of equivalency for
such a diploma.
(m) Regulations. - The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe
regulations to carry out the National Guard Challenge Program. The
regulations shall address at a minimum the following:
(1) The terms to be included in the program agreements required
by subsection (c).
(2) The qualifications for persons to participate in the
program, as required by subsection (e).
(3) The benefits authorized for program participants, as
required by subsection (f).
(4) The status of National Guard personnel assigned to duty in
support of the program under subsection (g).
(5) The conditions for the use of National Guard facilities and
equipment to carry out the program, as required by subsection
(h).
(6) The status of program participants, as described in
subsection (i).
(7) The procedures to be used by the Secretary when
communicating with States about the program.
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