Presidential Memorandum -- Expanding National Service, July 15, 2013

Administration of Barack Obama, 2013
Memorandum on Expanding National Service Through Partnerships To
Advance Government Priorities
July 15, 2013
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
Subject: Expanding National Service Through Partnerships to Advance Government Priorities
Service has always been integral to the American identity. Our country was built on the
belief that all of us, working together, can make this country a better place for all. That spirit
remains as strong and integral to our identity today as at our country's founding.
Since its creation 20 years ago, the Corporation for National and Community Service
(CNCS) has been the Federal agency charged with leading and expanding national service.
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009 (SAA) expanded CNCS's authority to
create opportunities for more Americans to serve. This landmark, bipartisan legislation focuses
national service on six areas: emergency and disaster services; economic opportunity;
education; environmental stewardship; healthy futures; and veterans and military families. The
SAA provides greater opportunities for CNCS to partner with other executive departments and
agencies (agencies) and with the private sector to utilize national service to address these
critical areas.
National service and volunteering can be effective solutions to national challenges and can
have positive and lasting impacts that reach beyond the immediate service experience.
Americans engaged in national service make an intensive commitment to tackle unmet national
and local needs by working through non-profit, faith-based, and community organizations.
Service can help Americans gain valuable skills, pursue higher education, and jumpstart their
careers, which can provide immediate and long-term benefits to those individuals, as well as
the communities in which they serve.
Americans are ready and willing to serve. Applications from Americans seeking to engage
in national service programs far exceed the number of available positions. By creating new
partnerships between agencies and CNCS that expand national service opportunities in areas
aligned with agency missions, we can utilize the American spirit of service to improve lives and
communities, expand economic and educational opportunities, enhance agencies' capacity to
achieve their missions, efficiently use tax dollars, help individuals develop skills that will enable
them to prepare for long-term careers, and build a pipeline to employment inside and outside
the Federal Government.
Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of
the United States of America, and in order to expand the positive impact of national service, I
hereby direct the following:
Section 1. Establishing a Task Force on Expanding National Service. There is established a
Task Force on Expanding National Service, to be co-chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of
CNCS and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, which shall include representatives
from agencies and offices that administer programs and develop policies in areas that include
the six focus areas set forth in the SAA. The Task Force shall include representatives from:
(a) the Department of Defense;

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(b) the Department of Justice;
(c) the Department of the Interior;
(d) the Department of Agriculture;
(e) the Department of Commerce;
(f) the Department of Labor;
(g) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(h) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(i) the Department of Transportation;
(j) the Department of Energy;
(k) the Department of Education;
(l) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(m) the Department of Homeland Security;
(n) the Peace Corps;
(o) the National Science Foundation;
(p) the Office of Personnel Management;
(q) the Environmental Protection Agency;
(r) the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs; and
(s) such other agencies and offices as the co-chairs may designate.
Sec. 2. Mission and Function of the Task Force. (a) The Task Force shall:
(i) identify existing, and, if appropriate, recommend new, policies or practices that
support the expansion of national service and volunteer opportunities that align with
the SAA and agency priorities;
(ii) make recommendations on the most effective way to coordinate national service
and volunteering programs across the Federal Government;
(iii) identify and develop opportunities for interagency agreements between CNCS
and other agencies to support the expansion of national service and volunteering;
(iv) identify and develop public-private partnerships to support the expansion of
national service and volunteering;
(v) identify and develop strategies to use innovation and technology to facilitate the
ability of the public to participate in national service and volunteering activities; and
(vi) develop a mechanism to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of
national service and volunteering interventions in achieving agency priorities, and
aggregate and disseminate the results of that evaluation.
(b) Within 18 months of the date of this memorandum, the Task Force shall provide the
President with a report on the progress made with respect to the functions set forth in
subsection (a) of this section.

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Sec. 3. Facilitating National Service and Volunteering Partnerships. (a) Each agency on
the Task Force shall:
(i) within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, consult with CNCS about how
existing authorities and CNCS programs can be used to enter into interagency and
public-private partnerships that allow for meaningful national service and
volunteering opportunities, including participating in AmeriCorps, and help the
agency achieve its mission;
(ii) work with CNCS to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such
partnerships; and
(iii) work with CNCS to identify ways in which the agency's national service
participants and volunteers can develop transferable skills, and also how national
service can serve as a pipeline to employment inside and outside the Federal
Government.
(b) Where practicable, agencies may consider entering into interagency agreements with
CNCS to share program development and funding responsibilities, as authorized under 42
U.S.C. 12571(b)(1).
Sec. 4. Recruitment of National Service Participants in the Civilian Career Services. In
order to provide national service participants a means to pursue additional opportunities to
continue their public service through career civilian service, the Office of Personnel
Management shall, within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, issue guidance to
agencies on developing and improving Federal recruitment strategies for participants in
national service.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair
or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law or Executive Order to an agency, or the head thereof;
or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to
budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to
the availability of appropriations.
(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit,
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United
States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
person.
(d) The Chief Executive Officer of CNCS is hereby authorized and directed to publish
this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:15 a.m., July 18]
NOTE: This memorandum was published in the Federal Register on July 19.
Categories: Communications to Federal Agencies : Government priorities, advancement efforts
through expansion of national service partnerships, memorandum.
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Subjects: Government organization and employees : Federal programs, improvement efforts;
Voluntarism.
DCPD Number: DCPD201300500.

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