,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #aaie  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #ad1 #bjac    
,mr4 ,moran 7for himself and ,mr4       
,crenshaw7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs  ,a     
,,bill  ,to establish a program to      
provide grants to nonprofit             
organizations to enable such            
organizations to assign and support     
volunteers to assist foreign countries  
in the administration of their natural  
resources in an environmentally         
sustainable manner4  #a4 ,short ,title  
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,international ,conservation ,corps ,act
 of #bjac4  #b4 ,findings ,congress     
finds the following3  7#a7 ,there is a  
significant deficit in the capability of
 many developing countries to manage    
their natural resources sustainably1    
which is fundamental to achieving       
economic development1 poverty           
alleviation1 conflict avoidance1 good   

governance1 and regional security4  7#b7
 ,developing countries with a great     
wealth of natural resources are facing a
 great risk of conflict4 ,issues that   
arise in these countries include        
corruption1 disputes over control and   
distribution of the resources and       
resulting wealth1 fighting over and     
destruction of resources and            
resource-rich areas1 and human rights   
abuses4  7#c7 ,developing countries that
 successfully manage their natural      
resource wealth1 however1 continue to   
benefit from these resources without    
resulting conflict4  7#d7 ,it is in the 
security interest of the ,united ,states
 to share the vast experience and proven
 methodologies that the ,united ,states 
has achieved over many decades with     
developing countries struggling to      
establish their own successful natural  
resource management programs and        
policies4  7#e7 ,the many ,united       
,states senior professionals retiring   
from both the public and private sector 

with extensive experience and expertise 
in the field of natural resource        
management1 acting in a voluntary       
capacity1 presents a unique and         
important opportunity to help other     
countries develop the capacity to manage
 their natural resources sustainably4   
#c4 ,establishment of program  7a7 ,in  
general ,not later than #a year after   
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary1 in consultation with the
 ,secretary of ,state1 shall establish a
 program to provide grants to qualifying
 nonprofit organizations to enable such 
organizations to assign and support     
volunteers to assist foreign countries  
identified under section #d in the      
administration of their natural         
resources in an environmentally         
sustainable manner4  7b7 ,details of the
 program ,the ,secretary shall develop  
and implement the program such that it  
includes providing professional1        
scientific1 and technical assistance and
 training to aid foreign countries in   

their efforts to--  7#a7 develop1       
manage1 and protect national parks1     
natural and cultural heritage sites1 and
 other protected areas2  7#b7 protect   
wildlife2 and  7#c7 develop capacity to 
sustainably manage their natural        
resources4  #d4 ,identification of      
foreign countries  7a7 ,in general ,the 
,secretary of ,state1 in consultation   
with the ,administrator of the ,united  
,states ,agency for ,international      
,development1 shall--  7#a7 identify    
foreign countries as appropriate for    
participation in the program2  7#b7     
notify such foreign countries of the    
program2 and  7#c7 encourage such       
foreign countries to seek to participate
 in the program4  #e4 ,award of grants  
to qualifying nonprofit organizations   
7a7 ,application  7#a7 ,required        
information ,to be eligible to receive a
 grant under the program1 a qualifying  
nonprofit organization shall submit to  
the ,secretary an application including 
information regarding the expertise1    

past experience1 and demonstrated       
capacity of the organization1 as well as
 such other information as the          
,secretary may require4  7#b7 ,time1    
form1 and manner of application ,the    
application described in paragraph #a   
shall be submitted to the ,secretary at 
such time1 and in such form and manner1 
as the ,secretary may require4  7#c7    
,solicitation of applications ,the      
,secretary shall solicit from qualifying
 nonprofit organizations applications   
for grants in accordance with this      
section4  7b7 ,approval process ,as soon
 as is practicable after the date of    
receipt of an application by the        
,secretary under subsection 7a71 the    
,secretary shall approve or disapprove  
the application4  7c7 ,provision of     
grant ,as soon as is practicable after  
the date on which the ,secretary        
approves an application of a qualifying 
nonprofit organization under subsection 
7b71 the ,secretary shall provide a     
grant to such organization4  #f4 ,use of

 funds ,any organization that receives a
 grant under section #e shall use funds 
received under such grant to--  7#a7    
recruit highly skilled and experienced  
volunteers to participate in the        
program2 and  7#b7 place such volunteers
 with foreign countries participating in
 the program to work in appropriate     
projects in the program1 subject to     
section #h4  #g4 ,reporting requirement 
7a7 ,submission of periodic reports ,at 
times specified by the ,secretary1 any  
organization that receives a grant under
 section #e shall submit to the         
,secretary periodic reports that include
 all information that the ,secretary    
determines is necessary to evaluate the 
progress and success of projects in the 
program for the purposes of ensuring    
positive results1 assessing problems1   
and fostering improvements4  7b7        
,internet publication of reports ,the   
,secretary shall make reports under     
subsection 7a7 available to the public  
through the ,internet ,web site of the  

,department of the ,interior4  #h4      
,terms and conditions of volunteer      
service  7a7 ,assignment of volunteers  
,except as otherwise provided in this   
,act1 the assignment of volunteers in   
appropriate projects in the program     
shall be on such terms and conditions as
 the ,secretary may determine4  7b7     
,compensation of volunteers ,volunteers 
selected for participation in projects  
in the program shall not be compensated 
except for a stipend to cover travel    
costs1 health and travel insurance      
costs1 living costs1 and accommodations1
 awarded in such amounts as the         
,secretary determines to be appropriate4
  #i4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3  7#a7 
,program ,the term program means the    
program established pursuant to section 
#c4  7#b7 ,qualifying nonprofit         
organization ,the term qualifying       
nonprofit organization means an entity  
described in section #eja7;c7 of the    
,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf and   
exempt from tax under section #eja7;a7  

of such ,code4  7#c7 ,secretary ,the    
term ,secretary means the ,secretary of 
the ,interior4