Domestic Volunteer Service Act

Domestic Volunteer Service Act - Title I: National Volunteer Anti-Poverty Programs - Provides for the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) Program of full-time volunteer service, together with appropriate powers and responsibilities designed to assist in the development and coordination of such program. Authorizes the Director to recruit, select, and train persons to serve in the VISTA Program.

Authorizes the Director to assign VISTA volunteers, upon the request of Federal, State, or local agencies or private nonprofit organizations, to work in the States in appropriate programs.

Directs the Director, wherever feasible, to assign low-income VISTA volunteers to serve in their home communities in teams with nationally recruited VISTA volunteers having an appropriate specialty which would benefit that community. Requires the Director to terminate the assignment of an individual VISTA volunteer within thirty days of a Governor's request or within a mutually agreeable time frame.

Requires that VISTA volunteers make a full-time, personal commitment to combating poverty, including, to the extent practicable, a commitment to live among and at the economic levels of the people with whom they are assigned to work, and to remain available for service, without regard to regular working hours, at all times during their term of service except for authorized periods of leave.

Authorizes a two-year term of enrollment for VISTA volunteers. States that no volunteer shall serve for more than five years.

Provides for the establishment of a grievance procedure for VISTA volunteers in connection with the terms and conditions of their service.

Directs the Director to support volunteers serving under this Act through living allowances, travel allowances, and leave allowances, and through housing, supplies, equipment, subsistence, clothing, health and dental care, transportation, supervision, technical assistance, and any other support he deems appropriate for volunteers to carry out their assignments.

Provides that the University Year for Action (UYA) program by students shall be used to assist in the coordination and development of programs through course work. Sets forth the conditions under which such students shall be utilized for volunteer service.

Authorizes the Director to conduct special volunteer programs in areas of (1) alternatives to incarceration of youthful offenders; (2) programs to promote educational opportunities for veterans; and (3) peer-group counseling for drug abusers.

Title II: National Older American Volunteer Programs - Provides for the making of grants by the Director of ACTION to State agencies to develop a volunteer service program, limiting those volunteers to individuals over 60 years of age.

Requires the Director to coordinate programs under this title with relevant programs in other Federal agencies in disseminating information about the availability of assistance and in promoting the interest of older persons whose services may be utilized under this title.

Title III: National Volunteer Programs to Assist Small Businesses and Promote Volunteer Service by Persons with Business Experience - Authorizes the Director to conduct volunteer programs, including Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and Active Corps of Executives (ACE) programs, to provide managerial and other assistance to small businesses.

Declares that such volunteers, while working on SBA projects or new programs under this title, shall be considered Federal employees for purposes of Federal tort claims provisions purposes.

Prohibits SCORE/ACE volunteers serving in connection with responsibilities of the Director of the ACTION Agency under this Act from participating in any screening or evaluation activities on behalf of the Small Business Administration in connection with applications for loans from the Administration and prohibits them from providing services to a client of the Small Business Administration with a delinquent loan outstanding except when specifically requested by such a client after the loan has become delinquent.

Title IV: Administration and Coordination - Provides the Director with general authorities which are in addition to those given him by other provisions of the Act.

Prohibits funds appropriated to carry out the Act from being used to finance political activity or election, and authorizes the Director to issue rules and regulations for the enforcement of these political prohibitions and similar prohibitions in any programs assisted under the Act.

Prohibits agencies or organizations to which volunteers are assigned, or which operates or supervises any volunteer program authorized by this Act, from requesting or receiving any compensation for services of those volunteers.

Prohibits the use of funds authorized to be appropriated under this Act from being used to finance labor or antilabor organizations.

Authorizes the Director to prescribe requirements for volunteer service in programs authorized by this Act and requires volunteers and prospective volunteers to provide information concerning their qualifications.

Establishes in the ACTION Agency a National Voluntary Services Advisory Council to be composed of not more than 25 members appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the President.

Provides that the Council shall advise the Director with respect to administrative and policy matters, and at his request, review the effectiveness of the program operating under this and the Peace Corps Act.

Prohibits the Director from providing financial assistance for any program under this Act unless the financial arrangement specifically prohibits discrimination because of race, creed, belief, color, national origin, sex, age or political affiliation.

Provides that no payment for supportive services made to persons serving pursuant to titles II and III of this Act shall be subject to any tax or be treated as wages or compensation for the purposes of unemployment, temporary disability, retirement, or similar benefit payments, or minimum wage laws.

Title V: Authorization of Appropriations - Provides authorization for appropriations for each of the programs under ACTION for the next three fiscal years.

Title VI: Amendments to Other Laws and Repealers - Supersedes the program and administrative provisions of reorganization Plan No. 7 relating to domestic volunteer programs.

Provides that all official action taken by the Director of the ACTION Agency, his designee, or any other person under the authority of such reorganization plan which are in force on the effective date of this Act and for which there is continuing authority under the provisions of this Act, shall continue in full force and effect until modified, superseded or revoked by the Director.

Provides that VISTA, University Year for Action volunteers, and volunteers serving in full-time programs of at least one-year's duration under title I of this Act who subsequently become members of the Federal Civil Service shall have their volunteer service time counted as creditable toward civil service retirement, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.