42 U.S.C. § 12653h — National Service Reserve Corps

(a) Definitions
(1) A "National Service Reserve Corps member" is someone who (A) has completed a term of national service or is a veteran^*; (B) finished the training described in subsection (c) within the past 2 years; (C) volunteers at least 10 hours a year (training counts toward this); and (D) has told the Corporation^* they want to help respond to disasters and emergencies through the Reserve Corps.
(2) A "term of national service" means a term of service defined in section 12573.

(b) Establishment of National Service Reserve Corps
(1) Working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Corporation must create a National Service Reserve Corps to prepare and send members to help national service programs and other programs or agencies respond to disasters and emergencies.
(2) The Corporation may run this through a grant or contract with an experienced disaster-response or veteran-coordination organization, or may deploy Reserve Corps members directly, as it decides is best.

(c) Annual training
The Corporation must run or coordinate yearly training, matching FEMA's training standards, for national-service alumni and veterans who want to join the Reserve Corps.

(d) Designation of organizations
(1) The Corporation must designate experienced disaster- or emergency-response organizations, including ones that use volunteers, to take part in this program.
(2) The Corporation must make sure every designated organization is (A) ready to respond to disasters or emergencies; (B) ready and able to use Reserve Corps members in that response; and (C) willing to respond quickly once the Corporation notifies it.

(e) Databases
The Corporation must build or contract out the building of (1) a database of all Reserve Corps members, and (2) a database of all nonprofit organizations designated under subsection (d).

(f) Deployment of National Service Reserve Corps
(1) For a major disaster or emergency the President declares under the Stafford Act, the FEMA Administrator^*, working with the Corporation, may direct the Reserve Corps to help.
(2) For a disaster or emergency that is not declared "major" under the Stafford Act, the Corporation itself -- directly or through a grant or contract -- may deploy the Reserve Corps.
(3) In either case, the Corporation may (A) send interested Reserve Corps members on assignments of up to 30 days to assist with local needs related to preparing for or recovering from the event, either directly or through designated organizations; (B) arrange their travel to the site; and (C) fund the responding organizations so they can house, pay a living stipend to, and insure the deployed members.
(4) Allowance: Money used from section 12681(a)(4)(D) funds for major-disaster deployments must be kept in a separate fund each year. Unused money stays available to pay Reserve Corps members an allowance the Corporation sets for their out-of-pocket costs.
(5) Information: (A) The Corporation, State^* Commissions, and grantees under Division C or Domestic Volunteer Service Act Title I Part A must tell national-service participants about the Reserve Corps when they finish their term of service. (B) The Secretary^* of Veterans Affairs, working with the Secretary of Defense, must tell recently discharged or separated veterans about the Reserve Corps.
(6) Coordination: When deploying Reserve Corps members, the Corporation must (A) avoid duplicating FEMA's own directed activities, and (B) consult and, where appropriate, partner with Citizen Corps programs and other local disaster agencies -- including state and local emergency management agencies, disaster-response volunteer groups, State Commissions, and similar organizations in the affected area.