PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 109-19.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 7, 2005
Department of the Interior Volunteer Recruitment Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to recruit, train, and accept, without regard to the civil service laws, the services of individuals, contributed without compensation as volunteers, to assist with or facilitate the activities administered by the Secretary through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Office of the Secretary.
Prohibits: (1) the Secretary, in accepting the services of volunteers, from permitting the use of volunteers in law enforcement, in regulatory and enforcement work, in policy-making processes, or to displace any employee; and (2) volunteer services authorized by this Act from being conducted on private property unless the officer or employee charged with supervising the volunteer obtains from the property owner appropriate consent to enter the property. Authorizes the Secretary to accept the services of a volunteer in hazardous duty only if the Secretary determines that the volunteer is skilled in performing hazardous activities. Directs the Secretary to ensure that an appropriate U.S. officer or employee provides adequate and appropriate supervision of each individual that volunteers under this Act.
Authorizes the Secretary to provide for services and costs incidental to the use of volunteers under this Act.
People & committees
Sen. Craig, Larry E. [R-ID] · R–ID
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 109-19.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1056)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.305 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.305 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.305 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.305 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.