Congress Sends Measure Expanding National Volunteer Service to Obama

3/18/2010

The U.S. House Tuesday approved the Senate-passed version of a bill to broadly expand the AmeriCorps national service program and increase its numbers to 250,000 over eight years. The measure now moves to President Barack Obama for his expected signature.

Leading the floor debate on the bill, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., said that volunteering is “not a black or white or gray or blue or red issue. It’s an American issue.” He said the bill would provide volunteer opportunities for Americans “from middle school to retirement and beyond retirement.”

Several speakers noted that the bill is named the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The Democratic Massachusetts senator, who is battling brain cancer, was a leading coauthor of the legislation and is a brother of President John F. Kennedy, who called the nation to service in his 1961 inaugural address. The speakers also noted that Obama revived the call for service in his own inaugural address.

The House voted 275-149 to approve the Senate-passed version of the bill, in the process scrapping its own version rather than go to conference and work out differences between the two. The measure includes incentives for both older and younger Americans to get involved in volunteer activities—including financial grants and new or expanded programs.

The bill, which would increase AmeriCorps from its current 75,000 positions, is estimated to cost $5.7 billion over five years. Obama’s proposed budget for next year calls for more than $1.1 billion for national service programs, an increase of more than $210 million.

“National service is not a job or a career move for these individuals [who volunteer],” said Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a sponsor of the bill, during a Senate floor debate last week. “Indeed, no one is getting rich by participating in these programs. Those who join these programs are motivated to give back to this great country, to engage in their local communities and improve the lives of those in need.”

In his inaugural address, Obama started the legislative ball rolling with his stirring call to service, evoking comparisons to President Kennedy’s famous inaugural words 48 years earlier: “Ask what you can do for your country.” Obama said that Americans honor members of the military fighting in wars “not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service—a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment—a moment that will define a generation—it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.”

The bill would provide some kind of volunteer program for virtually all ages. Middle- and high-school students could enroll in a “Summer of Service” volunteer program and earn $500 toward college costs. At colleges, the government would award 25 grants to schools for programs that help students perform national service while they take classes. Ten percent of AmeriCorps funds would be reserved for organizations that engage those over age 55.

Older Americans would be eligible for several specific programs under the bill. The ServeAmerica fellowships would allow those over 55 to develop individual plans for community service. Silver Scholarships and Encore Fellowships would give older Americans a hand in breaking into new careers in public service. The awards would give grants of up to $1,000 for 500 hours of service, and the grants would be transferable to children or grandchildren.

The legislation has broad support in the volunteer community and across the spectrum of interest groups. “It is truly a national movement that has gotten behind this bipartisan measure here,” Hatch said.

After the House vote, Tom Nelson, AARP chief operating officer, said, “We congratulate Congress for passing legislation that will offer more opportunities to volunteers of all ages who wish to help tackle America’s most pressing problems by lending a hand in their neighborhoods and communities.”