STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - September 11, 2008)
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By Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, and Mr. KENNEDY):
S. 3479. A bill to amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a Semester of Service grant program, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Semester of Service Act--a bill which would offer young people the opportunity to spend a semester serving their communities during their junior or senior year of high school. I want to thank Senators COCHRAN and KENNEDY for joining me in introducing this legislation.
Throughout the U.S., there are mounting problems and unmet needs.
We have millions of families losing their homes. We have 14 million children that have no supervised place to go after school. We have a health care system that is barely able to hold itself together. And we have veterans and seniors who have given so much to our country unable to get the treatment they were promised and retire with the dignity they have earned.
We can debate how best to solve these problems and others. Some suggest the market can do the job. Others believe the government has an appropriate role to play.
But one thing upon which we can all agree is that when we provide service to our communities, we can tackle so many of our toughest challenges. Service that draws upon our collective imaginations, ideas, and resolve. No one is better equipped to take part in that effort, Mr. President, than our Nation's young people.
As the father of two young daughters, every day I bear witness to the energy, enthusiasm and imagination children bring to every single thing they do. And if the online communities of today teach us anything, it is that young people yearn for shared experiences--for experiences that take them out of their comfort zones to introduce them to new people, put them in new situations and teach them things they might never otherwise learn.
As a young man serving in the Peace Corps, I learned for myself how much we can grow and learn and, more importantly, the difference we can make when we serve. Today, what children need from us is the impetus and leadership to redirect that boundless energy of theirs toward the betterment of our communities. Unlocking the remarkable potential in our young people is what this legislation is all about.
With a semester of service, they can help tutor elementary-school students. They can assist those living in our veterans' hospitals or in hospice. Or they can help clean up neighborhoods and the environment. Those are just a few of the opportunities the Semester of Service Act offers. The difference service makes to our younger generation is as clear as the need for it.
We talk so much about ways to improve academic performance in our schools. Well, when community service is integrated into our students' curricula at school, we know that young people make gains on achievement tests. Service-learning results in grade point averages going up and more positive feelings about high school.
The benefits of service-learning go well beyond the classroom. When young people participate in community service activities they feel better able to control their own lives in a positive way. They are less prone to engage in risky behavior, more likely to engage in their own education, and far more aware of the career opportunities before them.
Indeed, research shows that for every dollar we spend on a service-learning project, $4 worth of service is provided to the community involved. That means by authorizing $200 million for fiscal year 2009, as this legislation does, our country will save more than half a billion dollars in service performed.
This legislation works by creating a competitive grant program that provides school districts, or nonprofits working in partnership with local school districts, the opportunity to have students participate in a semester of service in their junior or senior year for academic credit. These students are required to perform a minimum of 70 hours of service learning activities over 12 weeks, with at least 24 of those hours spent participating in field-based activities--outside of the classroom.
By engaging both the public and private sector, Semester of Service teaches civic participation skills and helps young people see themselves not merely as residents in their communities--but resources to them.
Ultimately, that is what this legislation is about. As with our legislation to strengthen and expand AmeriCorps and increase senior involvement in national service, this bill is about maximizing our resources. It's about increasing participation, engaging our young people, and lifting up our communities. That is why communities from all across this Nation have endorsed this Semester of Service legislation.
If we ask all Americans to take responsibility for the future of our country as we do with this legislation, I believe our best days can be ahead of us--not in the memories of the past, but in the world of our children. We can move forward as a Nation, lead the world and create a better, brighter tomorrow for all of us.
Let us start that journey today.
By Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. Kennedy):
S. 3480. A bill to amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish Encore Service Programs, Encore Fellowship Programs, and Silver Scholarship Programs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Encore Service Act of 2008--legislation which would offer Americans 55 years of age and older the chance to serve their communities and use their expertise and life lessons to give back to the country that has given them so much. I want to thank Senators Cochran and Kennedy for joining me in introducing this legislation.
As we have discussed time and time again, the challenges facing America are mounting--from an aging population to a broken health care system to challenges in our schools that put our children's futures at risk.
These are problems that countless Americans have lived and struggled with--that we here in this institution have debated for years, decades even. We can disagree amongst ourselves about how to solve them--and we certainly have. But what we can all agree on is the impact citizens can make when it comes to facing some of our biggest challenges.
We know the extraordinary things ordinary citizens can accomplish for our communities when given the opportunity--the difference they can make in our schools and nursing homes, in veterans' hospitals and in helping those living on fixed incomes.
We know the character of our people in our darkest moments. Indeed, while September 11 may have showed us that our world had changed--it was September 12 that reminded us: Americans had not. The community blood drives, the heroic work of our Nation's firefighters, the floods of donations--all were a powerful reminder that Americans are always ready to give back when their country calls.
I will never forget the Mayor of Pass Christian Mississippi telling me about an elderly Connecticut couple who drove all the way to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Katrina for no other reason than to help their fellow countrymen and women. Contrary to what some suggest, I believe the American people are starved for opportunities to serve--and stand at the ready not just in times of crisis, but every day. Americans are simply waiting to be asked. I am introducing this legislation today because, it is time they were.
The truth is, no one is more ready or more poised to make a difference--in our communities and throughout our country--than older Americans.
We have all heard about the aging Baby Boomer generation--in the next decade alone, the number of Americans 55 years and older is expected to grow by another 22 percent. But for all the well-publicized challenges that growth presents, it's time we also recognize something else: The opportunities it offers--if we seize them.
Studies tell us that more than half of those considered a part of the Baby Boomer generation are interested in providing meaningful service to their communities. Countless older men and women who have given so much to their country throughout their lives want to continue to serve their communities as they enter their later years.
Why wouldn't they? After a lifetime of hard work, raising a family, and paying taxes, Americans look forward to retirement--to enjoying their golden years with the security and dignity they have earned. They are living longer, healthier lives than any generation in history. And they recognize something elemental:
Life doesn't end at retirement. For many, it is only beginning--leading perhaps to a second career in the public or nonprofit sector. There can be no greater gift passed on to future generations than the lessons of the past. But the truth is, we too often fail to draw upon the experience, knowledge and ideas of previous generations. What is missing is the opportunity.
Providing older Americans those opportunities is what the Encore Service Act is all about. It creates an Encore Service Program that provides Americans 55 years and older with opportunities to serve communities with the greatest need--to volunteer in our Nation's schools, to help keep our neighborhoods clean, safe and vibrant, and so much more. In return for their service, which may include extensive training and a significant commitment of time, they can receive a stipend and education award, much like AmeriCorps does for younger generations.
Best of all, that stipend can be transferred to children or grandchildren. Imagine what that means for a grandmother or a grandfather who could literally put thousands of dollars into their newborn grandchild's college savings fund as a result of this program--funds that can only be used after the child turns 18 and can be kept for up to 20 years. Of all the new ideas in this legislation, perhaps this one is the most exciting.
This legislation also creates an Encore Fellows program that places older Americans in one-year management or leadership positions in public or private not-for-profits. These year-long fellowships not only increase the capacity of public service organizations already doing tremendous work in our communities, they also promote those who have already had full, successful careers, perhaps in the private sector, to lend their expertise and experience to the cause of community or public service.
The Encore Service Act also creates a Silver Scholars program that awards older Americans with an education scholarship of up to $1,000 in exchange for volunteering with public agencies or private nonprofits between 250 and 500 hours a year. As with the Encore Service Program, they can use these awards for themselves or transfer them to children, grandchildren or other qualified designees.
Lastly, this legislation expands the capacity and builds on the success of current Senior Programs by raising the authorization funding levels for the Foster Grandparent, Senior Corps and RSVP programs. We all know that seniors and these programs have already made a remarkable difference in our communities. That is why our legislation raises program eligibility levels from 125 to 200 percent above poverty and ensures that all programs will be open to any individual 55 years and older.
The Encore Service Act authorizes $326.7 million in new funding for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as necessary for subsequent years. Ultimately, this bill is about unlocking the remarkable potential in older Americans. It is about creating ample opportunities for them to use their skills and talents to give back to their communities--to elementary schools, retirement homes, soup kitchens operating out of local churches, libraries, and other centers of our communities.
It is about harnessing the power of experience. We all know that when called upon, every generation of Americans has risen to the challenge, often beating great odds to pass on a stronger, safer, more prosperous world to its children and grandchildren.
Americans are ready once again for leadership that marshals the same unity, purpose and generosity that so defined our country in the wake of 9/11, and has so defined our Nation so many times before. That is what the Encore Service Act of 2008 is about. I am honored to introduce it today.
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