Student Support Act

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to control the time for the chairman of the committee.

Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much time we have left in general debate.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, this bill answers the question, whose skills does America need? Every day in our districts and in our travels, we see heartrending examples of the needs of our country. There are men and women who are struggling to find a job who cannot read and write. They need a literacy coach. There are elderly people who don't see anyone come visit with them at all during the course of a week who may be sick or hungry or certainly are very lonely. They need geriatric care workers to come in, friends to come in and be with them. There are children who today after school will face a choice between the ravages of drugs and alcohol, the irresponsibility of bad personal behavior, the violence of gang warfare, and really nothing else. They need an afterschool program. They need a loving and supportive family or religious institution to help them out.

Everywhere we look in this country, there are examples of great, unmet needs. Now, many of these needs require money to meet. And this President has proposed a budget, and this Congress just enacted, and the President signed, a stimulus bill that provides great new resources toward those needs. But money will never be enough, because in addition to financial resources, we also need the spirit, enthusiasm and integrity of our people.

The answer to the question, whose skills does America need, is America needs everyone's skills, everyone's skills to move forward as a country. This legislation is supported by both the Republican and Democratic Parties and is supported by the President. We are very hopeful it will be supported by the other body in short order. This legislation provides powerful new ways for people to offer those skills that America needs. It will be open to very young Americans who want to gain the experience of helping their neighbors while helping to finance their own education. It will be open to vastly experienced Americans who have achieved success in the classroom or the lab or the military base who now want to use the lessons of that success to help their friends and neighbors.

This is a bill that unlocks the door for opportunity, not just for those of our neighbors who are in need of these services, but also for those of us who will provide those services. There is very little in life that is more fulfilling than doing a job well whose benefits reach beyond your own personal interests and values.

The power of this bill, which is so well put together, is not its scholarship programs, although they are very needed; it is not its broad reach among the American people, although it is very desirable; it is not the track record of success that national service has already provided, although it is very admirable. The power of this bill is it provides bold new pathways for people to do right by their communities and right by themselves. I would urge a ``yes'' vote.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor), who has been a leader in the reconstruction efforts after the devastation in the gulf, and I am pleased to yield to him 1 minute.

On behalf of the chairman and the ranking member, we would urge a ``yes'' vote from all Members. We proudly support this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I ask unanimous consent to modify the manager's amendment by replacing it with the modification at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, this bill has moved to the floor under an open spirit of bipartisan cooperation. The Committee on Education and Labor had a markup very much in that spirit. Members' views have been solicited and received from throughout the House, and this manager's amendment is very much in that same spirit. I want to briefly review the substance of the manager's amendment so that the Members may understand it.

The amendment clarifies that the goal of reaching a quarter of a million volunteers is throughout all national service programs and not simply AmeriCorps. It promotes the use of interagency agreements between the Corporation For National and Community Service and other Federal agencies. Many of these agencies have innovative service projects they carry out through nonprofits, and this manager's amendment will allow these participants to earn education benefits.

The amendment adds a new definition of ``severely economically distressed community,'' and allows the corporation to consider whether projects in the bill respond to the needs of economically distressed communities.

The amendment includes language that will allow participants in the Opportunity Corps to conduct activities that would increase access to child nutrition programs.

The amendment also ensures that programs and models currently authorized could be incorporated into the new corps created in the bill.

The amendment is needed to make further technical clarifications in the bill, and we would ask for our colleagues to support the bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, before I yield back, I would like to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his very diligent work on this bill and this amendment, and for his spirit of bipartisanship. It is very much appreciated.

I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

On behalf of the committee, I just want to congratulate the author of the amendment and indicate my enthusiastic support for your amendment.

In hearing the gentlelady tell the story of her neighbors volunteering to bring wind energy to her hometown, imagine how many hours of volunteer effort we will leverage by AmeriCorps and other participants being expanded under this bill. I think the gentlelady is not only directly addressing one of the great needs of rural America, which is energy diversification, but also opening the door for many more people to participate. I thank the gentlelady for her amendment. The majority strongly supports the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the request for the rollcall vote on the manager's amendment and to reinstate the voice vote for which the Chair ruled in favor of the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, the committee majority supports the amendment and thanks the gentleman for offering it.

The amendment is a great idea for two reasons: First, it will significantly broaden participation by our veterans in the national service programs. The skills and abilities and integrity that veterans bring to these programs will no doubt enhance each one of them. And then secondly, we share with the author of the amendment the conclusion that service in the Armed Forces should not act as a penalty, which it

sort of does right now. By counting veterans' benefits against the subsidy characterization, the award characterization, in effect we say that veterans aren't entitled to the same benefit everybody else is. So we think it is an excellent amendment, and we enthusiastically support it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank my friend for yielding.

I rise in support of the amendment he's offering.

The ranking member is correct that the purpose of the underlying bill is to generate volunteers, but I think that the gentleman from Iowa has put a finer point on that and given the structure of the program a specific place at which volunteers will be generated.

It is a full-time job to generate volunteers. You need someone who gets up every morning dedicated to that purpose. And although the present program has generated millions of hours of volunteer service, I think too often that's been done in a way that's not as effective and robust as it could be.

So we support the gentleman's amendment and urge its adoption because I believe it will result in a quantum leap in the number of volunteer hours.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, we oppose this amendment because it replaces carefully reasoned consideration of the growth of the program with an arbitrary standard.

I'm quite sympathetic to the author's concern that no program grow more quickly than it should. I think that he's right, and I think that that's a concern we should have in every aspect of the Federal budget. But I think that the proper place to adjudicate that concern is in the appropriations bill.

What the bill before us does is to set a maximum limit, an authorization limit, for how much money can go into these programs. As the gentleman knows, each year the Appropriations Committee will consider, among competing priorities for the public funds, how much money this program should receive. The purpose of an authorization level is aspirational. It is to set a goal that we think is the optimal goal. But we may be wrong. It's shocking, but it's been known to happen around here. If that's the case, it is the job of the Appropriations Committee, after full public hearing and usually under a very open procedure here on the floor, for Members to come and debate the proper amount of funding that should go into such a program.

So we believe that the goals are right. We believe that the aspirational goals in this organization bill are quite right. But we understand that it's our responsibility to subject those aspirational goals to the rigor of the annual appropriations process, and that is what would happen if the bill passes without this amendment's being adopted.

So although we certainly understand the gentleman's concerns, we respectfully oppose his amendment because it deprives the appropriate committee, the Appropriations Committee, and the entire body of the right to make that annual assessment as to what the appropriate level of funding is.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, we would again respectfully request a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

The fiscal concerns that the gentleman raises are quite valid. We believe that the procedure that's in place to address those fiscal concerns is the right one, and we actually believe that this bill in many ways is a partial answer to the country's fiscal crisis in three ways:

First, it promotes many more people getting a higher education. A skilled workforce is one of the most important ways we can grow the economy.

Second, it addresses some of the most pressing needs of the country that are precluding us from growth. Whether it's illiteracy, juvenile delinquency, gaps in our health care system, this underlying bill, we believe, addresses those needs, and this amendment artificially cuts off funding for some of those needs.

And, finally, we think that the volunteer hours that are leveraged by this legislation accomplish so much more for the commonwealth at no cost to the public treasury.

We believe that the amendment artificially cuts off those possibilities and we urge a ``no'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

I would like to thank Chairman Miller for his leadership and dedication to national service and for moving this important bill towards passage.

Also Ranking Member McKeon, and certainly my good friend on the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, Mr. Todd Platts, I would like to thank them for all the work they have done, and also the staff. This is a bill that has been put together for over a year and a half, and they have worked tireless hours.

Last month President Obama stood in this Chamber and called on Congress to pass legislation that would inspire a new generation of service and volunteerism in our Nation. Serving our fellow citizens for the sake of the service itself has become a hallmark of who we are as Americans.

Beginning with President Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps and continuing with President Kennedy's creation of the Peace Corps and more recently programs like AmeriCorps, our Nation has time and again shown that Americans respond when they are needed. Mr. Chairman, I want to say that over the process of this last year and a half, so many different groups that have already been serving this country have come forward with new ideas, new suggestions, and we have put that all into this bill.

The GIVE Act is a piece of legislation, in my opinion, that is going to change, again, the way we as Americans work together. After World War II we had the veterans that came home and gave so much to this country to make it what it is. In this bill, we are reaching out, from students in middle school all the way through to our seniors and our retirees who have done so much to improve people's lives.

We have programs in here that are going to basically help with our energy. We have mentoring programs. We have programs for our veterans coming home to help other veterans get accustomed to being home again and helping them find jobs and also to see service.

I have to say, for those who have disabilities, we are bringing them into the fold now, too, so they can work with other students that might have disabilities and to help them.

Mr. Chairman, this is a bill that in my opinion is going to change the communities around this country. We have always seen Americans stand together any time there was an emergency. We saw that during, unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina. We have seen it after 9/11. We have seen it in so many tragedies.

This is going to encourage those that have been trained to continue with their service, to be there, the first responders, when neighbors need help.

Mr. Chairman, this is a bill that Republicans and Democrats alike should support. There is no name on this on who should be part of this. This is a bill that could actually get this country up and going. We all know that we are facing terrible times during this economic downturn. I happen to believe that we will come out of it fully. I happen to believe that Americans will come together and make this a better country. This is our opportunity.

I encourage everyone to vote for this bill.

Last month, President Obama stood in this chamber and called on Congress to pass legislation that would inspire a new generation of service and volunteerism in our nation.

In calling for a national service bill, President Obama has renewed the spirit of a practice in our country that is as old as the Union itself; the call to public service.

Americans have developed an extraordinary tradition of public service and volunteerism.

Serving our fellow citizens for the sake of the service itself, has become a hallmark of what it means to be an American.

Beginning with President Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps and continued with President Kennedy's creation of the Peace Corps and more recent programs like AmeriCorps, our nation has time and again shown that Americans respond when they are needed.

No statement has put the sentiment of Americans' willingness to serve better than when President Kennedy told a generation to ``Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.''

Public service and volunteerism provide the means through which Americans can give back to their communities while gaining the tools they need to achieve their own goals.

The GIVE Act will create a framework to develop national service programs that will improve their communities and enrich the lives of all of those who answer the call to serve.

The GIVE Act contains important provisions that will help strengthen communities and provide real opportunities for Americans to serve in meaningful ways.

The bill before us, which builds upon last year's GIVE act, will help thousands of Americans who choose to serve our communities.

I am proud of the focus the bill places on providing opportunities for disadvantaged youth, strengthening mentoring programs, increasing service opportunities in cities and urban centers for vets and people with disabilities.

This bill creates 175,000 new service opportunities for Americans.

Under the GIVE Act volunteer and service opportunities are made available to people of all ages.

The bill puts an emphasis on service-learning efforts, establishing programs to engage kids of all ages, middle school, high school and college.

For middle school and high school students, there are opportunities through the Summer of Service service-learning program to earn an award to pay toward college expenses and serve in the summer months when school is out of session. Priority is given to programs enrolling middle school students.

The bill makes high school students part of the solution to challenges faced in their communities by establishing Youth Engagement Zones. These programs will help bridge partnerships between community based organizations and schools in high-need, low-income communities to engage high school students and out-of-school youth in service learning to address specific challenges their communities face.

I am proud that this bill contains an important focus on disadvantaged youth.

By providing the right types of outlets, young people coming from difficult circumstances will have a chance to lift themselves up through service.

In addition to strengthened efforts in our middle and high schools, the bill also recognizes outstanding institutions of higher education which engage in service learning through the Campuses of Service.

The bill will help students by linking the full-time education awards to the maximum authorized Pell Grant award amount for the first time, in order to keep up with rising college costs.

It will also engage more retirees to volunteer, particularly those who have backgrounds in the science, law enforcement and military professions to help in afterschool programs.

This will give thousands of older Americans the opportunity to share their knowledge and skills for the benefit of their communities while offering young people guidance and support.

We establish Silver Scholarships and Encore Fellowships to further expand service opportunities for older Americans.

Encore Fellows are individuals, age 55 or older, that want to transition into a second career in the public or nonprofit sector and who agree to be placed with a nonprofit organization to carry out service projects in specified areas of national need.

Silver Scholarships give individuals age fifty five or older who complete five hundred hours of service in a year an education award of one thousand dollars.

To focus on addressing the nation's most pressing needs, the GIVE Act establishes a Clean Energy Corps to encourage energy conservation in low income communities, an Education Corps to help improve graduation rates, a Healthy Futures Corps to increase access to healthcare, and a Veterans Corps that will help provide services to those brave Americans that have already served our nation.

What the GIVE Act will do is to build a national infrastructure for service and volunteerism and makes an historic investment in way our service programs are administered.

Just as we did in the last Congress the bill expands the focus of the National Civilian Community CORE (NCCC) to include disaster relief.

It was NCCC members who answered the call when disasters such as Hurricane Katrina occurred and this bill recognizes how important it is to have trained folks on the ground during a disaster by allowing members engaged in disaster relief to extend their service term if necessary.

The bill focuses on building our national service participation while providing much needed streamlining to reduce administrative burdens.

One of the concerns I have heard during this process was that currently there is not enough consultation between the Corporation, States and local government.

This can result in local program needs not being addressed when national service plans are being developed.

This bill requires states to ensure outreach to local government such as cities and counties when preparing national service plans.

Better outreach will result in being able to target program funds to where the local folks think they need to go.

I am also pleased that this bill includes an investment in mentoring partnerships.

I would like to thank Rep. Susan Davis for her hard work on this issue.

Youth mentoring programs can have a profound effect on efforts to increase both the quality and quantity of mentoring opportunities available to America's young people.

In my home district, we have the Mentoring Partnership of Long Island and they do terrific work getting students connected with successful mentoring programs in Nassau County.

Finally, the bill includes a requirement that the Corporation conduct a nationwide ``Call to Service'' campaign to encourage all of our nation's citizens to engage in service.

I worked with my colleague from New York, Rep. Peter King, on this provision.

As part of this campaign, Americans will be urged to observe September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

It is important that Congress work together to continue to build on America's traditions of public service and volunteerism.

The GIVE Act creates a path through which we can help ourselves by helping others.

We need to work to create more volunteer and service opportunities by finding more ways for more Americans to become stewards of public service--and the GIVE Act does exactly that.

We have worked for years to develop a comprehensive service program in this nation.

We have the opportunity to do something truly significant with this bill, which is to make a cultural change in the way we relate to our community and support each others needs.

As a young woman I was inspired by President Kennedy's call to public service.

Today, a new generation is being called on by this Congress and President Obama to contribute to the strength of our nation by engaging in public service and volunteerism.

The GIVE Act is a once in a generation bill that will change the fabric of our nation for generations to come and I call on all of my colleagues to enthusiastically support this groundbreaking legislation.

I yield myself 4 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, today we consider legislation that is vital to the spirit of America and to our future. A few weeks ago, President Obama called on Congress to quickly deliver legislation that will launch a new era of American service.

Today the House will answer that call. The GIVE Act will help our country get through these crises and recognize that service is a deeply ingrained and deeply valued American trait.

I want to thank all my colleagues on the committee on both sides of the aisle for their support of this legislation.

We consider this bill at a time when our Nation faces enormous challenges. Families are losing jobs, health care, child care and other key services. Schools and colleges are seeing their budgets evaporate. Our public needs are growing while the resources to meet them are disappearing.

This legislation will make Americans part of the solution in getting our country back on track. Service is the lifeblood of this country. We have seen this throughout our history. In times of crisis, Americans stand up. Americans give back.

We saw it during World Wars I and II, when the Red Cross helped soldiers and their families and returning veterans, and later relief efforts during the Great Depression. We saw this after 9/11 when our citizens, young and old, sprung into action to help their fellow neighbors.

We saw it in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita when volunteers on the ground were there before the Federal Government. They were beacons of hope amidst serious despair. Today volunteers continue to play a huge role in gulf coast relief efforts. We have seen it in my State of California when communities were ravaged by floods, by earthquakes and wildfires.

We saw it this last June in the floods that devastated homes and businesses in southeast Iowa. Even before the storms came, volunteers were there. To date, AmeriCorps has coordinated over 800,000 volunteer hours in Iowa.

Volunteers play many roles. They teach in our classrooms. They clean up our trails and our public lands. They build and weatherize homes. They shelter the homeless and feed the hungry. That's what Americans do for one another. That's what Americans do in the name of service.

They learn skills. They teach others those skills so they can not only participate with Habitat for Humanity but they can develop a career ladder in the construction trades. They pass on those skills to others in communities so communities can help build, help build stronger communities and better homes to be weatherized and to be energy-efficient.

They tutor our children. They mentor students in school. They help our community. They build our communities. They strengthen our communities. We have seen them come from all walks of life, from young students who want to give to their community, who want to participate, to senior citizens who continue to take their skills and their talents from their working life and repatriate them back to the community and helping others, the next generation after them.

Our generation was called by President Kennedy to do this. This generation is being called by President Obama to do this, and millions of Americans are answering the call and preparing others to answer that call. This is what strengthens our communities. This is what builds our communities. This is what makes America, America.

People do it, some for a small stipend, some for an educational benefit, some for free. They come from all different places on the compass to help Americans in our communities.

There is a huge focus in this legislation, from middle school to senior citizens, to tying this to a benefit for education. Young students in middle schools can earn a small educational benefit that they can redeem when they go to community college or to the university.

For students, for young people who work full time in AmeriCorps, they can earn a stipend of almost $4,700, $4,800 that they can redeem to help pay for their college education. Senior citizens too can get a stipend and get help for education if they want to continue their education.

It's a very important piece, and it's about American values. It's about the value of education, it's about the value of Americans helping one another, it's about how we treat our communities. That's what AmeriCorps has done.

We have an organization that has been building homes in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in St. Bernard Parish, and today they will welcome their 200th family back to a home, a gift from the community, from volunteers in America, to those families that were ravaged, that lost everything.

That's what this bill will enable more Americans to do. That's what this bill will do for our communities.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield myself 15 seconds.

I want to thank Congressman Platts and Congressman McKeon for all their cooperation, and for the staff on the minority side, because without their cooperation, I don't think we would be here today. I want to thank them.

At this time I want to recognize for 3 minutes subcommittee Chair Carolyn McCarthy from New York who has been an absolute driving force on this issue of national service and thank her for all of her work.

I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to a gentleman who's been key in this legislation, given his background and history in energy conservation and efficiencies and weatherization, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko).

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds.

Mr. Chairman, one of the very exciting parts of this legislation, as pointed out by Mr. McKeon, is the full integration of our veterans into national service.

Today, earlier, we heard from Captain Scott Quilty, who is a decorated infantry captain and Army major retired who lost both his legs and one of his arms in Iraq. Scott has come back to assume the management responsibilities for Survivor Corps, a U.S.-based program that serves the needs of servicemembers and veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. And Survivor Corps spoke in strong support of this legislation, recognizing that we now are extending full partnership to the veterans of this country, thanking them for their services, and providing services to them as they return home.

I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to a leader in service, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).

I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to a member of the committee, a strong supporter of the bill, the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan).

I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes for the purpose of entering into a colloquy with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Grayson.)

I yield myself 15 seconds to respond to the gentleman and say that I agree that many of our communities' needs, especially in times of natural disaster, are being met through the hard work of the NCCC members, and I look forward to working with you in exploring this issue and certainly recognizing the needs of those States that are hit repeatedly by natural disasters, representing one of those States, but knowing what has taken place in Florida and others with hurricanes and storms that we are now experiencing. And I look forward to working with him as this bill progresses.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green) for 1\1/2\ minutes.

I yield the gentleman 10 additional seconds, and I want to thank the gentleman for bringing the housing language that is based upon his expertise in this field, and along with Maxine Waters, thank you so very much. We are happy to include it.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for raising this issue. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention.

I am proud to be a long-time supporter of Teach for America, and I am pleased to say that they will continue to be eligible to participate in AmeriCorps through the newly-created National Service Corps exactly as you have described.

Teach for America has demonstrated measurable effectiveness in the classroom and is exactly the type of measurable success that we are looking to scale up. Thank you again, Mr. Cassidy, for your support of this program and for raising this issue and for the support of the GIVE Act.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Mrs. Dahlkemper) for 1\1/2\ minutes.

I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Driehaus).

I yield now 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland, the leader, Mr. Hoyer.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1 minute.

Questions have been raised about the intent of section 1705 giving the Chief Executive Officer authority to delegate specific programmatic authority to the States. In particular, strong concerns have been raised that corporation officials would use this authority to eliminate the State offices of the corporation and adversely impact the operation of VISTA and the Senior Corps.

The committee intends that the Chief Executive Officer will use this authority judiciously to improve the operation of all of the corporation's programs by using a consultative process that includes all of the stakeholders in the affected programs. The committee expects the corporation to continue the staff from State offices at an operational level that is at least equal to the current one.

I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar).

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Miller, Ranking Member McKeon, Subcommittee Chairwoman McCarthy, and Ranking Member Platts for their bipartisan work on the GIVE Act. I am offering this amendment today to build on this important legislation and increase volunteerism across America.

My amendment authorizes grants to nonprofits, including faith-based organizations, and to States to increase the supply of volunteers in this country, and to strengthen volunteer infrastructure organizations nationwide. These grants will help address national and State priorities, especially in areas with the greatest need for this support.

I have never seen more clearly the need for volunteers than in Iowa this past year. In June 2008, Iowa was overcome by severe flooding. As my colleagues know, 85 of Iowa's 99 counties were declared Presidential disaster

areas. The Second District, which I represent, sustained the greatest damage. Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed, families were displaced, and the devastation was indescribable.

Needless to say, we are still struggling to get back on our feet.

In the initial days of the floods, we faced many challenges. Among them was the need to coordinate volunteer efforts. United Way of East Central Iowa; Serve the City, a local ecumenical group; and several major corporations were all involved in various efforts to recruit and deploy volunteers, but there was no centralized location and point of contact.

In late June United Way of East Central Iowa formed a partnership with Community Corrections Improvement Association, the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service, and AmeriCorps. Together they created the East Central Iowa Volunteer Reception Center to organize and coordinate volunteer responses to the disasters. AmeriCorps/VISTA team members, working with the United Way and the Iowa Commission staff, opened the volunteer center within 3 weeks of the flood's crest and began taking calls from both volunteers and those who needed volunteer help. AmeriCorps members have helped coordinate over 800,000 volunteer hours through eight volunteer reception centers.

Iowa would not have made the progress it has made in the wake of disasters without volunteers, and Iowa is not alone. Across this country States are faced with growing unmet public needs which can be better addressed by leveraging the work of volunteers. And I might just say, as we speak, we have over 600 student volunteers from universities from all over the country taking time in their spring break to help us continue work in Iowa. This amendment is the missing link in the current set of strategies at the Corporation For National and Community Service to achieve the goal of enabling all Americans to make a contribution through service.

A modest but critical Federal investment in a new volunteer generation fund that builds capacity and access for millions of new volunteers can leverage billions of dollars in volunteer services to some of the country's neediest citizens. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I will submit an article written by an AmeriCorps intern, Lacy White, who was inspired by the work of all the AmeriCorps members in what they were doing and asked if she could do her part by recording their story.

AmeriCorps Fuels Hope Through Disaster Relief

(By Lacy White)

The summer of 2008 brought tornados and floods that

devastated many Iowa towns. In May, an F5 tornado tore

through Parkersburg, leveling almost half the town.

Homeowners emerged from their basements to find nothing on

their lots but piles of rubble and debris. In June, record

flooding submerged towns like Oakville and Cedar Rapids. When

the waters receded, residents were left with houses full of

molding walls and possessions beyond salvaging.

Families across the state were in dire need of help, the

damage so extensive that any hope of rebuilding their homes--

and their lives--seemed out of reach. Many did not know how

or where to begin the enormous task that lie ahead.

AmeriCorps quickly stepped in to offer its service--

hundreds of members arrived eager to do whatever necessary to

rally and relieve distressed communities. Arriving in

Parkersburg less than a week after the tornado, Bill Dillon,

a Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS) program

director, realized the greatest need was for organization.

Dozens of volunteers sat waiting to be deployed, but there

was no system for coordinating them. ``We determined the most

appropriate use for our team was to set up a Volunteer

Reception Center (VRC) to which all groups--internal and

traveling through--could report,'' said Dillon. This is also

where homeowners could call in and register for assistance.

The VRCs established by AmeriCorps teams across the state

provided the key element of efficiency to the work being done

in each town, benefiting not only AmeriCorps members, but any

volunteer who registered at the VRC. They also became a place

for residents to socialize with volunteers, to tell their

stories or take their minds off their trouble. Perry Onorio,

a member of the Washington Conservation Corps AmeriCorps

program, served as head of the Oakville VRC. ``I had direct

contact with almost everyone in that town,'' he said. ``I

talked to them and let them vent or let them know what was

going on. I assured them there were people who had come in

solely to help them rebuild their lives.''

It was this assurance by Onorio--and countless other

AmeriCorps members like him--that helped facilitate one of

the program's most important duties: to offer hope to those

who could not see past the devastation in front of them,

those who saw their belongings lost or destroyed, their

futures uncertain. Many thought their homes were beyond

repair and there was nothing they could do. But, as Onorio

observed in Oakville, their outlook evolved: ``As people

started seeing things change in town it became more hopeful.

Once a group like AmeriCorps comes in and does a lot of the

work for you--rips out your carpet and drywall--it looks much

more doable. You can say, 'I can totally fix this up now.' I

saw that change in people on a daily basis as homes were

gutted out.''

In flooded towns, the work consisted of draining houses of

water and mud, throwing out waterlogged furniture and

appliances, removing everything down to the studs and power

washing inside and out. In Parkersburg, it was removing

debris--everything from trees to metal to glass to concrete

to piles of lumber--and anything salvageable from inside

houses. AmeriCorps members were able to undertake a

tremendous amount of manual labor, freeing many residents

from the emotional task of gutting their own homes. Their

tireless commitment to backbreaking work in sweltering

humidity and the enthusiasm with which they met each

challenge provided the support residents needed to endure the

summer.

AmeriCorps members also took something away from the

experience of disaster relief. Katie Graham, a member of

Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), shared the lesson

she learned from her ten week term in Cedar Rapids: ``I

learned the importance of living for someone other than

yourself, for giving even when you think you have nothing to

give, for giving without an expectation of being thanked. And

I learned how much community service can tie you to the place

where you serve; you sow a part of yourself into whatever

community you serve, so returning is a little like coming

back home. It's familiar, it's comfortable, it's yours.''

This is a sentiment echoed by many other members who found it

difficult to leave when their first term was up, often

requesting to extend their service to a second term. In Cedar

Rapids, VISTA remains a strong presence as it continues to

help the town in its rebuilding process.

Across the state, AmeriCorps helped accomplish in weeks

what it would have taken individual homeowners and volunteers

months to complete. The program's quick and effective

response cleared a space for hope to rise up from the muck

and debris, and there are those now rebuilding on foundations

AmeriCorps helped clear and cleanse. It has left a lasting

impression on the towns through proactive and sustainable

volunteer coordination systems, thousands of eager helping

hands and relentless positivity. It was this selfless desire

to alleviate the frustration and vulnerability of those left

suddenly in need that put so many Iowa residents on the road

to reclaiming their lives in the wake of disaster.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my colleague Rob Andrews.

Mr. Chairman, at this time I want to thank my colleagues for their consideration of my amendment and urge its passage.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in strong support of H.R. 1388.

Neighbors helping neighbors. This happens countless times every day across America. A college student teaching English to immigrants, a Boy Scout troop collecting canned food for the hungry, families taking in neighbors who have lost their homes in floods or tornado or fire.

Mr. Chairman, the bill before us today, aptly named the GIVE Act, encourages the selfless actions I just described by updating decades- old national service programs to make them even more effective in the 21st century.

H.R. 1388 allows for year-round service learning opportunities. It also offers a new emphasis on emergency and disaster relief and recovery. Finally, it offers increased opportunities for baby boomers, a generation known for its social activism.

But I would like to inform my colleagues of one fact that has not been given much attention. This bill includes powerful new safeguards to protect taxpayers by making the service programs more accountable and performance based. The bill also makes the programs it funds more competitive to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. In addition to H.R. 1388, individuals can receive Federal funding to serve at organizations of their choosing.

Of course, to prevent fraud, these organizations will be closely examined. But after such screening, part of the funds the bill provides will be dedicated to those people who believe they can make the greatest difference at small organizations.

And yet this bill also addresses national needs. For example, this proposal adds a new Veterans Corps, giving people who served in our military a chance to serve their Nation once more and a chance for our Nation to serve them. Through the Veterans Corps, veterans and others can help the families of servicemembers through their hardships and aid fellow veterans as they readjust to civilian life.

Finally, this bill makes disaster assistance a priority. It allows the Corporation for National and Community Service to develop a system to quickly mobilize former participants, if they are needed. It also allows people to extend their service if their term has run out in the middle of a disaster.

I would like to thank Chairman Miller, Subcommittee Chairman McCarthy, Ranking Member Platts and our staff for such an excellent job to work together to craft this bill.

This is the way legislation should be passed, and I think it has been an example, and I wish all bills were passed in this manner.

You know, we have been hearing a lot in the last couple of days about AIG and about the bonuses that were made to leaders of that company, a company that would not even be in existence if it were not for the Federal Government and the taxpayers that bailed them out.

The stimulus package that was passed was the last attempt that would have been able to stop those bonuses. There was an amendment in there, and I know the Senator that's credited for that amendment, he says he didn't know about it, or didn't have part in it. That could have been taken care of if we had what was promised to us, 48 hours at least, to review that bill, or if we had worked together in a bipartisan way to craft that bill.

I'm sorry that that did not happen. Because of that, we have found now a terrible tragedy has taken place, and I hope that we will be able to correct it. But it could have been avoided if we had just simply worked, as we did on this bill, in a bipartisan way to see that that never happened.

Mr. Chair, I support this bill because Americans who give their time, talent, and compassion to others clearly can help our Nation. And we, as their representatives, should help them.

Thank you. I ask all of our colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in support of the Hunter amendment.

The gentleman that is the sponsor of this amendment speaks with great expertise when he talks of military and veterans affairs, having joined the Marine Corps the day after 9/11 and having served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. In fact, when he signed up to run for Congress, he was recalled up, sent back to Afghanistan, and couldn't even campaign. So I thank him for offering this amendment.

Since passage of the original GI Bill, we have provided educational benefits to soldiers returning from battle. Helping these brave men and women pursue a college education is a small price to pay for their valiant service to our Nation. These benefits are not a government handout; rather, they're a small token of our appreciation for their willingness to serve. Unfortunately, the education awards under the GI Bill may actually be held against veterans participating in national service by sometimes decreasing their ability to receive other educational awards.

I support the Hunter amendment because it restores fairness in how veterans' educational awards are treated. This amendment is consistent with bipartisan reforms enacted last year to the Higher Education Act, and it is consistent with our commitment to the veterans who have already given so much to our Nation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, Members on both sides of the aisle have worked hard to strike a balance on this legislation. We have produced a major reorganization and renewal of national service programs, and we've done so without layering on unnecessary new programs.

The purpose of this amendment is to generate volunteers, which is the purpose of the whole bill. It's a worthy goal, and that's why we've taken steps to ensure that all national service programs, in one way or another, encourage volunteerism. The approach included in the bill, agreed to in a bipartisan manner, is the right one. Rather than creating a new program, which this amendment does, we should work to achieve the goal of generating volunteers under the existing programs authorized in this legislation.

Therefore, I oppose this redundant amendment and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and welcome him to the committee, a new member of our committee and a great addition to the committee.

The gentleman that just spoke is correct. We do have the appropriators who spend the money, but that does not mean that the authorizers should give up their responsibilities, and they have the responsibility of putting in the bills what they think should be spent.

None of us needs reminding about the grave economic and fiscal challenges we face at this time. In fact, a child born today carries a debt of at least $175,000. That's the equivalent of having a mortgage and no house.

The Roe amendment is a small step but a very important one. It underscores our commitment to fiscal responsibility. And I think, as authorizers, we can step up and do that, and I commend him for offering the amendment.

The GIVE Act, as currently drafted, offers no clear guidance on funding levels for AmeriCorps and its supporting programs. Rather, this section of the bill is merely authorized to spend ``such sums as may be required,'' and we would be giving up the opportunity to advise the appropriators.

As we implement major structural changes in the bill, such as the new fixed-price grant structure, it would be prudent to take our time before deploying on a larger scale. Therefore, although we have encouraged the corporation to actually expand these programs, I support this amendment to authorize funding for the coming year at the fiscal year 2008 level and allow

flexibility in future years to help reach the goal we have articulated.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.