To require the Secretary of the Treasury to pursue every legal means to stay or recoup certain incentive bonus payments and retention payments made by American International Group, Inc. to its executives and employees, and to require the Secretary's approval of such payments by any financial institution who receives.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 250 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz- Balart). All time yielded during consideration of this rule is for debate only. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

General Leave

I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 250.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 250 provides for consideration of H.R. 1388, the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education, or the GIVE Act, under a structured rule. The rule provides 1 hour of general debate controlled by the Committee on Education and Labor.

The rule makes in order 11 amendments which are listed in the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution. Each amendment is debatable for 10 minutes except the manager's amendment, which is debatable for 30 minutes. The rule also provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a vital piece of bipartisan legislation that directly affects all of our communities and the lives of millions of Americans.

Legislation that strengthens our communities helps educate our future generations, teaches our youth to prepare for and respond to unthinkable tragedies and fosters the growth of respect and compassion throughout our entire society.

The GIVE Act will help launch a new era of American service and volunteerism. The bill answers President Obama's call for Americans of all generations to help get the country through the economic crisis by serving and volunteering in their communities.

The GIVE Act reauthorizes, for the first time in 15 years, our country's investment in community service and volunteerism. As a cochair of the National Service Caucus, it is a pleasure to call attention to the tremendous work of those involved at every level and in every program of the corporation.

Service programs not only help each of our communities but also provide training that could lead to future careers. Many individuals who are involved in service at a young age continue in public service careers and in service programs throughout their lives.

Mr. Speaker, service and volunteerism are the bedrock of emergency preparedness and national security. In times of strife, the American people have always shown a spirit of service and ingenuity. Investing in service and volunteer programs prepares us to handle any crisis.

We must focus on building our national capacity, and harnessing the enterprising spirit of the American people is a good way to do so. In the wake of a catastrophe, a first responder is likely to be a civilian. A neighbor is likely to be the first one to provide assistance. By building up our service and volunteer programs, we are taking proactive steps to bolster our national security and capability to weather a disaster now and in the years to come.

We saw firsthand the importance of having trained volunteers in the wake of the 2005 hurricanes, Katrina and Rita. These forever changed thousands of lives and communities in the gulf coast. We also witnessed an outpouring of support and compassion from individuals who were touched by this immense tragedy.

Following the devastation in the gulf coast, more than 92,000 national service volunteers contributed over 3.5 million hours of work to the recovery effort. They repaired neighborhoods. They rebuilt lives.

Since September of 2005, over 4,070 National Civilian Community Corps--or NCCC--members have served more than 2.1 million hours in the gulf coast on over 830 relief and recovery projects. Through programs such as AmeriCorps State and national, Volunteers in Service to America--or VISTA--and NCCC,

servicemembers address critical needs in our communities.

AmeriCorps and NCCC members are disaster trained and available for immediate deployment in the event of a natural disaster anywhere within the United States, just as they were to the gulf coast.

In fact, NCCC teams have responded to every national disaster, including the recent fires in my home State of California. Disaster relief and emergency response now accounts for over 60 percent of the NCCC portfolio. Over $42 million worth of hurricane recovery resources have come from AmeriCorps and NCCC alone, which is millions more than we have spent on the entire program nationwide. This is a clear return on our investment.

These exceptional young men and women are especially trained in disaster preparedness and organizing local volunteers into an effective recovery operation. These programs continually put more back into the community than we put into them. The GIVE Act shows Congress' support for their heroic and continued efforts and ensures these programs continue for years to come.

The GIVE Act of 2009 will strengthen the emergency preparedness and response training of our country's NCCC participants. The changes will also help the program continue to grow.

The legislation expands the scope of NCCC to specifically include disaster relief, infrastructure improvement, environmental and energy conservation and urban and rural development.

The GIVE Act also establishes four new service corps, including a Clean Energy Corps to encourage energy efficiency and conservation measures; an Education Corps to help increase student engagement, achievement and graduation; a Healthy Futures Corps to improve health care access; and a Veterans Service Corps to enhance services for veterans.

This bill includes a Call to Service Campaign to encourage all Americans to engage in service and to observe September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The bill seeks to tap the growing pool of baby boomers reaching retirement that wish to continue serving their country and provides real alternatives to traditional employment at a time when jobs are scarce. The GIVE Act also seeks to engage our future generations in lifetimes of service. Engaging young men and women is vitally important. The Education Awards, which will be increased in this bill, encourage our youth to apply the skills that they learn at volunteerism to a successful education and the lessons they learn in school to improving their communities.

The GIVE Act specifically seeks to make a difference, not only by the services that are provided but by who we are engaged in serving. It seeks to exponentially increase the numbers of disadvantaged and at- risk youth participating in service. Each one of these valuable young men and women will take the respect and compassion that they learn at service programs back to their schools and to their families and be a seed of inspiration amongst those who need it most.

We cannot pass up the opportunity to better our future generations. Service programs provide an opportunity to give our youth the most valuable lesson of all, positive personal experience.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the great work of AmeriCorps members, extraordinary things are happening all around America. The corporation supports such important nonprofit organizations as Habitat for Humanity, City Year and the American Red Cross.

National service participants have built homes, healed wounds, worked in national parks and taught elementary school kids. These volunteers are part of the backbone of our country. With very little funding, service participants leverage millions of dollars and perform crucial work in classrooms and in areas of our Nation hit by disaster.

The service programs and new initiatives in H.R. 1388 help address some of our Nation's toughest problems, from poverty and unmet education needs to natural disasters. Just this week, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal pointed to the rise in the number of volunteers nationwide. Many who have been laid off or are in between jobs have joined volunteer programs to stay connected to their community and learn new skills. Some have even benefited by gaining employment through their work as volunteers.

The GIVE Act will expand these opportunities as well as health care access, provide seniors with help living independently, enhance services for veterans, and help build a clean, green, energy-efficient economy.

As a result, I hope that my colleagues will support the rule and the underlying legislation. The spirit of service has been renewed at a time of economic challenges, and it is time for our government to foster a continued dedication to our country's prosperity through national service.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Sutton).

Mr. Speaker, before I yield to my next speaker, I'd like to make a couple of comments. First of all, we aren't paying volunteers, we're supporting an infrastructure that removes barriers to service. We're making volunteers more accessible and more effective by creating an infrastructure in which everyday citizens can volunteer and be effective, without having resources, prior experience, or formal training.

Also, one of the GIVE Act's major themes is to increase transparency and accountability in national service programs, particularly in showing program outcomes. Section 179 of the Act establishes performance measures for each national service program and a framework for ensuring that Federal dollars go to high-performing programs.

With that, I yield 3 minutes to my fellow Rules Committee colleague, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis).

Mr. Speaker, before I yield to the next speaker, let me just say this is not AIG. The bill on the floor today is the GIVE Act. And to compare AIG to the GIVE Act is absolutely, astoundingly ridiculous.

With that, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend, the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that both sides of this aisle are absolutely outraged about what happened at AIG, absolutely outraged. We agree with you on that, definitely. And we will be taking action immediately. In fact, I have been informed that we will be having a Rules meeting this afternoon. But let's get the GIVE Act through. Let's do the rule on this and move forward.

With that, I reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.

I inquire of the gentleman, does he have any speakers?

So you're ready to close.

I reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, this reauthorization, the first in 15 years, takes programs and infrastructure that touch so many lives and builds off its foundation to greatly increase the quantity and improve the quality of service that we, as a Nation, work to provide.

National Service is a proven return on our investments. With this bill, we will broaden those involved in service across the country, and in doing so, foster the values of civic engagement and duty that can change a life and a community.

This bipartisan legislation is truly a win-win for all those involved and for our country. It makes excellent improvements to an already successful Corporation for National and Community Service. It improves access and support for organizations and grant applicants, and most importantly, reassures our valued servicemembers that Congress supports them and their work in our communities.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 257 and ask for its immediate consideration.

For the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz- Balart). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only.

General Leave

I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials into the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time to myself as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, people across the country are rightly outraged by the egregious nature of the AIG bonuses. It is unconscionable for AIG to pay out $165 million in bonuses to the same top executives who mismanaged the company to the point of failure.

It is fundamentally wrong to be rewarding the very same people who ran AIG while it was losing billions and billions of dollars with risky schemes that directly led to the staggering $170 billion bailout last year. It is a stunning example of greed and shamelessness, and it is gross mismanagement and misuse of taxpayer funds that borders on criminal.

People in Maine, my district, and around the country are angry. I have heard from hundreds of my constituents sharing their outrage. One resident of Wells, Maine, in the straightforward way that my constituents do, wrote to me in this manner. He said, ``Let AIG fail. Let those greedy, blood-sucking executives find out what it means to lose their life savings. You need to tell those that want our tax dollars, these are the conditions, clear and simple. And if you don't want to use it for what we want, you will get nothing.'' He went on to say, ``It has become a sad day in our history when we have to lose our retirements, and then have to give billions to those that have caused the problems, and then, in turn, they give it to themselves as bonuses.''

Another Mainer wrote, ``I am writing to you because I am absolutely appalled that we, as citizens and taxpayers, have given billions of dollars to AIG, only to have that company give us all the proverbial finger and pay out $165 million in bonus money to their staff. AIG's conduct, given their own monetary losses that are in the billions of dollars, is criminal.''

The small businesses in my State of Maine are doing what businesses around the country are doing; they are diversifying, they are freezing wages. They are using their own resources, adopting cost-saving measures, whatever it takes to stay in business and keep people in their jobs.

Like so many businesses around the country, a businessman in Portland recently chose to dig into his own pocket and use his own money so he wouldn't have to lay off his employees. And just last week, I met with the owners of a small machine shop that had been growing. They came to me with questions about how they could better use the money in the recovery package to stay in business just to stay afloat. They weren't looking to line their own pockets, they were asking for help to keep people employed and keep their business afloat. These are the types of people who are stung the hardest by the AIG bonuses.

Families and businesses in Maine and across the country are struggling to make ends meet and stay in their homes. And they are helping each other out of a shared sense of responsibility. Meanwhile, on Wall Street, we see executives who seem to think they live by a different set of rules and who refuse to take responsibility for the damage they have caused. It is a perfect example of why we have, and will continue to have, a commitment to transparency and oversight in government.

When the House passed TARP last year before I was here, this type of abuse is exactly what the American people were afraid of. We knew there was a chance of waste, fraud or abuse, and now it has come to light. We are here today to fix it. We will continue to forge ahead to fix our struggling economy.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Thank you very much for yielding.

I want to remind my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that we are here at this moment to pass the rule to allow us to fix this situation.

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

I wasn't here. Just to remind you, although I'm happy to be here to manage this bill, I was not here when many Members of the House voted on that particular bill. But I do want to say all of us in this Chamber had the opportunity to vote on the conditions on the TARP to make sure we dealt with things like executive compensation, and many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, in fact, most of them, refused to vote in favor of those conditions. So we have had those opportunities to do that over time.

I do agree it should be further investigated exactly how things happened here. We are in one of the most tumultuous times in our economy than any of us have ever faced or previous generations have faced. But I personally voted in favor of those conditions of the TARP. And I do find it a little disingenuous to find many of my new colleagues, whom I am just getting to know, so anxious to talk about executive compensation, capping executive compensation, looking at this, when it was an issue that only probably weeks or months ago they wouldn't have gone near with a 10-foot pole. In fact, they wouldn't even have discussed this. They would have said leave business to itself, we're not going to get involved in this particular issue. This is an issue that has concerned me and my constituents back in my home State for a long time. I was proud to vote in favor of the conditions of the TARP.

And I want to remind my colleagues again we are here today to allow this rule to come to the floor so that we can have full debate on all of the opportunities afforded to us in this bill and this will be with us in only moments as soon as we vote in favor of this rule.

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

Mr. Speaker, just in a quick answer to my good colleague from the Rules Committee, Mr. Diaz-Balart, I was proud to vote in favor of this stimulus bill and very happy to vote for things that are helping my district at this very moment around health care and jobs and road construction and things that are desperately needed in my State.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts and my colleague on the Rules Committee, Mr. McGovern.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, a Member of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Doggett.

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I do want to thank the gentlelady from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for bringing in my voting record and remind her that I was very proud to vote for the stimulus or recovery package, whichever we choose to call it, and have already stated that on the record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).

I yield the gentleman 1 more minute.

Mr. Speaker I yield 2 minutes to a member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy).

I yield another 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I am the last speaker for this side. I will reserve my time until the gentleman has closed for his side and yielded back his time.

Mr. Speaker, I can be very brief in my close, and I thank all of the eloquent speakers from our side who have come to the floor to talk about this important issue and the importance of voting on it today.

Let me be clear, a ``no'' vote, a ``no'' vote on this, is to allow the executives at AIG to keep their bonuses.

Now, how many people have come before us today to say it is unconscionable to think that they would take taxpayers' dollars to fund a misguided scheme, and then be given bonuses by the taxpayers? It is unthinkable. A ``no'' vote here is unthinkable.

We have talked about a whole variety of things from each other's voting records to the constitutionality, to a whole range of issues that do and don't apply to what we are talking about right now, and that is to allow a rule to allow us to proceed with doing something about the executive bonuses at AIG.

How many people have come before us? How many constituents have we heard from who have said: You have got to do something about these bonuses. I am struggling. I am struggling to keep my business going. I am struggling to keep my home going. Numerous things we have all heard from all of our constituents that have said to us, do something, do it right now. That is what people are asking us, in this extreme difficult economy where people are struggling every day, where businesses are struggling, where in my district we are hearing a layoff notice almost every day. People are saying to us, it is time to do something. That is why we are here.

I urge a ``yes'' vote of my colleagues on the previous question and on the rule.

The material previously referred to by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida is as follows:

Amendment to H. Res. 257, as Reported Offered by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-

Balart of Florida

At the end of the resolution, insert the following new

section:

Sec. 2. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution,

without intervention of any motion or recess, the Speaker

shall entertain a motion offered by the Minority Leader or

his designee, that the House suspend the rules relating to

the bill (H.R. 1577) to require the Secretary of the Treasury

to pursue every legal means to stay or recoup certain

incentive bonus payments and retention payments made by

American International Group, Inc. to its executives and

employees, and to require the Secretary's approval of such

payments by any financial institution who receives funds

under title I of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of

2008. Clause 8(a) of rule XX shall not apply to such motion.

A motion to adjourn shall not be in order during

consideration of such motion.

I yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution.

I thank my colleague from Florida for his gracious comments. It's a joy to serve on the Rules Committee. It's a joy, actually, to serve with all the folks on the Rules Committee. I am learning a great deal. We have some very talented people on that committee.

I do have to say, though, that I disagree with many of my colleagues about this rule and about this bill. I appreciated the comments that have been made. I particularly appreciate my colleague giving the definition from Winston Churchill because I use that definition often when I write volunteers to congratulate them on what they do.

To quote it again, ``We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.'' The word ``give'' is the important word here.

I looked up the definition of volunteer, and it says ``a person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking.'' The second definition is ``a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.''

What this bill does is expands dramatically the government's role in an area that I don't think the government should be dealing with. Our colleague from Ohio just said this is an opportunity for people who have lost their jobs. Well, I think it's important that we encourage volunteers, but this is a paid job.

This is a government-authorized charity. And it concerns me a great deal because I see our taking over what is being done voluntarily by people--this, and in the budget. The President wants to tax people who give money to volunteer organizations and to charities. He says that's okay because the government's going to pay it.

We're pretty soon going to have a government that controls everything in our society. That's not what America is all about.

When de Tocqueville came here in the 1800s--and he is quoted over and over--he said he never saw a society with so many associations. Those are voluntary associations. We have Ruritan clubs, Civitan clubs, Rotary clubs. They do their work without pay. That is what America's all about.

What we are doing is creating a 1984 because we're setting up paid volunteers. That's not what America's about.

Someone sent me an e-mail last night and said we need to give this GIVE Act a new name: People Audaciously and Insidiously Demanding Vituperously Outlandish, Laughable, Unsustainable, Needless, Totally Egregious and Extortionary Recompense Act, or the PAID VOLUNTEER Act. That is what this is all about.

That is not what America is all about. We need to be encouraging people to be volunteers and not be paid for it.

The other concern that I have is that there is no accountability in this bill. The Learn and Serve program that is already in existence was rated the lowest rating possible--not performing; results not demonstrated by OMB's Program Assessment Rating Tool.

Yesterday, in the committee, the gentleman from the Education Committee made a big deal about the fact that these programs are going to be evaluated by PART. But they've already been evaluated, and they've been evaluated as basically no good and as wasting money.

The AmeriCorps National Community Corps Program was rated as a low rating, of not performing, and ineffective by OMB's PART program. OMB defines a rating of ineffective as programs not using your tax dollars effectively. Ineffective programs have been unable to achieve results due to a lack of clarity regarding the program's purpose or goals, poor management, or some other significant weakness.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to establish evaluation programs. I know. I was in education for a long, long time. It is difficult to do that. These programs are not establishing credible evaluation programs. We demand that of our education programs, we demand it of teachers. No Child Left Behind has the most egregious kinds of evaluation programs that we hear about all the time.

Here, we are spending $27,000 dollars per person; $27,000. In North Carolina, I think we are spending about an average of $7,000 dollars per child in public education. That may not be the most up-to-date figure, but it's something like that. And here we are going to pay $27,000 dollars per person for these volunteers? What about that?

I know that probably hospitals in my community and other groups that use

volunteers extensively don't spend hundreds of dollars for volunteers, let alone $27,000.

I thank the gentleman for yielding additional time. As I said, one of my concerns is here we are in a time when we need to be looking at every single dollar we spend. I take that approach every day. I don't care if the Federal Government is flush with money, we should be very careful with every penny we spend.

The American public are watching us like never before. And here we are, about to put these programs out. One of the concerns I had, too, is how the people are going to be counted. Again, where is the evaluation?

In the rule that was adopted yesterday, it said that this bill adds language to promote community-based efforts to reduce crime and recruit public safety officers in the service opportunities.

Well, I wonder if every community-watch program in the country, which can have hundreds of people in them who do very little, but they perform an important service for their community. They may be assigned an hour a week to do something. Are they going to be part of these 250,000 volunteers? That's not at all clear. But I have a suspicion they're going to be counted if they can get to that magic number. And they will say, Look, we have 250,000 people.

But the effectiveness is not being gauged, and I think this is a tremendous waste of money where we could be doing this for a lot less.

Again I thank my colleague for yielding me this time.

It is interesting. I had intended to say something about this sounding to me like AIG in many ways. I didn't realize that my colleague from Minnesota was going to say that when he got up to speak. But I wanted to point out the purpose of this program as stated in section 1201. It is to: Support high-quality service-learning projects that engage students in meeting community needs with demonstrable results, while enhancing students' academic and civic learning; and build institutional capacity, including the training of educators, and to strengthen the service infrastructure. That is the purpose.

When you get over in the evaluation section, it is pretty nebulous. One of the interesting things that I find is that they are saying that if the program doesn't perform, if they received assistance for less, they mean fewer, than 3 years, and is failing to achieve the performance measures, then they give them technical assistance. They give them technical assistance for 3 more years, and then they make some decision about whether they are going to continue funding the program.

I think we are setting up AIG programs all over this government. We just happen to know about AIG because of the egregious situation that has come up. But we have a potential AIG program right here. We are funding these people. We have no way to evaluate it. The expectations are not set out to begin with, and that is a great failing in this program.

So I can tell you that if we examine this program closely, we could show at least as much or maybe more money being abused by this program than is being used by AIG. The American people should be up in arms about all of these programs that we are funding from which we get no value.

Now what we are getting, we are employing a lot of bureaucrats, a lot of bureaucrats at high salaries. I call that high-priced welfare. But we are not getting a good return on our investment, just like we haven't gotten a good return on our investment from AIG.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleague. I agree with him. I think this should be dealt with right now. This is something we very much agree on. And my colleague from California, I think, has just made the case for why this bill should not be passed. She said, let's get this on through. Let's move it through. That is the same thing we heard about the stimulus: We don't have time to wait; we have got to move this on through.

Every time the majority wants to get something passed that ought not to be passed, they are ramming it through. That has been the whole story of this session.

I just want to share with you from the White House OMB, Washington, ExpectMore, their program assessment of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. It says, ``not performing, ineffective, the program has never conducted a comprehensive evaluation. Compared to other AmeriCorps service programs, this program is very

costly. Performance goals are not measurable.''

Ladies and gentlemen, and Mr. Speaker, these are not my words. These are coming from OMB. We know the program is not effective, and we are going to be spending $3 billion. With AIG, the contention is $165 million. It is a pittance compared to the money that is going to be spent on this program. And the program says ``and such sums.'' That, ladies and gentlemen, means any money they want to spend. It is open- ended. They can spend anything.

I want to say, again, what is happening here is that we are confusing government work with public service. Yesterday our colleague from the Education Committee said, ``well, this program gets kids in middle school, it moves them into high school and moves them into that, and eventually they get a government job.'' We are teaching people to go to work for the government through this program. What a shame. Shame on us. This country was not built on working for the government. It was built on volunteering and on the private sector. We are taking this country over with the government.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend from California (Ms. Matsui) for the time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

It can sometimes seem that we are surrounded by news of selfishness and greed. I think, very appropriately, and I will discuss this later, the American people are outraged by an example of really cynicism intertwined with greed in this AIG example. More about that later.

However, those individuals, those few individuals, those cynics who utilized taxpayer dollars to give out bonuses for AIG, those really few individuals, Mr. Speaker, when you think about it in comparison to the myriad of individuals who really commit themselves to the service of others through volunteerism, those who serve are a beacon of compassion and hope for us all. Community service is one of the most gratifying, rewarding, fulfilling ways people can spend their time and their efforts.

Community service has always been a vital pillar of American society. It's one of the things that distinguishes the United States and exalts the American people.

Volunteers all over the United States dedicate millions of hours to their contemporaries in the hope of making people's lives better. Through their selfless work, volunteers help improve the lives of millions of Americans. In 1993, the Congress, with my support, passed legislation creating AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service to administer and coordinate Federal service community programs.

Since then, almost 500,000 Americans have served with thousands of not-for-profit organizations, public agencies and faith-based organizations nationwide.

These citizens tackle many unmet needs in our communities. They provide for our youth through tutoring, mentoring, and after-school programs. They provide for the disadvantaged by building homes for the needy and reaching out to misguided youth. They conduct neighborhood patrols; they care for our environment; respond to disasters, engage citizens in public, health, safety, and emergency preparedness services. And they support those who have served and continue to serve our Nation in the Armed Forces by meeting the needs of our Nation's veterans, active duty servicemembers, and their families. They do, oftentimes, exemplary work.

The underlying legislation, known as the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, referred to as the GIVE Act because of its initials, will reauthorize the national service programs administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. This reauthorization sets the goal to recruit 250,000 volunteers for AmeriCorps by 2014. It will also create service opportunities for middle school and high school students through the Summer of Service program.

The legislation emphasizes the critical role of service in meeting the national priorities of emergency and disaster preparedness, and it will help improve program integrity.

I am pleased that the committee, the Committee on Education and Labor, worked in a bipartisan manner to reauthorize this program and to include provisions that will make the programs more effective and efficient, responding to State and local needs with performance orientation.

It goes to show, Mr. Speaker, that when there is a willingness to work together and to negotiate, we can bring

forth good pieces of legislation with bipartisan support.

I know the majority is trumpeting this rule with which we bring this underlying legislation to the floor because it will allow Members to debate all of the amendments that were submitted to the Rules Committee by Republicans. And that's appropriate. Nevertheless, I remind my colleagues the majority does this when the underlying legislation is uncontroversial.

Even though the majority promised to be the most open Congress in history, if the majority is so proud of this rule, then they should allow a more open process when controversial bills come before the floor as well.

I urge Americans everywhere, regardless of whether they take part in AmeriCorps, to volunteer and give back to their communities. The rewards are extraordinary to both the volunteer and to the community. As Winston Churchill said, ``We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.''

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure at this time to yield 5 minutes to a distinguished colleague from the Rules Committee, who has brought to our committee great wisdom and tenacity, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

I yield an additional 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to a brilliant new Member of this House who is already leaving a mark on Congress by facing the important issues of our day, Mr. Paulsen of Minnesota.

At this time it is my privilege, Mr. Speaker, to yield an additional 2 minutes to Dr. Foxx of North Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).

I yield the gentleman 30 additional seconds.

Mr. Speaker, first yielding myself such time as I may consume, I'm very happy that we have gotten the message to the majority leadership and that they have set a Rules meeting, we have just been informed, for 3 p.m. to address this issue. It shows that the rules protect the minority and that the minority can bring issues of great importance to the American people and get the attention of the majority. So I'm glad that the majority will be addressing this at 3.

But we don't have to wait until 3. It is 11:30. We can address it now. And then after we address it--we are not saying that we won't pass the GIVE Act. But let's address at 11:30, not at 3 in the Rules Committee, this issue that is of great importance to the American people.

I yield 2 minutes to my friend, Dr. Foxx, from North Carolina.

I'm ready.

Mr. Speaker, the rule before us brings to the floor the GIVE Act, which is a bill to reauthorize the National Service programs. And the majority on our side supports that. I support that legislation. It is a good piece of legislation. It has the support of the ranking member of the Education and Labor Committee, and we are in support of the underlying legislation.

What we are saying, though, is that--and by the way, I reiterate that I'm pleased that we have caught the attention of the majority leadership and that they have convened a rules meeting for 3 p.m. to deal with the issue of AIG, the outrage of the AIG bonuses. At a time when the Federal Government is propping up AIG with over $170 billion in taxpayer funds, it is unconscionable that AIG is giving its executives bonuses, some of them which are over $1 million.

That is why today I will be asking for a ``no'' vote on the previous question. We don't have to wait until a rules meeting and then who knows when they will bring to the floor--if they do--legislation. We don't know what it will say.

What I'm saying is that right now we can amend this rule and allow the House to consider H.R. 1577, a bill by my colleagues, Representatives Paulsen and Lance, that will require that the Treasury Department implement a plan within the next 2 weeks to recoup the AIG bonuses. And in order to prevent another bonus controversy, the bill will require that any future bonus payments from TARP funds be approved by the Treasury Department in writing, including any contractual bonus obligations.

Now, Mr. Speaker, Americans are rightfully upset over the use of taxpayer funds to give executives million-dollar bonuses. They expect the administration will keep a watchful eye on the proper use of bailout funds. Just 2 weeks ago, the President's spokesman said that they were confident that they knew how every dime was being spent at AIG. Well, obviously, Mr. Speaker, that doesn't seem to be the case. That is the reason that I am calling for Members of this House to vote ``no'' on the previous question.

The Paulsen-Lance legislation is just another example of how the responsible and vigilant opposition, the Republicans, we are working to provide transparency and oversight of taxpayer funds in the TARP program. We must demand that the administration provide proper accounting of TARP funds. Americans deserve to know how their tax dollars are being utilized.

Now, if Members support transparency and oversight of taxpayer funds in the TARP program, then they should vote ``no'' on the previous question.

Now, our friends on the other side of the aisle said they have discovered the issue, and they are calling a rules meeting at 3 p.m. to deal with it. We don't know what they are going to be bringing forward. But we have brought forward legislation. Our colleagues have filed legislation, Representatives Paulsen and Lance, to deal with this issue today and to require the Treasury Department to recoup those unconscionable bonuses within 2 weeks. And we should vote on it today.

So I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question and to make a statement: Enough is enough. Enough of these bailouts so that millionaires can become billionaires and billionaires can give their cronies bonuses with taxpayer dollars. Enough is enough. And we can vote on it right now, Mr. Speaker.

By the way, we will vote on the amendment on the legislation with regard to volunteerism. This does not negate that. But before, we must and we should address the issue of the unconscionable bonuses by defeating the previous question.

I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment and extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure this morning of visiting with a number of youngsters from the Youth Build Program. They participated with Mrs. Obama yesterday in building a home.

It is interesting, when you speak of the words GIVE, that you can equate it to an organization such as AIG that simply takes. So I rise today to support the rule and the underlying bill. And let me explain to you what this means to America.

How many of us can raise our hand and say that we understand what USAID means, or we understand what the Peace Corps means or AmeriCorps? And how many countless hours of youthful enthusiasm did we see after Hurricane Katrina? I know, because I am from Houston, Texas, and the thousands and thousands of survivors and evacuees that came, we were inundated, rightfully so and enthusiastically so, by these volunteers and by these workers from these many different aspects.

Unregulated? No. Much of this will be volunteer service. Much of this will be educating people about service. Much of this will be doing what young people across America have asked us to do: Give them something to do. And that is what this bill intends.

I am delighted to have joined as a cosponsor in the recent days. I am delighted to have been able to work on a specific amendment that is incorporated in the bill that reaches out to the underserved like Historically Black Colleges and Hispanic Serving Colleges, because America is a potpourri, it is a mosaic of so many different people with so many different histories, people who are already bilingual, who can speak to people who are in need, refugees, people who are fleeing oppression. There are so many different aspects of letting young people help other young people or young people help children.

As the cofounder of the Congressional Children's Caucus, this bill specifically provides for enhanced community services with AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, VISTA, the National Civilian Community Corps, and Senior Corps.

Mr. Speaker, this is the right direction for America in the 21st century. Be reminded that we ask not what this country can do for us. We don't equate AIG's insensitivity to the American taxpayer to this bill that gives everybody the opportunity to say, what can I do for my country, America the beautiful? That is what this bill is all about.

I am so proud to stand alongside of this kind of legislation, because as our military forces are on the front lines, I want Americans to be able to stand on the front lines of this Nation, helping those who cannot help themselves. That is what this GIVE bill is all about. And I think we need to go around with a GIVE Bill button like I have got the Youth Bill button saying, Yes, We Can.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1388, the ``Generations of Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act or the `GIVE Act'.'' I would like to thank my colleague Congresswoman McCarthy for introducing this important legislation, as well as the Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Congressman George Miller, for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation will expand the already highly successful volunteer programs that empower community activists and improve the education and economic conditions of cities throughout the United States. It supports and increases funding for key community services programs, including AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, VISTA, National Civilian Community Corps, and Senior Corps.

The GIVE Act creates opportunities for green jobs that will contribute to energy conservation and environmental protection. It will create critical educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth and will create incentives for students to improve their communities.

Every year, more than 70,000 Americans participate in the AmeriCorps program alone, which provides relief to cities during natural disasters and reinvigorates communities. Over 50 million American volunteers build homes, organize food-drives, and improve schools through national service programs. The GIVE Act will broaden the opportunities for students and activists to participate in national service via education rewards that keep up with soaring costs of universities and Summer Service programs. After Ike and Katrina, thousands of local students worked to help rebuild communities and provide necessary services to distressed families. The GIVE Act is the critical lynchpin in sustaining this civic activism.

Specifically, the GIVE Act would expand the job opportunities for Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA, to re-integrate youth into society, increase literacy in communities through teaching opportunities in before and after-school programs, and to provide health and social services to low-income communities. VISTA is a critical step toward poverty alleviation, and the GIVE Act will equip it with the resources to fulfill its obligations.

I am pleased to see that my colleague, representative Cuellar, revised the legislation to increase the number of volunteers from 75,000 to 250,000 members and added provisions for unemployed individuals to be included in the national service workforce, a step that will be a critical step to combating the employment crisis afflicting millions. I am also pleased that Congressman Miller further specified that the increase in volunteers is not just designed for AmeriCorps, but for all national service programs such as the Peace Corps and Opportunity Corps, and also included language to promote community based efforts to reduce crime and recruit public safety officers.

In addition, the GIVE Act will create 4 new service opportunities including a Clean Energy Corps, an Education Corps, a Healthy Futures

Corps, and a Veteran Service Corps. These volunteer opportunities will further improve environmental protection, health-care access, and services for veterans. These new service corps will address critical concerns in low-income communities. I am very happy that Congressman Teague revised the legislation to aid veterans in their pursuit of education and professional opportunities, and help veterans with the claims process, and assist rural, disabled, and unemployed veterans with transportation needs. Moreover, the GIVE Act will recognize colleges and universities that are strongly engaged in service through grants and rewards that will in turn improve educational access in the United States.

I am pleased to see the retention of my language from the 110th Congress that gives special consideration to historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal universities, and colleges serving predominantly minority populations. So strong are these universities' support of service, that ``veritas et beneficium,'' or ``truth and service'' in Latin, is inscribed on their insignias.

The GIVE Act will create a Campuses of Service Program that will encourage and assist students in pursuing public service careers. It will also focus on recruiting scientists and engineers to keep America competitive for years to come. The Act will expand the Senior Corps as a way to keep Older Americans including seniors engaged in public service, and will create a Youth Engagement Zone to increase the number of young students in volunteer services.

Moreover, it expands the focus of The National Civilian Community Corps to include disaster relief efforts and infrastructure improvement to allow quicker and more effective responses to disasters like Katrina and Ike that devastated numerous communities in the United States. Finally, the Give Act will launch a nation-wide Call to Service Campaign that encourages all Americans to engage in national service and to recognize September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

I am honored to cosponsor this legislation that will add service before self to America's future leaders. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.