Supporting the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 353) supporting the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and insert extraneous materials on H. Res. 353 into the Record.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 353, a resolution to support the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days.

Global Youth Service Days is an annual global event that highlights and celebrates the ongoing contributions of youth to their communities through volunteer service and service learning. Just last month, President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which reauthorized programs that support national and community service, including the goal of tripling the number of youth volunteers in our communities.

Service learning extends the classroom into the community. It provides young people with the opportunity to give back locally, as well as offer real-life applications to prepare them for their lives.

Global Youth Service Days takes that one step further by promoting projects that encourage youth to work collaboratively across national boundaries to address global issues, to increase intercultural understanding and to promote the sense that they are global citizens.

Global Youth Service Days is the largest service event in the world, and in 2009 it's being observed for the 21st consecutive year in the United States, as well as for the 10th year in more than 100 countries. Over the past 21 years, Global Youth Service Days has brought together more than 40 million people in thousands of communities worldwide.

The benefits of service for young people are countless. High quality semester-long service learning, when used as a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with academic curriculum, increases students' cognitive engagement, motivation to learn, school attendance and academic achievement.

Opportunities like Global Youth Service Day provide avenues for youth to apply their knowledge, idealism, energy, creativity and unique perspectives to improve local communities by addressing critical issues such as poverty, hunger, illiteracy, education, natural disasters, climate change and more. Past Global Youth Service Days have taken place in the United States as well as around the world.

In Colorado's Second Congressional District that I have the honor to represent, the weekend before last I celebrated Global Youth Service Days with Project YES in Lafayette, which hosted one of 75 major worldwide events and joined over 600 volunteers, who helped out Boulder County organizations such as the Emergency Family Assistance Association, Kids' Park in Lafayette, Sister Carmen Community Center and several local schools. I was thrilled to see the motivation and excitement that these young people had for improving our communities.

Young people and teachers in Tarija, Bolivia, addressed the public health issues surrounding unsanitary drinking water. Young people and teachers in Kuchinarai, Thailand, engaged 55 children who were orphaned by AIDS in a week-long summer camp focused on education, life skills, leadership, and self-esteem.

Both young people and their communities benefit greatly from expanded opportunities for youth to engage in community service and service learning.

Madam Speaker, this resolution serves to recognize and commend the significant contributions of the youth of the United States and to support the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days 2009 internationally.

I would like to thank Representative DeLauro for introducing this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) for 4 minutes.

I would like to encourage my colleagues to support the resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this Resolution Honoring and Supporting the Goals and Ideals of Global Youth Service Days, held earlier this spring from April 24 through 26. With this resolution, we recognize the contributions that young people make to their communities and our Nation and across the globe.

For generations, during times of great crisis and need throughout our Nation, Americans have stepped up and served their country and their communities. Today, with soaring unemployment, stagnant wages, rising health care costs, and the financial market in crisis, this is one of those moments. To confront its dire challenges, we have an urgent responsibility to act, but no one person or single solution will fix this crisis alone. If we are serious about getting our Nation back on track, we must give everyone the opportunity to do their part, especially young people, our next generation of leaders.

Global Youth Service Day is a public awareness and education campaign led by Youth Service America, with the National Youth Leadership Council and the Global Youth Action Network, highlighting the valuable contributions that young people make to their communities all year long.

The goals of Global Youth Service Day are to mobilize youth as leaders in identifying and addressing the needs of their communities, to support youth in community service and civic engagement, and to educate the public, the media, and the policymakers about the year- round contributions of young people to their communities.

On the weekend of April 24-26, young people across the United States and around the world designed and carried out community service and service learning projects in areas ranging from literacy and mentoring, to the environment and energy conservation, to hunger and homelessness; 75 local and statewide Lead Agencies, 150 national partners, 50 international organizations crossing old boundaries, building new partnerships.

In addition to the tangible and positive results these projects have on our communities, research shows that sustained participation in community service and service learning leads to increased levels of academic achievement and increased civic engagement among our youth.

Last month, President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, expanded AmeriCorps, changing the face of national service as we know it. I am proud that a number of the initiatives I introduced to engage middle school students in service were included in the bill and enacted into law.

Ultimately, it is all about the asking. People want to be asked to serve, and it is already paying off at a time when more Americans than ever are ready to help those left vulnerable by this devastating economic downturn. In the past 5 months, the Corporation for National Service has received 48,000 online applications, up 234 percent over the 14,000 applications it received during the same 5-month period a year ago.

Shirley Chisholm said that, ``Service is the rent that you pay for room on this Earth,'' and that is true no matter what your age or place in this world.

This is a transformational moment in our history. And so today, with efforts like Global Youth Service Day and amazing opportunities like it every day around the world, we hope to mark a new beginning, ready to meet the responsibility again to the greater good and to our shared community.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of House Resolution 353, a Resolution Supporting the Goals and Ideals of Global Youth Service Days. Organized by Youth Service America, the National Youth Leadership Council, and Global Youth Action Network, and sponsored in the United States by the State Farm Companies Foundation, Global Youth Services

Day provides young people with an important opportunity to serve their local communities around the world.

Held every year during one weekend in April, over 100 countries participate in Global Youth Service Days. This year, young people from around the world rolled up their sleeves and partnered with various nonprofits and faith-based organizations to dedicate their time during the weekend of April 24 through April 26. Some past events include the following projects:

In Corona, California, youth studied and delivered reports on local areas' disaster preparedness. These reports led to an event dedicated to raising public awareness about homelessness and natural disasters.

Here in Washington, D.C., youth from various faith-based communities partnered with Habitat for Humanity to help with housing needs in Northeast D.C. and worked on a shoreline cleanup along the Anacostia River.

In Bolivia, with the help of a Disney Minnie Grant, youth were trained as public health educators to facilitate workshops to educate the community on public health issues surrounding unsanitary drinking water.

In Zimbabwe, youth volunteers refurbished 35 rural schools, worked to clean up parts of one of the cities in the country, and conducted an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.

Introducing our young people to true volunteerism will help build a sense of civic duty early in their lives, which will lead them to become more civic-minded citizens, citizens who will continue to donate their time and skills to their local communities in the future as they get older. For that reason, I rise in support of House Resolution 353 and urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would encourage everyone to support the resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I want to state for the record that on May 5th I was in my district attending the funeral of my Aunt Julia Taglibue Monda who recently passed away at the age of 96, and I therefore missed the three rollcall votes of the day.

Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 231, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree--H. Res. 299--Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that public servants should be commended for their dedication and continued service to the Nation during Public Service Recognition Week, May 4 through 10, 2009, and throughout the year.

Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 232, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree--H. Res. 338--Supporting the goals and ideals of National Community College Month.

Lastly, had I been present I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 233, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree--H. Res. 353-- Supporting the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days.

Mr. Speaker, due to events in my congressional district, I was unable to vote today. If I were present, I would have voted in favor of the following bills: H. Res. 299, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that public servants should be commended for their dedication and continued service to the Nation during Public Service Recognition Week, May 4 through 10, 2009; H. Res. 338, supporting the goals and ideals of National Community College Month; H. Res. 353, supporting the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days.