[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 3, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            VOLUNTEERING VERSUS STIPENDED COMMUNITY SERVICE

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, as we approach the first anniversary of the 
National and Community Service Act on September 21, I would like to 
call my colleagues' attention to a brief paper on the nature of 
effective community problem solving. This paper was written by my good 
friend and our former colleague in public service, Governor George 
Romney.
  Governor Romney, though not opposed to the involvement of the Federal 
Government in encouraging community action, points out one of the 
principal flaws in the National and Community Service Corp. He suggests 
that the emphasis of the NCSC on supporting stipended service misses 
the mark. The introduction of stipends into community service taints 
the level of sacrifice inherent in the service being rendered.
  Moreover, Governor Romney argues that the National body charged with 
promoting community service and distributing funds must be wholly 
nonpartisan and cannot pursue political agendas. If the nonpartisanship 
of the Federal effort is breached, the credibility of the entire effort 
is violated.
  I believe the Governor's comments will be worthwhile reading for all 
Senators, and I urge my colleagues to take the time to do so. I ask 
unanimous consent that Governor Romney's paper be inserted in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the paper was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

            Volunteering Versus Stipended Community Service

       One of America's great strengths is the legacy of a vast 
     network of non-profit organizations that solve problems 
     through volunteering and voluntary cooperation. The 
     importance of this independent volunteer sector is not 
     adequately recognized, organized, or utilized. Its superior 
     problem-solving effectiveness results from the willingness of 
     citizens to give their time without compensation and those 
     needing their help realizing that they are helping because 
     they care, not because they are being paid. Usually this 
     motivates the one being helped to make a greater effort to 
     benefit than with the help of a person who is being paid.
       As our country's future is jeopardized by the explosion of 
     moral, social, and poverty problems there is a greater need 
     than ever before for volunteers. That is because most moral, 
     social, and poverty problems require the persons being helped 
     to change their thinking, their habits, or both. This cannot 
     be accomplished primarily with money or government subsidy 
     programs, but by people helping people voluntarily. However, 
     both the nation's governmental and private leadership are 
     focused on solving these problems with money rather than with 
     volunteerism.
       Privately, United Way, private foundations (Kellogg, Ford, 
     etc.), corporate foundations, community foundations, 
     corporations, and individuals constitute well-organized, 
     managed and visible sources of private money.
       Governmentally, many trillions of dollars have been spent 
     but the moral, social, and poverty problems have reached 
     dangerous levels that, unless reversed, will kill us as a 
     great nation. The present federal budget contains hundreds of 
     billions more and in addition, Congress has created a 
     national service corporation with hundreds of millions to 
     spend for subsidized community service. It seeks to 
     strengthen the service ethics through state government 
     commissions, universities, and an AmeriCorp. These 
     corporation programs have other objectives, but can they be 
     as effective as making volunteering as well organized as 
     government and private source money? NO!
       It is vital to organize volunteering as effectively as 
     money if we are to successfully combat our vitally serious 
     moral, social, and poverty problems. Doing this nationally 
     commenced in February 1970 when the first private national 
     organization to strengthen volunteering was established. Its 
     first major program was to organize local volunteer centers 
     to increase community volunteering and make it effective. The 
     principal difficulty it encountered was the focus of 
     community leaders, especially business leaders, on raising 
     money as fulfillment of their social responsibility. It was 
     obvious that if volunteering was to do what it could do it 
     would require stronger leadership to correct the leadership 
     imbalance between money and volunteering.
       The opportunity to accomplish this occurred with the 
     establishment of the private non-partisan, bi-partisan Points 
     of Light Foundation. The foundation especially seeks to 
     increase volunteering by creating and strengthening community 
     volunteer centers, assisting corporations in establishing 
     corporate employee programs, and persuading people through 
     media publicity of the vital importance of their 
     volunteering. Lacking as it did, and still does, adequate 
     support from corporate and foundation sources of its vital 
     mission, Congress has appropriated $5 million annually since 
     1989 and has authorized $5 million for 1995 and 1996.
       The foundation has succeeded in now raising privately 
     approximately the same amount annually but will need 
     appropriation of the authorized amounts to have the time 
     needed to establish a solid base of private funding. Its 
     doing so has been made more difficult, and could be 
     prevented, by the National Service Corporation. This was not 
     true with the Community and National Service Commission that 
     Congress replaced with the National Service Corporation.
       The reasons are:
       One: The commission grant making authority was vested in 
     the bi-partisan commission, not in the director that it 
     appointed.
       Two: The corporations' president is appointed by the 
     President and he is the ``ultimate authority'' in making 
     grants. He is only required to ``take recommendations of the 
     (corporations bi-partisan) board seriously.'' In the 
     Commission, bi-partisanship worked. In the corporation, it 
     depends on a partisan corporation president.
       This is a very important difference because for both 
     volunteering and national service to be effective they must 
     not be partisan or appear to be partisan. In addition to its 
     government funding, the corporation will, like the 
     foundation, seek funding from foundations, corporations and 
     other private sources. This results in a competitive 
     relationship.
       Also because the foundation's appropriation is in the same 
     appropriation act as the corporation's it is uncertain 
     whether the corporation president thereby has authority to 
     place conditions on the foundation receiving its 
     appropriation. For the foundation to plan securely this 
     ambiguity must be removed.
       Congress should also decide whether the grant-making 
     authority of the corporation should be vested in its 
     President or in the bi-partisan board as was the procedure 
     with the commission.
       The present administration's excessive focus on stipended 
     community service is a partisan policy. It ignores the much 
     greater importance of solving our social and other problems 
     by our unique and precious legacy of unpaid volunteering, and 
     could discourage citizens from giving their time without 
     being paid.
       Neither stipended community service nor unpaid volunteering 
     will be fully effective unless both have bi-partisan and non-
     partisan leadership. This is not required of the National 
     Service Corporation. It is imperative that it be restructured 
     so as to make bi-partisan non-partisan decision-making and 
     grant-making a must.

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