[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 79 (Wednesday, June 21, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5559-S5562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Dodd, Mr. DeWine, 
        Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. L. Chafee, 
        Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Jeffords, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
        Rockefeller, Mr. Burns, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
        Voinovich, Mr. Cleland, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Baucus, Mrs. Boxer, 
        Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Breaux):
  S. 2704. A bill to amend the National and Community Service Act of 
1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to extend the 
authorizations of appropriations for the programs carried out under 
such acts, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.


       the national and community service amendments act of 2000

 Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am pleased today to introduce a 
bill to reauthorize the Corporation for National Service, along with 25 
co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.
  In 1993 Congress created the Corporation for National Service to 
enhance opportunities for all Americans to participate in contributing 
to their communities by actively engaging in local service programs. 
Community service should not be an option only for those who can afford 
to perform an important job without pay. It should be an opportunity 
for everyone. Every week, I have the privilege of reading with a third 
grade student in Washington, and I have seen her make very impressive 
progress during the last three years. I know first-hand that those who 
engage in community service gain as much as they give when they 
participate.
  The Corporation for National Service is expanding these opportunities 
for service by offering stipends and education awards to AmeriCorps 
members, and stipends to senior volunteers. It also offers professional 
development opportunities to teachers and identified leader schools, 
who will mentor other schools interested in beginning to pursue service 
learning. In the last five years, 150,000 adults have given a year of 
service to communities across the country as AmeriCorps members. 
500,000 senior citizens each year provide service to their communities 
in Foster Grandparent Programs, Senior Companion Programs, and the 
Retired Senior Volunteer Corps. In addition, over 1 million school 
children each year participate in service learning programs.
  The national service movement has also encouraged businesses to 
become actively involved in improving their communities. Local business 
leaders have stepped up to the plate to sponsor service corps programs, 
to offer technical support for existing programs, and to use community 
service as a way to work with local schools.
  As Robert Kennedy said, in words that became the hallmark of his 
life, ``Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things 
that never were, and say why not?'' Because of community service, more 
and more citizens are asking that question every day in communities 
across the country.
  In Massachusetts, under the leadership of Maureen Curley and her 
talented Board of Directors, the Massachusetts Service Alliance has 
helped citizens to act against the injustices that they see around 
them. From City Year and Peace Games in Boston to Greenfield READS and 
the Barnstable Land Trust, they have created new opportunities to 
tutor, to provide useful information on health care, to fight domestic 
violence, to help senior citizens live independent lives, and to repair 
and revitalize their communities in many other ways. They have found 
that many citizens in their communities are eager to be involved and to 
stay involved, and they have been successful in creating large numbers 
of opportunities for that involvement. Last year, 180,000 citizens 
contributed 3.5 million hours of service in 140 communities across the 
state. Programs such as City Year, which began as a dream of Michael 
Brown and Alan Khazei in Boston, has a program in 13 sites across the 
country, engaging over 2,000 Corps members in service. We will welcome 
their newest site here in Washington in September.
  This bipartisan bill that we offer today will allow these programs to 
continue to grow and enable many more Americans to participate in 
improving their communities and building a stronger America.
  Our former colleague, Dan Coats, has written an eloquent article in 
support of AmeriCorps. The article appeared in today's edition of The 
Hill, and I ask unanimous consent that it be made a part of the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                     [From The Hill, June 21, 2000]

                 Why I Changed My Mind About AmeriCorps

                             (By Dan Coats)

       When I was in the Senate, I did not support the legislation 
     that created AmeriCorps because of my fundamental belief in 
     private voluntary service and my skepticism about government-
     based solutions. I thought that government supported 
     volunteers would undermine the spirit of voluntary service 
     and that new federal resources might subvert the mission and 
     the independence of the civic sector.
       My faith in the civic sector has not diminished one bit; in 
     fact, it is stronger today than ever before. However, I have 
     changed my mind about AmeriCorps. Instead of distorting the 
     mission of the civic sector, AmeriCorps has proved to be a 
     source of new power and energy for nonprofit organizations 
     across the country.
       My changed view about AmeriCorps is in no small measure 
     because of the leadership that Harris Wofford, my Democratic 
     former Senate colleague from Pennsylvania, has given to that 
     program, Wofford and I did not vote on the same side very 
     often in the Senate, and we still differ on many issues. But 
     his leadership of AmeriCorps has convinced me that I should 
     have voted with him on this issue.
       First, thanks to Wofford's steadfast commitment to place 
     national service above partisanship, AmeriCorps has not 
     become the political program that some of us initially 
     feared. Second, he shares my belief that the solutions to 
     some of our most intractable problems lie in the civic 
     sector. Accordingly, he has set AmeriCorps to the work of 
     support, not supplanting, the civic sector.
       I have seen firsthand how AmeriCorps members have provided 
     a jolt of new energy to the civic sector from my experience 
     as president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. As 
     Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity and another 
     former skeptic of government-supported volunteers, also 
     discovered, the leadership provided by full-time AmeriCorps 
     members is a key addition for nonprofit and faith-based 
     organizations that are tackling the most difficult community 
     and human problems.

[[Page S5560]]

       AmeriCorps members, through their idealism, enthusiasm and 
     can-do spirit, have multiplied the impact of organizations 
     like Big Brothers Big Sisters and Habitat, and hundreds of 
     other organizations large and small. The number of 
     Republicans who have changed their mind about AmeriCorps 
     continues to grow.
       In the last year, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Mike 
     DeWine (R-Ohio) and Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohio) have spoken out 
     about the positive role AmeriCorps plays in strengthening the 
     civic sector. Together, we join a growing bipartisan list of 
     present and former federal and state legislators, governors 
     and civic leaders in support of AmeriCorps.
       Their support is part of a quiet, yet remarkable, 
     transformation in American politics that has occurred since 
     the white-hot debate that took place a few years ago between 
     those who believed that government should take the lead in 
     solving community problems and those who thought government 
     could accomplish little or nothing, and was even likely to be 
     a negative force.
       Now, as evidenced by both major party presidential 
     candidates and by growing bipartisan support in Congress, a 
     new middle ground has emerged, leading to a unique 
     partnership between AmeriCorps, the nonprofit organizations 
     and private and religious institutions that are critical to 
     strengthening our communities. It is these institutions that 
     transmit values between generations that encourage 
     cooperation between citizens, and make our communities 
     stronger.
       In a recent speech to the nation's governors, retired Gen. 
     Colin Powell declared himself ``a strong supporter of 
     AmeriCorps.'' After spending two years working with the 
     organization, Powell concluded ``[W]hat they do in terms of 
     leveraging other individuals to volunteer is really 
     incredible. So it is a tremendous investment in your people, 
     a tremendous investment in the future. . . .''
       Later this month, a bipartisan coalition in the Senate will 
     introduce legislation to reauthorize AmeriCorps and its 
     parent agency, the Corporation for National Service. I hope 
     that Congress will move quickly to enact this legislation so 
     that AmeriCorps can continue to work with the nonprofit and 
     faith-based sectors to strengthen our communities and build a 
     better future for us all.
 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I am pleased to rise this today as an 
original cosponsor of the National and Community Service Act of 2000 
and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the reauthorization of 
the Corporation for National Service through this legislation.
  While Americans often wonder what, exactly, it is that the numerous 
agencies and commissions scattered around town do, it is quite clear 
what the Corporation for National Service does. It's members tutor and 
mentor at-risk youth. They build affordable housing and clean up the 
Nation's rivers, streams and parks. They help seniors live independent 
and productive lives. They provide assistance to the victims of natural 
disasters. And perhaps most importantly, they train others to do all of 
these tasks and dozens more--leveraging their numbers, multiplying 
their effect, addressing countless community needs. These are important 
tasks. They empower our citizens. They build our communities. They 
renew our country. That is what the Corporation for National Services 
does in my view--provide a true national service to the citizens of 
this country.
  The Corporation for National Service is one of the most impressive 
success stories in recent memory. The numbers are simply remarkable. 
Take the AmeriCorps initiative for example. Since it's inception in 
1993, more than 150,000 Americans have served or are currently serving 
as AmeriCorps members. They have provided much-needed assistance to 33 
million of their neighbors in more than 4,000 communities.
  Specifically, AmeriCorps members have helped nearly 3 million 
children succeed in school through tutoring and mentoring initiatives. 
They have worked with the police and other community organizations to 
safeguard our neighborhoods--establishing, operating and expanding over 
40,000 safety patrols and working with 600,000 at-risk youth in after-
school programs. AmeriCorps members have improved the daily lives of 
Americans by building or rehabilitating over 25,000 homes, working with 
340,000 people to find jobs, and providing food, clothing and other 
necessities to over 2.5 million homeless people. With regard to our 
natural environmental, AmeriCorps members have planted over 50 million 
trees and removed 70,000 tons of trash from our neighborhoods. And when 
I talk about the leverage created through AmeriCorps members recruiting 
and training others, I am talking about nearly two million volunteers 
brought to bear on locally generated programs because of the efforts of 
AmeriCorps members.
  The National Senior Service Corps has been another resounding 
success. What Tom Brokaw has dubbed ``The Greatest Generation'' is 
still ready to meet the needs of their communities and they have been 
energized by the Corporation for National Service. With over 25,000 
Foster Grandparents, 15,000 Senior companions and 467,000 Retired and 
Senior Volunteer Program members, nearly 250,000 children--including, 
58,000 with learning disabilities or suffering from abuse and neglect--
have been given an invaluable source of loving care. Sixty-two thousand 
older Americans in need of a little extra help have been paired with 
Senior Corps members to make daily life more manageable. These Senior 
Corps members provide a critical bridge to independence for these 
seniors. Whether by helping with the daily tasks or simply being a 
friendly companion, these Senior Corps members are making a huge 
difference.
  Learn and Serve, yet another initiative of the Corporation for 
National service, has served more than 1.5 million students in 
kindergarten through college and helped them apply academic skills to 
meet community needs.
  It is an admirable track record of accomplishment, Mr. President. One 
that according to recent study returns $1.66 to the community for every 
dollar invested.
  While compiling the numbers, however, we often forget the impact this 
program has on those who dedicate themselves as volunteers. But we must 
not forget the impact that service has on those who give of 
themselves--their time and their energy--to make a difference. The 
personal satisfaction one receives from working for others is a feeling 
I can speak about personally. Long before AmeriCorps was a reality, I 
was Peace Corps volunteer in a small town in the Dominican Republic. 
But whether it is in the Dominican Republic or in my home state of 
Connecticut--or any state across this nation--there are many small 
towns that need help sustaining their educational system or providing 
health care to their neighbors or maintaining their environment or any 
number of areas. And an honest day's work on behalf of those efforts 
translates in any language. It is a source of tremendous satisfaction 
and pride. These are emotions that drive participants in either the 
PeaceCorps abroad or AmeriCorps here at home, to continue to work and 
continue to build their communities, something that can't be 
quantified.
  There is also a real period of personal learning that AmeriCorps 
members go through. A study by Aguirre International determined that 
``participation in AmeriCorps results in substantial gains in life 
skills for more than three-quarters of the members'' who participate. 
When we talk about life skills here, we are talking about 
communications skills, interpersonal skills, analytical problem-
solving, organizational skill and using information technology. These 
are necessary skills for the 21st century. AmeriCorps members take 
these skills with them after their term of service, back to employers 
who want them, back to communities who need them.
  The Corporation for National Service awakens in its members a strong 
ethic of civil responsibility and a lifelong desire to serve. By 
immersing its members in local, state and national issues, and asking 
them to address and interact with these issues, the Corporation for 
National Service is a catalyst for civic participation. And regardless 
of which side of the aisle you sit on, I think we can all agree that an 
active and involved constituency is what we all hope for.
  Acorss the range of initiatives that I have touched upon today, are a 
couple of common themes. Primarily, these efforts are initiated from 
the ground-up. These programs were not crafted by Senators or 
Congressmen or someone employed here in Washington, they are generated 
by people within the community they serve and administered at the state 
level. That allows these programs the flexibility to take advantage of 
the individual strengths of each community and as a result, better 
address their needs.
  Secondly, these programs harness what we all know is the true 
strength of America, it's citizens. The corporation for National 
Service is channeling

[[Page S5561]]

a constant flow of human energy, ingenuity, and talent into the states 
and communities of our country. The Corporation partners with 
organizations that have a proven track record to provide the necessary 
human resource to grow and expand these already successful programs. It 
is a model that works. It is an idea that has captured the imagination 
and harnessed the energy of this Nation. It is our responsibility to 
ensure that it continues.
  The legislation we offer today will ensure that the Corporation for 
National Service continues through 2005. It retains the successful 
structure of the system that has been so effective over the last seven 
years, but makes allowances for a few improvements in the overall 
program, including a more responsive effort to ensure an increased 
participation by people with disabilities and a recognition that Indian 
tribes are qualified organizations to receive grants. This is a good 
bill. I hope we can work with our colleagues in the House to ensure 
that legislation reauthorizing the Corporation for National Service is 
passed by both houses and sent to the president for signature this 
year.
 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I am pleased to join a number of 
my colleagues in introducing the National and Community Service 
Amendments Act of 2000. This legislation will reauthorize the National 
and Community Service Act and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act.
  The idea of the Federal government becoming a partner in community 
service originated with President Franklin Roosevelt's creation of the 
Civilian Conservation Corps. It was continued with President Kennedy's 
development of the Peace Corps and President Johnson's VISTA 
initiative. President Nixon contributed to the community service 
movement by expanding senior volunteer programs. In the 1990s, both a 
republican president and a democratic president strengthened the 
community service structure. President Bush established the Points of 
Light Foundation and President Clinton created the Corporation for 
National Service. The Corporation for National Service not only 
incorporated the community service programs previously established, but 
also created AmeriCorps.
  Since AmeriCorps began more than six years ago, over 40,000 
individual shave become AmeriCorps members, serving local and national 
organizations. Recently, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions, which I chair, held a hearing regarding the 
reauthorization of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and 
the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973. One of the witnesses who 
testified was Emily Zollo, an AmeriCorps member from Cabot, Vermont. 
Emily serves with the Northeast Kingdom Initiative AmeriCorps Program 
in Lyndonville, Vermont. Her assignment involves the Cobleigh Public 
Library in Lyndonville where she works with the ``Books on Wheels'' 
bookmobile program. Emily drives the bookmobile and as she eloquently 
stated, ``brings books and stories to seven rural villages and towns 
that vary in population from 350-5,000 residents.'' Emily Zollo 
eloquently summed up her AmeriCorps experience by stating: ``Although 
the best part of my AmeriCorps experience has been meeting with kids at 
the various stops, learning how they see the world and introducing them 
to books which help them see a wider world, I have also learned some 
better ways to work and serve in the community. I feel that service has 
become a part of me and will be incorporated into my life and career. 
It's great to feel good about what you do, knowing you are making a 
difference in your community.''

  Other community service programs include Learn and Serve America 
which provides assistance to over one million students from 
kindergarten through college who participate in community service 
activities that are aligned with the students' academic programs. In my 
home State of Vermont, Learn and Serve is making a difference in a 
number of elementary and secondary schools, including vocational 
technical educational centers. Another service program, the National 
Senior Service Corps, serves nearly half a million Americans, age 
fifty-five and older, who use their talents as Foster Grandparents, 
serving as mentors to young people with special needs. In addition, the 
Senior Companions program helps other seniors live independently. 
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program members provide an array of 
services for unmet community needs. The senior programs are very 
essential to rural communities. In Springfield, Vermont, the Windsor 
County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program provides services to 
isolated seniors and persons with disabilities.
  A key aspect of the National and Community Service Act is the State 
Commissions. The State Commissions decide which programs are to be 
funded, recruit volunteers, and evaluate and disseminate information 
about community and domestic service opportunities. The important role 
of States was also discussed at the hearing by several witnesses who 
represented various regions of the country. We heard about the positive 
impact of organizing service activities in a small rural State from 
Jane Williams, the executive director of the Vermont Commission on 
National and Community Service. Under Jane's leadership, the Vermont 
commission has been instrumental in getting 10,000 Vermonters of all 
ages and backgrounds involved in 31 community service projects. 
Governor Marc Racicot of Montana gave an excellent presentation 
regarding the importance of community service in ``building unique 
partnerships between public and private agencies by engaging 
particularly young people in service to their communities.''
  Community service is not a democrat, republican, or independent 
issue--it's an ideal--an ideal that is central to the philosophy of 
America--neighbor helping neighbor. It is in that spirit that I am 
pleased to be a cosponsor of the National and Community Service 
Amendments Act of 2000.
 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today Senator Kennedy and a 
bipartisan coalition are introducing the National and Community Service 
Amendments Act of 2000 to strengthen this program of community service 
throughout our country. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this 
bill because I know how public service has enriched my life. As elected 
representatives, we are entrusted with preserving the strong democracy 
and just society that our founders envisioned. The programs supported 
by this legislation, such as AmeriCorps, extend the opportunity to 
young people to do something for others.
  While working in the Peace Corps, at an Asian desk, I was motivated 
to accept the challenge made by president Kennedy and I joined VISTA. 
Through VISTA, I came to West Virginia and a ``coal camp,'' a small, 
struggling town called Emmons. Working to improve life in Emmons was 
not easy. But after a lot of effort, I was able to both make friends 
and work to make some kind of difference. We pulled down an abandoned 
school house in southern West Virginia and hauled the boards back to 
Emmons, where we built a community center. We brought a mobile health 
van for women to get Pap smears for the first time. And we waged a 
long, hard fight to get the school bus to stop close enough so the 
teenagers did not have to drop out of school just because the 
transportation to high school did not exist. Those two years in Emmons, 
and the experiences gained there, changed me forever. I stayed in West 
Virginia and chose to make public service my career.
  When President Clinton chose to unveil a new domestic civil-service 
program in 1993, I was proud to stand by him as he announced the 
creation of AmeriCorps in Princeton, New Jersey. AmeriCorps is an 
exciting program promoting community service, like VISTA. Under 
AmeriCorps, members invest their time in community service and earn 
educational awards that help finance college or pay back student loans.
  Since its inception just a few years ago, AmeriCorps has renewed 
community service across our nation with a network of programs designed 
to meet the specific needs of an area. In West Virginia, AmeriCorps has 
established more than a half dozen programs that help children learn 
how to read, provide them with caring mentors, and promote healthy 
lifestyles.
  In highlighting a few of these programs, I must begin with the 
AmeriCorps Promise Fellows. These individuals service eighteen West 
Virginia counties, striving to mobilize

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communities to provide children with resources critical to their 
development. In the same way that I helped the community of Emmons 
build a center where young people could learn and play, AmeriCorps 
Promise Fellows work to establish safe places and structured activities 
in their local areas. Another program, Energy Express, provides 
balanced meals, an environment that abounds with literature, and the 
attention of mentors to school-aged children during the summer months. 
I visited the Energy Express site in Pineville, West Virginia, and read 
to children there. AmeriCorps programs also aid adult members of the 
community, as evidenced by the success of Project MOVE in west-central 
West Virginia that strives to move people from welfare to work. After 
the first year, the heads of households in twenty families had become 
employed and had sustained themselves for more than three months.
  These three programs are just a sampling of what AmeriCorps does in a 
rural state like West Virginia. In more urban areas throughout the 
country, AmeriCorps has programs that address the unique needs of those 
cities and their populace.
  I place an enormous value on public service, and I know that I gained 
much from my VISTA experience in Emmons. Continuing AmeriCorps, VISTA 
and our range of community service programs will enhance the lives of 
Americans, young and old, who join and enrich our communities.

                          ____________________