[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 50 (Monday, April 29, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S3510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. EDWARDS (for himself, Mr. Smith of Oregon, and Mrs. 
        Clinton):
  S. 2392. A bill to amend the National and Community Service Act of 
1990 to establish a Community Corps, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, I'm very pleased to rise today to 
introduce the School Service Act of 2002. This is legislation that can 
help foster the next generation of great American citizens.
  When we think about education, we usually think about English, math, 
science. But I believe education needs to do more than provide 
knowledge and career skills. It also has to teach citizenship, the 
lesson that America is about not only rights but also responsibilities, 
and that each of us, however humble or wealthy, has a calling to our 
community and to our country. In my view, service to the community 
ought to be more than just another afterschool activity, like 
basketball or photography. Service should be a part of every child's 
education, as much as math or science or anything else. If our children 
are going to believe in serving their community, we have to give them 
the experience of service while they're young, so they know in their 
bones that it matters.
  In the last few months, the President and several of my Senate 
colleagues have offered proposals to engage more adults Americans in 
expanded national service programs. These are promising ideas, but I 
believe they're left our one key group: school-age students, especially 
high schoolers.
  In the best service initiatives with teenagers, we've seen remarkable 
benefits, for students and the communities they serve. In one program, 
adults who had completed service projects more than 15 years earlier 
were still more likely to be volunteers and voters than adults who 
hadn't. In another program, kids who served had a 60 percent lower 
drop-out rate and 18 percent lower rate of school suspension than kids 
who didn't.
  Just as important, the service also has tremendous impacts on 
communities. High school kids have built community centers in run-down 
neighborhoods. They've cleaned up polluted ponds. They've helped small 
children learn to read, and offered comfort to the elderly and sick. 
People in the community say this work is worth four times more than it 
actually costs.
  It's time to encourage more States and cities to develop service 
programs for all their students. It's not enough that students study 
history to graduate. We should expect them to contribute to history, 
too. Some of my favorite models for engaging children in service come 
from my own State, in fact, from the high school in Raleigh that my 
children have attended.
  With these thoughts in mind, today I am introducing, together with 
Senator Gordon Smith and Senator Clinton, the School Service Act of 
2002. The proposal is very simple: We say to a limited number of States 
and cities, if you have schools that will make sure students engage in 
high-quality service before graduation, we will support those school's 
efforts.
  The service can be based in the classroom. It can be based in an 
afterschool program. It can be based in a summer program. And it can be 
directed or supervised by AmeriCorps members who are leaders and 
coordinators.
  All that we ask is that you ensure two things:
  First: real service with real benefits to communities. The 
Corporation's own studies show that a dollar invested in a good service 
effort produces benefits worth over four dollars. We need to keep that 
up.
  Second: we want service that means something to young people, service 
that students reflect on and talk about with each other. We want kids 
seeing these experiences not as another chore, but as an exciting 
initiation into long lives of active citizenship. And we know service 
is often just that. Kids who serve grow up to volunteer more and to 
vote more throughout their lives.

  Finally, our bill will hold these programs to high standards and 
require measurable success.
  Let me stress: I don't think we should require my State or city to do 
anything. Nor should this program operate nationwide. My proposal is 
that for the State and school districts with schools that are ready, we 
ought to make sure every child has the opportunity and the 
responsibility to engage in service. Here in Congress, it is our 
responsibility to give those opportunities for service to our young 
people. When we do, our country will be richly rewarded in the years 
and decades to come.
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