[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 10, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7625-S7626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. EDWARDS (for himself, Mr. Smith, and Mrs. Clinton):
  S. 1219: 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, today I rise to introduce the School 
Service Act of 2003.
  Across our Nation, as more and more people participate in national 
service programs, young people, too, are making real contributions to 
their communities. These students are learning lessons that are more 
valuable than any taught in the classroom, lessons about what it means 
to be a part of a community and what it means to be an American.
  In my home State, schools and communities have seen the benefit of 
student service. 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.
  And the students have learned that their efforts matter, a lesson 
that they'll carry with then their whole lives. The research shows 
this. In one study, 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.
  I applaud these students' dedication, as well as the dedication of 
the teachers, parents and administrators who support them. But we 
should do more than simply applaud these efforts--we

[[Page S7626]]

should provide the resources to support and expand them.
  That is why I am introducing, together with Senator Gordon Smith and 
Senator Clinton, the School Service Act of 2003. 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 schools' efforts. All that we 
ask is that you ensure that students are engaging in meaningful service 
with real benefits to communities. We want kids seeing these 
experiences not as another chore, but as an exciting initiation into 
long lives of active citizenship.
  Here in Congress, it is our responsibility to give opportunities for 
service to our young people. We do not want to create a new national 
mandate, and we will not require any State or city to do anything. But 
for those 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. When we do, our country will be 
richly rewarded in the years and decades to come.
                                 ______