[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 23 (Thursday, March 3, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S2025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BYRD:
  S. 515. A bill to amend title 32, United States Code, to increase the 
maximum Federal share of the costs of State programs under the National 
Guard Youth Challenge Program, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Armed Services.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, in recent years, the public profile of the 
National Guard has changed considerably. Known mainly for the 
contributions of citizen-soldiers to their States and communities, 
today the men and women of the National Guard are serving on the front 
lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, enduring hardships in two of the world's 
most dangerous places.
  In spite of the long deployments, far away from the small towns and 
big cities that these citizen-soldiers call home, the National Guard 
continues its work for our States and the American people. Today, I 
introduce legislation to support a most successful program that has 
helped the National Guard change the lives of tens of thousands of 
young Americans.
  In 1991, I provided the first funding to establish a pilot program 
known as the National Guard Civilian Youth Opportunities Program. Over 
the years, this program has expanded in size and scope and is now known 
as the National Guard Youth Challenge Program.
  The Youth Challenge Program gives high school dropouts the skills 
they need to turn their lives around. The advantage of using the 
National Guard to provide a structured environment for these students 
has been confirmed in studies by the Defense Science Board in 2000, the 
White House Task Force on Disadvantaged Children in 2003, and the 
Department of Defense in 2004.

  The program now operates 27 academies in 24 States, including West 
Virginia, Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, Michigan, 
Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Over 5,000 cadets 
are now in training, and more than 58,000 have graduated from the 
program since 1993. Fully three-quarters of the Youth Challenge 
graduates have earned their high school diplomas in the program, but 
the program is at the mercy of shrinking state budgets.
  In March 2004, the Department of Defense recommended an increase in 
Federal support for the program in order to prevent any more closures 
of Youth Challenge academies. The bill I introduce today would write 
that recommendation into law, phasing in the additional Federal support 
over 3 years.
  My legislation also proposes to increase the authorization for the 
Youth Challenge program by $16.3 million, including $6.3 million for 
the proposed increase in the Federal share of the Youth Challenge 
Program's cost for Fiscal Year 2006.
  My bill authorizes an additional $10 million to provide the first 
significant per-student increase in funding since the program began. 
For more than 12 years, the funding of the Youth Challenge Program has 
remained constant at $14,000 per student, per year. Imagine that. Think 
of that. At a time when the cost of education is growing by leaps and 
bounds, the Youth Challenge program has held the line on its budget for 
more than 12 years.
  But such discipline means that there have been cutbacks in teachers, 
uniforms, and activities. The additional $10 million authorized in my 
bill would end these cutbacks, and may also be used to open new Youth 
Challenge academies, giving more at-risk youth a chance to change their 
lives.
  Many of the citizen-soldiers of the National Guard serve our country 
in distant lands, but their commitment to their communities continues. 
The legislation I introduce today will strengthen that commitment by 
expanding the National Guard Youth Challenge Program for disadvantaged 
youth.
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