[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 78 (Tuesday, May 13, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H3715-H3717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            AMERICORPS WEEK

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1173) recognizing AmeriCorps Week.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1173

       Whereas the AmeriCorps national service program, since its 
     inception in 1994, has proven to be a highly effective way to 
     engage Americans in meeting a wide range of local needs, 
     national response directives, and promote the ethic of 
     service and volunteering;
       Whereas over $5,000,000,000 in AmeriCorps funds invested in 
     nonprofit, community, educational, and faith-based community 
     groups since 1994 have leveraged hundreds of millions of 
     dollars in additional funds and in-kind donations from other 
     sources;
       Whereas each year, AmeriCorps provides opportunities for 
     75,000 citizens across the Nation to give back in an 
     intensive way to our districts, our States, and our Nation;
       Whereas a total of 542,000 citizens since 1994 across the 
     Nation haven taken the AmeriCorps pledge to ``get things done 
     for America'' by becoming AmeriCorps members;
       Whereas those same individuals have served a total of more 
     than 705,000,000 hours nationwide, helping to improve the 
     lives of our Nation's most vulnerable citizens, protect our 
     environment, contribute to our public safety, respond to 
     disasters, and strengthen our educational system;
       Whereas AmeriCorps members last year recruited and 
     supervised more than 1,700,000 community volunteers, 
     demonstrating AmeriCorps value as a powerful volunteer 
     catalyst and force multiplier;
       Whereas AmeriCorps members nationwide, in return for their 
     service, have earned nearly $1,430,000,000 to use to further 
     their own educational advancement at our Nation's colleges 
     and universities;
       Whereas AmeriCorps members, after their terms of service 
     end, remain engaged in our communities as volunteers, 
     teachers, and nonprofit professional in disproportionately 
     high levels;
       Whereas AmeriCorps members served 4,100 nonprofit 
     organizations, schools, and faith-based and community 
     organizations last year; and
       Whereas 2008's AmeriCorps Week, observed May 11 through May 
     18, is an opportune time for the people of the United States 
     to salute current and former AmeriCorps members for their 
     powerful impact, thank all of AmeriCorps' community partners 
     in our Nation who make the program possible and bring more 
     Americans into service: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) encourages all citizens to join in a national effort to 
     salute AmeriCorps members and alumni, and raise awareness 
     about the importance of national and community service;
       (2) acknowledges the significant accomplishments of the 
     AmeriCorps members, alumni, and community partners;
       (3) recognizes the important contributions to the lives of 
     our citizens by AmeriCorps members; and
       (4) encourages citizens of all ages to consider serving in 
     AmeriCorps.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) each 
will control 20 minutes.

[[Page H3716]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and insert relevant material.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
might consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of H. Res. 1173, which 
recognizes the contributions of the national service program known as 
AmeriCorps. Since 1994, AmeriCorps has engaged over 500,000 citizens of 
all ages in national service programs, giving 705 million hours of 
service to our Nation and their fellow citizens. AmeriCorps, which is 
composed of AmeriCorps State and national programs, the National 
Civilian Community Corps, or NCCC, and the Volunteers in Service to 
America, or VISTA programs, engages 75,000 people each year in 
intensive, results-driven service to help communities tackle the 
toughest problems of education, poverty, illiteracy and the relief and 
recovery efforts after disasters.

                              {time}  1545

  AmeriCorps participants improve the lives of millions of our most 
vulnerable citizens by implementing critical health services, building 
low-income housing, making neighborhoods safer, and protecting the 
environment.
  AmeriCorps VISTA participants are America's poverty fighters, 6,000 
strong, and fulfill their service term in low-income communities by 
creating businesses, expanding access to technology, recruiting 
literacy volunteers, strengthening anti-poverty groups, and creating 
sustainable programs that help people rise out of poverty.
  AmeriCorps NCCC participants serve as first responder in times of 
national need and have responded to every nationally declared disaster 
since 1994: floods, fires, tornadoes, and storms, and helped 
communities prepare for the next emergency. In fact, 10,000-plus 
AmeriCorps members have served millions of Katrina survivors in the 
gulf and managed a quarter million other Katrina volunteers.
  The impact of AmeriCorps goes beyond the community in which a 
participant serves; it impacts the AmeriCorps member who is doing the 
service. The alums of AmeriCorps programs are significantly more likely 
to go into public-service careers in government and the nonprofit 
sectors, especially minorities and people from low-income backgrounds.
  So, Mr. Speaker, this week is AmeriCorps Week. This is a week in 
which we as a Nation should thank those who have given of themselves 
and who served our Nation through AmeriCorps to improve the lives of 
our Nation's vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens and improve 
communities across the country. We salute AmeriCorps members and alums 
for giving of themselves to benefit others and their powerful impact on 
our Nation's communities and the lives of our citizens and thank all 
involved in making AmeriCorps a successful program.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in full support of H. Res. 1173 and 
salute those current and former AmeriCorps members through passage of 
H. Res. 1173.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 
1173, recognizing AmeriCorps Week.
  Throughout the history of the United States, Americans have valued an 
ethic of service. As Alexis de Tocqueville wrote over a century and a 
half ago, this ethic of service ``prompts Americans to assist one 
another and inclines them willingly to sacrifice a portion of their 
time and property to the welfare of the State.'' AmeriCorps gives 
Americans an opportunity to make a difference in their own lives and in 
the lives of others by meeting critical needs in the community.
  In 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush signed the National 
Service Act, a network of national service programs that engage 
Americans in intensive service to meet the Nation's vital needs in 
education, public safety, health, and the environment. In 1993, 
President Bill Clinton signed the National and Community Service Trust 
Act which established the Corporation for National and Community 
Service and brought the full range of domestic community service 
programs under the umbrella of one central organization.
  In September of 1994, the first class of AmeriCorps members, 20,000 
strong, began serving in more than 1,000 communities. Today, AmeriCorps 
offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and background to 
address a myriad of needs in communities all across America such as 
tutoring and mentoring disadvantaged youth, fighting illiteracy, 
improving health services, building affordable housing, and managing 
after-school programs, just to name a few.
  This year's theme for AmeriCorps Week is ``Getting Things Done.'' 
This organization is doing just that. Since its inception, 542,000 
citizens have taken the AmeriCorps pledge and have served a total of 
more than 705 million hours in 4,100 nonprofits throughout the country. 
Last year, AmeriCorps members recruited and supervised more than 1.7 
million community volunteers demonstrating AmeriCorps value as a 
volunteer channel. In return for their service, members have earned 
$1.4 billion to further their educational advancement in our Nation's 
colleges and universities and our communities.
  Volunteerism is a way for Americans to connect to their communities, 
learn more about the problems facing their communities, and to simply 
make a difference. This week, we salute current and former AmeriCorps 
members for their powerful impact, and we thank all community partners 
who make the AmeriCorps program possible and bring more Americans into 
service.
  I want to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues, Ms. Matsui, 
Mr. Shays, Mr. Platts, and Mr. Price for introducing this resolution 
and ask my colleagues to support the resolution.
  I reserve the balance of our time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time 
as she might consume to the distinguished lady from California and the 
sponsor of this resolution, Representative Matsui.
  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) for yielding me this time.
  I rise today to offer the ``Recognizing AmeriCorps Week'' resolution 
and give special thanks to AmeriCorps volunteers and organizations.
  This week marks AmeriCorps Week, a nationwide acknowledgment and 
celebration of all that America volunteers have done for our country. 
The AmeriCorps program is vital to the growth and prosperity of our 
Nation. AmeriCorps members can be found in our small towns and in our 
big cities. They're motivated young men and women from every background 
imaginable.
  For the past 15 years, more than 540,000 men and women have given 
over 705 million hours of service to our country and the citizens. 
Equally valuable, these men and women are experts in mobilizing local 
volunteers, allowing millions more to serve their communities in an 
organized and effectual way.
  Like AmeriCorps volunteers, AmeriCorps Week is important because it 
inspires others to become involved. By recognizing the program and its 
accomplishments, we motivate individuals to become engaged and add one 
more person to the growing list of those offering optimism and aid.
  Throughout this week, AmeriCorps organizations across this country 
are hosting hundreds of special events, making it even easier to become 
involved. In the gulf coast, for example, Habitat for Humanity and the 
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project will build tens of homes in a 
single week. This single event will involve 700 AmeriCorps members and 
thousands of other volunteers.
  Additionally, this year's AmeriCorps Week pays special attention to 
the life-long contribution of AmeriCorps alumni. A recent study of 
AmeriCorps show that alumni of the program are much more likely to 
remain involved in the community long after their service has ended. 
Nearly 87 percent of former AmeriCorps members will go on to work in 
public service. They become our future leaders, public servants, 
government employees, and nonprofit organizers. Simply put, AmeriCorps

[[Page H3717]]

members learn to give for the rest of their lives.
  AmeriCorps Week also provides a platform to highlight the valuable 
community organizations that deserve our support. Earlier this week, 
critical new AmeriCorps grants were announced. This funding provides 
necessary resources to some of America's most innovative and effective 
community organizations.
  Those who support this resolution and AmeriCorps Week will be in good 
company. Dozens of State governors have issued AmeriCorps Week 
proclamations from local leaders to professional baseball teams. 
Thousands of diverse Americans are expressing their support for the 
AmeriCorps programs and its volunteers. These supporters recognize that 
AmeriCorps members do more than volunteer their time. They are 
ambassadors of hope, good will, and personal initiatives.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me, my fellow National 
Service Caucus cochairs, and the 40 bipartisan cosponsors of this 
resolution in support of AmeriCorps Week and these amazing volunteers.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut 
(Mr. Shays) such time as he may consume.
  Mr. SHAYS. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, when there were the great debates on TV between Vice 
President Nixon and then-Senator John F. Kennedy, while my family were 
Republicans and, as a young person in 8th grade, John F. Kennedy spoke 
to me when he talked about serving our country and the world by being a 
Peace Corps volunteer. I thought, wouldn't it be amazing to go to 
college and afterwards join the Peace Corps; and that's what I did with 
my wife. And that experience changed my life. That experience had a 
tremendous impact on my life. In fact, Peace Corps volunteers will tell 
you it was the greatest time of their life, not that the rest of our 
lives hasn't been good.
  And when President Clinton, building on what President Bush 41 had 
done on national service, said, We need to create AmeriCorps, his 
administration reached out to Republicans; and it was an amazing 
experience to work with President Clinton and his administration 
because they said they wanted this to be a bipartisan effort, and they 
listened to Republicans.
  Instead of a one-size-fits-all national program, they did something 
Republicans really like, and that is they made it a local and State 
effort. And the problem with that is that you could not only have 
really great programs, you might have some that weren't so good. And it 
would give people an opportunity to criticize AmeriCorps, as some 
critics did, because there were literally hundreds and hundreds of 
various programs meeting local and State needs.
  But to President Clinton's credit and to his people who were bringing 
this program forward, in spite of the fact a majority of Republicans 
did not support it, they still allowed us to have significant input.
  I have nothing but respect for AmeriCorps, nothing but respect for 
the fact that we are talking, in some cases, young people who have 
never had a work experience, and we're giving them experience with 
individuals who can tutor them, in nongovernment organizations. What a 
wonderful way for these young people to begin to become adults and 
experience the incredible fulfillment that comes from being of service 
to others.
  I have never understood why some Republicans have criticized 
AmeriCorps because they said you get paid. Well, Peace Corps volunteers 
had a living wage. We were able to feed ourselves and we were provided 
housing. It's something that you don't have under AmeriCorps. There 
it's a minimum wage, but no housing. They have a stipend for education. 
Republicans tend to think that you should earn what you get, and this 
is a program where you earn what you get. You can't pocket the money. 
You have to put it into bettering yourself with education, which is a 
very logical thing to do. Frankly, it's something that most Republicans 
would have argued for: not being given something; earning it.
  So these AmeriCorps individuals, which we call volunteers, are 
getting the best of the best. They are growing up with a meaningful 
job, not a long-term job, they're earning educational credits, they're 
getting an education, and they're, for the rest of their lives, going 
to have that incredible memory of service that I think only strengthens 
individuals and our country.
  So I'm really grateful that we can recognize AmeriCorps for what it 
is, an outstanding program initiated by President Clinton to his 
credit, and to his credit, still working with Republicans in spite of 
the fact they didn't deliver a majority of the votes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of our 
time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield back the balance of our 
time and encourage everybody to support the resolution.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I would urge passage of this 
resolution. I, too, agree that when we give of ourselves, we give the 
very best.
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, in the Peace Corps we say, ``Once a volunteer, 
always a volunteer.'' There was a time when I thought that those words 
were just a slogan. However, over the years I've watched the friends I 
made in the Peace Corps in Colombia continue to volunteer in their 
communities and around the world. And this continuity of volunteerism 
is not unique to the Peace Corps.
  In fact, it has become clear to people who understand public service 
and volunteerism, that to `'give back'' is a habit. And you can get 
more of it, if you open up more opportunities to people involved in 
volunteer service. There is a virtuous cycle in volunteerism and it is 
a cycle that we do well to encourage.
  AmeriCorps is one of the great innovations in public policy that has 
created opportunities for Americans all across the country to 
volunteer. From working in inner city schools to working in food back 
in small towns, AmeriCorps opens the doors for people to volunteer and 
in so doing provides a stepping stone to a life of service.
  I commend AmeriCorps for all it does and for all the doors to service 
it has opened. So, today as the House of Representatives recognizes 
AmeriCorps, I encourage all those who can do so to find a way to 
volunteer in their community and to give back.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I yield back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1173.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________