[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4488-S4489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  By Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. Cochran, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Menendez, 
Mr. Inouye, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Smith, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. 
Casey, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mr. Whitehouse):
  S. 3037. A bill to amend the National and Community Service Act of 
1990 to improve the educational awards provided for national service, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today with Senator Cochran and others 
to introduce legislation that will build on one of the best service 
success stories of the last quarter century: AmeriCorps. Fifteen years 
ago, as he swore in the first class of AmeriCorps members, President 
Bill Clinton said, ``When it is all said and done, it comes down to 
three simple questions: What is right? What is wrong? And what are we 
going to do about it?''
  Since that time, more than a half-million AmeriCorps members have 
taken it upon themselves to try and answer those questions in 
communities across this country.
  They have done so by serving in a variety of settings from senior 
centers and veterans' hospitals to schools and afterschool programs. 
They have helped clean up our neighborhoods and rebuilt our houses. 
These members have sacrificed their time and energy to meet the 
fundamental needs of our nation.
  Last year alone, 75,000 AmeriCorps members gave back to our 
communities, serving in over 4,000 schools, faith-based and community 
organizations, and nonprofits across the country. They also brought 
reinforcements--recruiting another 1.7 million community volunteers to 
work alongside them. Because of AmeriCorps, our communities have been 
strengthened, and our democracy fortified.
  Unfortunately, as the hours AmeriCorps members have contributed to 
our communities have increased, the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award 
created to help members pay for their college tuition has remained flat 
at $4,725. Meanwhile, the average college tuition has skyrocketed. The 
education award previously paid for two years of college, but currently 
it does not even cover the cost of a single year. I am introducing the 
AmeriCorps: Together Improving Our Nation Act, ACTION, in part, to 
update the education award to keep pace with 15 years of tuition 
increases.
  The ACTION Act will raise the education award to $6,185 and increase 
the award annually to match the average tuition at a 4-year public 
university.

[[Page S4489]]

That figure, $6,185 is the average cost of tuition at a four-year 
public university according to the College Board. The act will also 
make the education award tax exempt to ensure that students are able to 
use their entire award to advance their education.
  In addition, to recognize service as a national priority, this 
legislation promotes the position of Executive Director of the 
Corporation for National and Community Service to Cabinet status and 
reestablishes the Corporation for National and Community Service's 
authority to partner with other Federal agencies. As partners of equal 
status, Federal Departments will be able to coordinate their priorities 
and have AmeriCorps members work to meet their needs.
  For example, the Department of Education could use volunteers to help 
solve the ``Dropout Crisis'' and the Environmental Protection Agency 
could use volunteers to increase our energy efficiency.
  As a former Peace Corps volunteer, I know that national service ought 
not to simply be virtuous, but rather, a resource with which we can 
carry out our most urgent national priorities, from tackling poverty to 
making our communities cleaner and more vibrant. We need to recognize 
service as a national priority, and with passage of the ACTION Act, we 
will.
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