[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 48 (Thursday, March 19, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        GENERATIONS INVIGORATING VOLUNTEERISM AND EDUCATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 18, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1388) to 
     reauthorize and reform the national service laws:

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Chair, I rise to oppose H.R. 1388. The idea that it is 
legitimate for the federal government to take money from one group of 
citizens and use that money to bribe other citizens into performing 
``national service'' violates the basic moral principles of individual 
liberty that this country was founded upon.
  I would make three points to those of my colleagues who try to 
justify this bill by saying that participation in the programs are 
voluntary. First, participation in the program is not voluntary for the 
taxpayers. Second, nothing in the bill prevents federal taxpayer 
dollars from being used to support state and local programs that force 
children to perform ``community service'' as a condition of graduating 
from high school. Because an increasing number of schools across the 
nation are forcing children to provide ``service'' as a condition of 
graduating, it is quite likely that the funds authorized by this bill 
will be used to support mandatory service. Third, and most importantly, 
by legitimizing the idea that it is an appropriate role for the 
government to promote ``service,'' legislation such as H.R. 1388 opens 
the door for mandatory national service. Today, influential voices in 
both major parties are calling for a national program of mandatory 
service as well as a resumption of the military draft. With the 
increased need for more troops for the administration's expanded 
military adventurism in Afghanistan, as well as the continuing movement 
to conscript young people not eligible for military service to serve 
the government at home, can anyone doubt that this bill is only the 
down payment on a much larger program of mandatory national service?
  The moral case against national service was eloquently expressed by 
former President Ronald Reagan in the publication Human Events in 1979: 
``. . . it [national service and conscription] rests on the assumption 
that your kids belong to the state. If we buy that assumption then it 
is for the state--not for parents, the community, the religious 
institutions or teachers--to decide who shall have what values and who 
shall do what work, when, where and how in our society. That assumption 
isn't a new one. The Nazis thought it was a great idea.''
  Mr. Chair, millions of Americans including many young people, are 
already volunteering their time and talents to help their fellow 
citizens and better their communities without being bribed by the 
government. In fact, to suggest that the young Americans need a federal 
check as an incentive to volunteer is an insult to the American people. 
I hope all my colleagues to join me in standing up for individual 
liberty, the great American tradition of true volunteerism, and the 
Constitution by opposing H.R. 1388.

                          ____________________