[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 49 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3583-S3584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SERVE AMERICA ACT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this afternoon we are going to begin work on 
the national service legislation. My message to the Senate today is 
that we are going to finish this legislation this week. We have to. We 
must start on the budget next week. This is bipartisan legislation. 
Senators Hatch, Kennedy, and others have worked very hard on this 
legislation. There is no

[[Page S3584]]

reason we should not finish this very quickly. But we will see.
  There has been a lot of work done to get us to this point. We are 
going to move forward. If it is necessary that we work on Friday and 
Saturday or even Sunday, it is important that we do that so we can 
start the budget on Monday. Everybody should be warned about that as 
far as weekend travel. It all depends on what the minority does 
regarding this bill. Again, everyone should know it is bipartisan, and 
we need to complete it before we do the budget.
  Last week I spoke to a group of young men and women from around the 
country who are being honored for their commitment to public service. 
In recent years, vast numbers of young people have sought private 
sector fields such as finance and banking. There is nothing wrong with 
their trying to do well, but in this hour of economic crisis for our 
country, it was encouraging to meet with a group of young people who 
have made the choice not to do well but to do good.
  Americans may find themselves with less time and money to donate to 
their causes than in previous years, to charities, but we remain a 
generous country. It is fitting that the Congress now move to the 
consideration of the Serve America Act, bipartisan legislation 
cosponsored by 35 Senators, championed by Senators Kennedy and Hatch 
and led this week by Senators Mikulski and Enzi.
  The Serve America Act will provide better opportunities for Americans 
of all ages, from all regions and walks of life, to answer the call to 
service.
  This legislation builds on the success of the AmeriCorps program with 
the goal of increasing the number of volunteers from 75,000 up to 
250,000.
  This bill also creates several new volunteer corps with specific 
missions in areas of national need: An education corps to help increase 
student achievement and graduation rates; a healthy future corps to 
improve access to health care; a clean energy corps to encourage energy 
efficiency and conservation measures; a veterans corps to assist our 
Nation's veterans; and an opportunity corps to assist the economically 
disadvantaged.
  The Serve America Act finally increases the education award for full-
time volunteers and links it to increases in the maximum Pell grants.
  I urge my colleagues to honor the selfless commitment to a better 
country that Americans are making in their communities every day by 
passing this outstanding legislation.
  Mr. President, we will also continue meeting to negotiate over 
President Obama's budget this week. The President's framework sets the 
right priorities for the country, and Chairman Conrad continues to work 
with Democrats and Republicans to strengthen the budget.
  We must remember that as deep as our immediate problems may be, the 
worst mistake we could make is to stop investing in the future. We need 
a budget that lays the groundwork for an economy that doesn't just 
recover in the short term but prospers in the long term.
  That is why we must invest in education, health care, and renewable 
energy. These are not optional projects worth saving for better times; 
we are saving for better times. They are requirements for job creation 
and long-term economic recovery.
  This budget must provide tax relief for working Americans who are 
struggling under the weight of rising prices and decreasing household 
incomes.
  As we work our way through the budget process, Democrats and 
Republicans will not agree on everything. But I think we can all agree 
it is long past time that we get a budget that puts the American people 
first.
  Finally, last week, I followed action from the House of 
Representatives by offering by unanimous consent legislation that would 
recoup the outrageous bonuses paid by AIG to its executives. 
Unfortunately, despite joining Democrats and the American people in 
their calls for action, there was a Republican objection to my request.
  Despite last week's Republican objection to passing the AIG bonus 
bill, we will continue to work to right this egregious misuse of 
taxpayer dollars. Republicans have asked for more time to study the 
legislation, and they are entitled to that. With Republican 
cooperation, we can quickly and responsibly return these funds to the 
American people.

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