[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3650-S3651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            NATIONAL SERVICE

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, we can all be proud that we 
live in a country where citizens volunteer to serve their Nation. We 
can see this especially after any tragedy, be it national, be it local, 
how our citizenry responds.
  I am heartened to see the number of young people responding to serve. 
There is quite a contrast I have seen in the young people today and 
what we have seen over the last several decades. If we go back as far 
as my generation, four decades ago, we were very interested in public 
service. We wanted to be public servants. We wanted to contribute 
something to our country. It was very attractive, as a young person 
growing up, to want to go into government and serve the public that 
way. We were inspired by a young President, President Kennedy.
  Then along came those events that so soured so many of our young 
people--first of all, the split in the Nation over an unpopular war, 
Vietnam. We had three major assassinations over a short period, 
including two brothers of one family. Then this Nation went through the 
process of the resignation of a President. That was about the time of a 
lot of the protests and the drug culture. It was a tough time. There 
was a lot of cynicism bred out of that time. A lot of young people got 
turned off to public service.

[[Page S3651]]

  I am beginning to see it again, young people really getting 
interested in public service. If you have that heart for service, it is 
the exact opposite of what Time magazine chronicled on the cover of its 
magazine back in the late 1960s, the ``me generation.'' It was 
concerned about me, me. Now we see so much interest in helping our 
communities as being more the ``we generation.'' Now we see a lot more 
young Americans applying to the Peace Corps and its domestic 
counterpart, AmeriCorps, and so many other national service programs.
  Our new President has issued a call for all Americans to devote at 
least 1 year of their lives to national service. If I had my druthers, 
I would want every young person to have an obligation to serve at least 
1 year in some capacity to their country. This would have tremendous 
benefits down the road. They could choose the military, the Peace 
Corps, AmeriCorps, a teacher's aide--a host of these things in helping 
out our communities. Of course, we are not at a point, especially with 
the economic condition we are in, that we can afford that as a 
mandatory obligation. So what the new President has called for is for 
all Americans to devote at least 1 year of their lives to national 
service.
  We come today to discuss legislation that is an acknowledgment across 
the political divide of our President's call to engage people in 
national service. This is going to be the first substantial investment 
in our Nation's service programs in nearly two decades. What this bill 
is going to do is triple the number of participants in our national 
service programs from 75,000 to 250,000. These volunteers are going to 
serve as tutors and mentors. They are going to do that for children. 
They will help build affordable housing. They will teach marketable 
computer skills. They will repair our parks and waterways. They will 
run afterschool programs and help respond to disasters in communities.
  The legislation would create several new volunteer corps with 
specific missions in areas of national need such as education, health 
care, clean energy, and caring for veterans. We have commended over and 
over our colleagues, Senators Kennedy and Hatch, in crafting 
legislation that will inspire and encourage citizens of all ages, not 
just the young, and all occupations and backgrounds to engage in 
national service.
  Let me say where I see this example of public spiritedness. I see it 
in senior citizens, who have already had their professional lives, who 
are now enjoying the fruits of their labors, and they in turn want to 
respond and are very much as valuable in this national service as the 
young people.
  This bill should be seen as an important national achievement and a 
good example of how we can come together and overcome the challenges 
that lie ahead.
  Marian Wright Edelman, the first African-American woman admitted to 
the State bar of Mississippi, said it is a time for greatness, not for 
greed. She said:

       It's a time for idealism--not ideology. It is a time not 
     just for compassionate words, but for compassionate action.

  Heeding those words, Mr. President, it is time for us to take action 
and to pass this bill.
  I yield the floor.

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