[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 126 (Monday, September 23, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6680-S6681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     20TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICORPS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize volunteers doing 
extraordinary service to our country.

[[Page S6681]]

Twenty years ago, on September 21, President Clinton signed the 
National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, establishing the 
Corporation for National and Community Services and its three main 
programs: AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America.
  In Illinois and across the Nation, volunteers of all ages and 
backgrounds are stepping up to help others. More than 800,000 people 
have served as AmeriCorps members since 1994, and more than 1 billion 
hours have been invested in improving lives and strengthening 
communities. In Illinois, 30,000 Illinois residents have served 37 
million hours through AmeriCorps, qualifying for Segal AmeriCorps 
Education awards of $93 million.
  This year, more than 3,600 Illinoisans joined AmeriCorps to engage in 
results-driven service that meet education, environmental, health, 
economic, and other pressing needs in communities across our State. 
Young men and women in AmeriCorps accept challenging assignments in 
tough towns and neighborhoods.
  When the town of Joplin, MO, was devastated by a tornado in 2011, 
AmeriCorps members from Belleville, IL, helped with the recovery effort 
and with rebuilding the community. When low-income families are cash-
strapped and hungry during the holidays, members of AmeriCorps prepare 
festive and nutritious meals at a community center in their 
neighborhood. Some volunteers have collected used children's books for 
underserved preschool programs in southern Illinois communities. 
AmeriCorps members have provided tutors and mentors to strengthen 
literacy programs in approximately 30 local grade schools.
  These are a few examples of the service we see from AmeriCorps 
members. For their hard work, we pay them a few cents more than minimum 
wage and give them an educational grant to help fund their college 
expense.
  In 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve 
America Act to expand AmeriCorps and volunteer opportunities in six key 
areas: disaster services, economic opportunity, education, 
environmental stewardship, healthy futures, and veterans and military 
families. I was honored to join my colleagues in support of this 
legislation and President Obama's national call to service.
  These volunteer hours and this commitment can make a tremendous 
difference in giving people some hope and in giving them the basics 
that they need to survive. That volunteer spirit is part of America. It 
is an American value we cherish.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the hard work of these 
volunteers as the AmeriCorps celebrates its 20th anniversary.

                          ____________________