[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 88 (Monday, May 22, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4394-H4395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING PRESIDENT KENNEDY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, today we are one week away 
from Memorial Day. On May 29, we will celebrate Memorial Day this year. 
But this also, remarkably, would be the 100th birthday of President 
John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
  It is hard to believe when we think of President Kennedy, his 
youthful vigor, the popular appeal that he had not only in this country 
and around the world, and forever in our hearts and minds, that vision 
of grace and dignity and wit and humor and public service and 
dedication.
  It was President Kennedy, of course, who said we will put a man on 
the Moon and do it within 10 years, and we did it in 9.
  Amongst his great legacies, of course, is that President Kennedy 
founded and was the creator of the Peace Corps. President Kennedy felt 
in those troubling times when there was the threat of nuclear 
annihilation, that what we needed to do is send forward America's best, 
let the world see what America is truly about. So he engaged this great 
Nation in the effort of sending our brightest and best abroad.

[[Page H4395]]

  Today, many Americans might be surprised to know that in a nation of 
more than 330 million people, less than 1 percent--let me repeat that 
again, less than 1 percent--of the Nation serves in all of our 
military, including our Reserves and National Guard and in the Peace 
Corps, AmeriCorps VISTA, Teach For America, Senior Corps, City Year, 
and Corporation for National and Community Service.

                              {time}  1215

  The Corporation for National and Community Service has indicated, 
last year more than 400,000 of your fellow Americans wanted to serve 
their country, and yet they were turned away because of a lack of 
financing. Imagine in this day and age, with our budgets coming out, 
when we know, in fact, from all sources that the volunteerism that is 
provided more than pays for itself at almost a 4-to-1 clip.
  That is why, this Thursday, we are going to drop a bill on national 
service. It is called ACTION, because that is what this country needs. 
We find too many Americans who want to serve their nation but are 
unable to do so, especially those who want to serve in a capacity other 
than the United States military. So it is up to this Congress to make 
sure that we provide an alternative to do just that. So we will drop a 
bill this week and are looking for original cosponsors who will sign on 
to that bill that says simply this: If you are willing to serve your 
country in any of those capacities, if you are willing to serve your 
country, we will help you get a college education. If you have a 
college education and you have been out looking for a job, and you have 
been unsuccessful, but you still would like experience and to serve 
your country, we will pay for that as well. The bottom line: Serve your 
country, and we will take care of your college debt or help you get to 
college.

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