[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 25166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      NATIONAL CALL TO SERVICE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, today the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Ford) and I introduced a bill called the National Call to Service Act. 
All of us are very aware of what happened on September 11; and as 
terrible as that day was and those events were, we have also seen some 
very positive things that have happened since.
  We have seen the resurgence in patriotism. We have seen people who 
are more cordial and certainly have a greater desire to serve the 
country. In an attempt to harness this energy, the Call to Service Act 
would enlist 250,000 people, young people and old people alike, to 
serve our country. There are three aspects I would like to touch on 
very briefly here today.
  First of all, rural and underserved areas often do not get much 
mention in a bill of this type. However, the National Call to Service 
Act does make sure that all areas of the country, particularly rural 
areas, are recognized. One example of this would be the teacher corps 
which would provide educational awards to attract and keep teachers in 
rural areas where it is very difficult to attract and keep teachers in 
such underserved areas. Another example would be public health programs 
where again rural areas are often neglected and underserved.
  The second area of the National Call to Service Act I would like to 
call attention to is homeland defense. We have many young people who 
would like to serve the country, but yet do not want to go into full-
time military service. This bill would provide young people with an 
opportunity to serve 18 months of active duty and then 18 months in a 
reserve status. In return, they get an educational award at the end of 
their service.
  These young people would be used to guard vulnerable areas such as 
buildings, bridges, nuclear plants, airports and our borders. Also in 
the event of a national catastrophe involving bioterrorism, we need a 
great many people who could provide technical assistance in case of a 
health emergency.
  Thirdly, one of our greatest resources in this country at the present 
time that I believe is greatly underutilized is our senior citizens. We 
currently have a great number of children who lack a caring adult in 
their life. They have no role model. We have 18 million fatherless 
children in the United States today. Roughly one-half of our young 
people growing up in this country are growing up without both 
biological parents. Seniors can certainly fill this gap. They can serve 
as tutors and mentors for these young people. It has been very well 
established that a good mentoring program can reduce absenteeism from 
school by 50 percent, can reduce drug abuse by 50 percent, can reduce 
teenage pregnancy, violence and dropout rates significantly.
  We think that by utilizing our seniors more effectively, we can serve 
the country well, and particularly the youth of our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee 
(Mr. Ford), and he will discuss other aspects of the Call to Service 
Act.
  Mr. FORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. 
Osborne) for yielding; and I come from a State with a good football 
team, but I am delighted that the greatest mind, at least in my era of 
following college sports, would see fit to allow a young Member like me 
to partner with him to do something that in the long run will benefit 
young people for many, many years to come.
  It is difficult to expand on what the gentleman from Nebraska has 
already said, but this bill gives my generation an opportunity to do 
something that we have not been able to do. For so long we have been 
reduced in a lot of ways, and some of us have chosen, to be spectators 
to conflict involving challenges to our values and freedoms. We are 
hopeful with our friends on the other side of the aisle and this bill's 
companion, S. 1792, which was introduced yesterday by Senators McCain 
and Bayh, we are hopeful that this legislation will attract the support 
of Democrats and Republicans alike in both Chambers.
  Mr. Speaker, the district of the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. 
Osborne) and my district could not be any more different than they are. 
He is from a rural area in Nebraska; I am from an urban area in 
Memphis, Tennessee. We are hopeful that regardless of who Americans 
are, where they live, or how they may identify themselves politically, 
this bill will attract the support of all of our colleagues, largely 
because it invites involvement.
  The gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) spoke about the need for 
this and how critical it is; but just to give more specifics, the 
purpose of the bill is to basically expand the AmeriCorps program. We 
propose a fivefold expansion of the traditional program, including new 
opportunities, as has already been mentioned, for senior service, work 
study and homeland defense. Specifically, over half of the program's 
expansion would be used to augment homeland defense in the areas of law 
enforcement and public health. Additionally, the legislation would 
provide new options for military enlistment, including expansion of the 
Montgomery GI bill and the establishment of a new 18-18-18 short-term 
enlistment option.
  These provisions acknowledge that the GI bill has not kept pace with 
inflation, and a growing shortage exists for entry-level service needs. 
The short-term option would qualify E1 level recruits for an $18,000 
education bonus after service of 18 months of active duty and 18 months 
of reserve duty.
  Finally, in an ongoing effort to enhance national service, the bill 
also sets accountability standards and provides for a new demonstration 
choice voucher plan, not the voucher plan that my colleagues often 
think about, but a voucher plan providing grants for young people to 
apply in areas of public service.
  We believe the Call to Service Act presents an immeasurable 
opportunity to seize on those attributes that define us as Americans 
and make us proud to serve in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me this time and both 
Senators for their support; and I hope that all of our colleagues will 
see fit to support this important legislation.

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