[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14563-14564]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     AMERICORPS PROGRAM ANNIVERSARY

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I wish to commemorate the 20th 
anniversary of the AmeriCorps program.
  I want to take a moment to say thank you--thank you to all of the 
volunteers and service workers out there. They are selflessly taking 
time out of their lives to help their fellow Americans in times of 
need. They are the ones out there building homes, clearing thousands of 
acres of forest burnt by wildfires, tutoring and mentoring our 
children, and assisting the elderly. They are unflagging, unflinching, 
and determined to make a difference.
  National service has always been a passion of mine. When we started 
in the 1970s with the establishment of a domestic volunteer corps--
similar to Peace Corps--I wanted to capture the fervor, the passion, 
and dynamic qualities of a social movement that would bring people to 
arms wielding change. At some point, it seemed we lost sight of what 
Alexis de Tocqueville called ``habits of the heart''--neighbor helping 
neighbor. I wanted to help turn the ME generation into the WE 
generation.
  That is why in 1989 I, along with Senators Kennedy and Nunn, 
introduced the National and Community Service Act--a bill to establish 
the Corporation for National and Community Service to oversee and 
coordinate our national volunteer efforts. This important legislation 
also created a demonstration program that has since evolved into what 
we know today as AmeriCorps.
  I believe that AmeriCorps is the embodiment of the spirit of 
volunteerism and service to our country. When creating this program, I 
did not just want to create another government program. I did not want 
this to be another bureaucratic agency. What I wanted to do was capture 
the fervor, passion, and dynamic qualities of a social movement that 
would bring people to arms wielding change. I think we were successful 
in doing just that.
  I am so proud of what AmeriCorps has accomplished and become. I never 
dreamt that I would be standing here 20 years later knowing that the 
AmeriCorps program would be the force that it is today. The data 
doesn't lie--it is quite impressive. Over the past 20 years, more than 
820,000 AmeriCorps members have served our communities and country, 
providing more than 1 billion hours of service.
  My home State of Maryland is lucky. We have 1,600 AmeriCorps members, 
and 5,400 Senior Corps members. Their stories are poignant, whether it 
is a Teach for America Corps member helping a child with long division 
after school, or a National Civilian Community Corps member helping 
restore order to communities after a devastating storm or an AmeriCorps 
member helping veteran families readjust to civilian life. Every day, 
national service changes lives. They all meet compelling human needs by 
helping out in our neighborhoods and communities across the country.
  I used to be a social worker for Baltimore, but now I am a social 
worker for

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America, and I believe civic responsibility is worth investing in. I 
want to continue to make sure that we make this kind of investment in 
AmeriCorps because the next generation is carrying the torch for 
national service. We must remember that it is not only young people 
signing up to serve their country. It is seniors serving as a foster 
grandparent to children who have been abused or neglected. It is 
veterans trading in their uniforms to work with Habitat for Humanity, 
building homes for their fellow service members. It is seasoned 
professionals heading into the corps, trading in corporate cubicles for 
classrooms and putting their real-world education to use. The next 
generation knows the importance of national service. Their dedication 
to its mission is inspiring.
  Five years ago, I was at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore recovering from 
ankle surgery. An aide was helping me get back in bed and asked me if I 
knew Senator Kennedy. She said, ``They tell me you had something to do 
with National Service. I was in AmeriCorps.'' She was working in modest 
means--she had heard you could work parttime, earn a bachelor's degree 
from college, and that there wasn't an age limit. At the local health 
department, she started to do some outreach. Her supervisor told her, 
``You have a real talent.'' This woman said, ``People like me are never 
told they have a talent, but I found I had a talent by working for 
AmeriCorps.'' Through an AmeriCorps stipend, she completed her degree 
in social work and helped her grandson get into college. She is just 
one of the many who have been touched by AmeriCorps, who have changed 
the lives of others through service.
  These stories and the work that AmeriCorps volunteers do give me 
profound hope, because while one person can make a difference, together 
we can make a change. I am so pleased to celebrate the 20th anniversary 
of the AmeriCorps program and look forward to the next 20 years.

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