National Service Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in favor of the Serve America Act. This important legislation will engage hundreds of thousands of Americans, from our young people to our seniors, in a new era of public service. This act represents the best in the American tradition.

I have seen the wonderful work it has already done throughout New York. More than 76,000 New Yorkers are working to meet local needs, strengthen and repair communities, and increase civic involvement through 233 national service projects all across New York. These New Yorkers tutor and mentor children, manage and staff afterschool programs, patrol neighborhoods, provide disaster response, and work to protect our environment and
build nonprofit groups all around our communities.

Just yesterday, I met with 30 nuns who came from Long Island to visit with me, and the work they had done in our community was for those who really need the help the most. They were helping our seniors, and they were helping women who have English as a second language who need to learn English, and they were advocating for world peace.

What is so great about this act is it is for all of us who are not nuns. This act brings a new wave of community activism to bear on our country's needs. It inspires me when I think about all the wonderful diversity of people and projects this will deploy to all parts of our country.

The Serve America Act will provide more than 250,000 opportunities nationwide by investing approximately $6 billion in new service initiatives and existing service programs. These programs include a brandnew national service program to create Youth Engagement Zones to Strengthen Communities program, providing competitive grants to assist programs targeted at high-need, low-income communities and community-based or State entities to engage students and out-of-school youth in service learning and addressing the specific challenges of each of their communities.

The Learn and Serve America Program provides grants to schools, colleges, not-for-profit groups, and it currently engages more than 38,000 New York students in community services linked to academic achievement and the development of civic skills.

Third, we have the Summer of Service Program, which is a national coalition of major youth-serving organizations that is committed to engaging youth in service during summer months.

In this act, we would be allowing our veterans who still want to serve their country the chance to lend a hand in supporting our deployed troops and their families. We also give our seniors, our most experienced citizens, the chance to work with and teach our children. We will improve the opportunities for at-risk urban youth, giving them additional volunteer and educational programs to teach them skills and build their self-confidence. It also gives young people career paths in the professions where we really need their leadership and their time and talents--in math, science, engineering, and health care.

This bill starts a chain reaction of promise, service, achievement, knowledge, and advancement. It is the future of our country.

I have seen so many people in areas around New York where their options are limited. This legislation will provide paths to service and excellence for the young people in these neighborhoods.

Just last month, I was visiting students at Nazareth High School in Brooklyn, NY, and I met with parents who had lost their child to gun violence. I also met with students who lost their classmate. What the students said was: Senator, we have problems with gangs here in our community, and we need an answer to those gangs. We think the best thing you could do is help us with afterschool programming, giving us opportunities to learn new skills, help with our homework, to do arts and crafts, to do sports, to have opportunities to have job training, to learn about public service.

That is exactly what this act does. It authorizes the grants programs that help these kids in these low-income areas to do things after school until their parents come home from work. It gives them the opportunity to work with their seniors, to clean up their neighborhoods, to create new mentoring relationships, to work with YMCAs and girls clubs and faith-based groups. From our urban youth to our most experienced citizens, this legislation will help all of them give more back to their communities.

This legislation helps retirees who are willing to be involved in public service. It will enhance the incentives for our retirees to give a year of service and allow educational awards to be transferred to their children or their grandchildren. It also establishes Encore Fellowships to help our retirees transition to longer term service by helping them work in the not-for-profit sector as a second career.

Our veterans, who have so proudly served this country, also want to continue to give of themselves. This bill allows them to help support our deployed Armed Forces and their families, helping young people at risk, and assists our veterans in developing educational opportunities.

We also are going to fill the needs that are essential for our country's economic future. Everywhere I travel around my State, from Buffalo to Brooklyn, everyone is talking about the need for job creation. This bill allows us to invest in the new areas of renewable fuels, energy independence, technology, and medicine so we can begin to focus our youth on the math, science, engineering, and technology they need to be at the forefront of these new careers. What this act does is provide those opportunities for these students to participate in service projects that help them learn the skills they need in these green jobs and in the health care and technology arenas.

In this time of economic crisis and uncertainty, so many people feel the need to contribute to the greater good. We will harness these millions of hearts and minds to do exactly that, to allow America to reach its potential. It is a critical step in moving forward the promise of our citizens and of our country as embodied in the Serve America act. I encourage all Senators to support it fully.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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