National Service Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

NATIONAL SERVICE REAUTHORIZATION ACT -- (Senate - March 26, 2009)

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I rise today to express my support for this important bipartisan bill, the Serve America Act.

Voluntarism is at the core of the ``American'' spirit. It was something that impressed Alexis de Tocqueville when he first visited the new American democracy in the early nineteenth century, and it is a trait that continues to improve the world around us every second of every day.

Now, more than ever, we need to do what we can to keep the flame of public service burning bright in America to give our schools, our churches and temples, and our communities hope that prosperity and economic recovery for all is just around the corner.

This legislation that we are considering today does just that.

The Serve America Act reauthorizes and broadens our national service laws and creates a framework to develop national service programs that will improve American communities and enrich the lives of all of those who answer the call to serve.

Now is the time for us to come together to reach out a helping hand to one another. This is what makes our country great, it is our spirit of community, our willingness to hunker down and help one another.

The Serve America Act creates a continuum of service opportunities for Americans of all ages and walks of life--from middle school kids through seniors enjoying retirement.

Today, I want to highlight a particular provision in this bill, the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance.

I thank Senators Kennedy, Mikulski, Hatch and Enzi for including this important provision at my urging.

This provision will create a new national campaign to promote public service and encourage Americans to observe September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

This is important not only to all the families and loved ones affected by that terrible tragedy, but also to the next generation of Americans--so that we will never forget what happened on that day, and we will honor those who were killed with our own act of selflessness and public service.

I want to acknowledge several of my fellow New Yorkers who have worked tirelessly on this issue: Jay Winuk, cofounder and vice president of MyGoodDeed.org and the brother of attorney and 9/11 rescuer Glenn Winuk and David Paine, president and founder of MyGoodDeed.org.

Glenn Winuk is just one of many New Yorkers who this provision will honor. On September 11, 2001, Glenn was working in his law office near the World Trade Center when the first plane hit.

Glenn was a volunteer fire fighter and EMT and he helped evacuate his building, and then headed toward the chaos, grabbing a mask and a pair of gloves on the way. Tragically, Glenn died when the second tower collapsed.

The nonprofit My Good Deed, started by his brother and friend, was founded to transform the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001 into an annually observed national day of service and good deeds.

In 2007, more than 300,000 good deeds were posted on the organization's website by participants from all 50 U.S. states and150 different countries and territories.

The good deeds come in all forms--large and small.

Giving a homeless woman a blanket on a cold night, donating blood regularly, sending care packages to our troops, and helping friends and neighbors by babysitting.

There is a tremendous story from 2007 of John Feal who founded the Feal Good Foundation. John donated a kidney to a stranger to help a seriously ill 9/11 rescue worker. What a wonderful act of selflessness.

We want to encourage more stories and acts of generosity like this.

Establishing 9/11 as a national service day also has the potential to inspire many people to consider community service for the first time--a key goal of President Obama's administration.

MyGoodDeed.org, the nonprofit that has been leading the eight year effort to designate 9/11 as a national day of service, found that two-thirds of those who have participated in the unofficial 9/11 day of service observance to date--more than three million people a year by its estimates--describe themselves as relatively new or new to volunteering.

Commemorating 9/11 with a good deed to help another American in need will honor great New Yorkers like John Sferazo and his organization ``Unsung Heroes Helping Heroes''--who have already stepped up to the plate and volunteered their time to help their fellow countrymen.

John was an ironworker who sacrificed his health at Ground Zero--and he and the Unsung Heroes have been helping out other first responders ever since.

September 11 should not only be a day for mourning--it should be a day to think about our neighbors, our community, and our country.

We can take a tragic day in our Nation's history and turn it into a force for good. We can make it a day on which we can give back in remembrance of those who lost their lives.

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