HR 1444: New Bill Calls For Congressional Commission on Civic Service
Barack Obama recently signed into law the HR 1388 GIVE Act that would require youth to sign up for a certain amount of community service. This Act becomes much like the AmeriCorps and if we know anything as of late about that organization, we know that it is rife with corruption and government meddling (i.e. Walpin-Gate). AmeriCorps and government funded “volunteer” organizations have always been vulnerable to becoming ideological arms of the parties which give the most or establish them. This is no different than unions receiving kickbacks from Democrats and in turn voting for them. There is a serious problem in our government regarding pay-to-play politics.
The GIVE Act was scary enough because it was reminiscent of what Obama had said on the campaign trail regarding a National Civilian Security force that would eventually be larger than the US military. Many didn’t take Obama seriously at the time, but with the signing of the GIVE Act and the latest bill in the Senate, HR 1444, it keeps looking more and more like he was in fact telling the truth.
Here’s a reminder of what he said:
Here is what a columnist at the Denver Post has to say about HR 1444:
Little did I know he was serious. The first step was the passage of HR 1388, “The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act,” originally titled the GIVE (Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education) Act before the Senate renamed it as a tribute to the “Lion of Liberalism.” It triples AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000. The second step is HR 1444, not yet passed, which would establish a Congressional Commission on Civic Service. The commission would “address and analyze” the effects on the nation and on those who serve “if all individuals in the United States … were required to perform a certain amount of national service” and “whether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all young people could be developed.”
Whoa! It’s one thing, out of clear necessity and for purposes of national survival, to have a military draft when our nation is at war (hot or cold). But mandatory community service of up to two years? This is a preposterously intrusive notion and one that is surely unlawful under our Constitution. The Thirteenth Amendment prohibits “involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime.” What crime have these young people committed?
The “audacity” — to use President Obama’s favorite expression — of such a sweeping mandate is a direct contradiction of our founding principles as reinforced in the Bill of Rights, which emphatically restricts the powers of government over the lives of individuals. The camel’s nose under the tent that has led some people to regard national mandatory community service as respectable public policy is no doubt the imposition of a similar requirement on students as a condition of graduation in our public schools.
Just what we need, more politicians using the constitution as toilet paper and youth having the government run their lives.
Look at it this way – blue will be the new “brown” 
“At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
Abraham Lincoln, Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois (January 27, 1838)
HR 1388 National Service Bill Passed Senate
The H.R. 1388 Bill which passed the house has now officially passed the Senate by a 74-14 vote! What scares me is that only 14 republicans voted against the bill.
From Roll Call: (may have to subsribe to see article)
The Senate voted 74-14 to cut off debate and proceed on a national service bill that reauthorizes the AmeriCorps program and sanctions $5 billion over five years to add volunteers to targeted service areas.
Ticking off the names of inspiring public servants such as retired Gen. Colin Powell and Special Olympics founder Eunice Shriver, lawmakers said the measure would capture a newly inspired public that is hungry to serve in local communities.
“We can really be able to embark upon a major initiative to be able to meet the compelling needs of our society,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) said just before the floor vote. “Its passage is important now when so many communities are struggling with so many pressing problems, and so many people want to serve.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), political polar opposites who have forged a close working relationship over their years of service together in the Senate. The bill creates five service corps targeting health care, education, energy veterans and the poor, as well as a Congressional commission on civil service.
The House overwhelmingly approved a similar bill last week, 321-105. A small number of Republican critics decried the legislation as a costly measure to spark service, which private groups perform without the encouragement of government.
The Senate will continue debate on the measure Tuesday, with a vote on final passage to follow at some point this week.
President Barack Obama called on lawmakers to approve the measure during his February address to a joint session of Congress, saying it would “encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations.”
Please see the original post on what H.R. 1388 entails and take a look at the republicans who voted for it below (please also take a look at the 11 senators that did not vote – just as bad as voting yea IMO):
H.R. 1388 GIVE Act Passes House: See How They Voted
FOR BILL LANGUAGE VISIT MY ORIGINAL/UPDATED POST!
FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 140(Democrats in roman; Republicans in italic; Independents underlined)
H R 1388 YEA-AND-NAY 18-Mar-2009 4:39 PM
QUESTION: On Passage
BILL TITLE: Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act
Update: H.R.1388 Passed With Amendments and Stipulations: One Step Closer to the National Civilian Security Service (Amendment Approved)
Wednesday, March 18: H.R. 1388 – Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act
This bill reauthorizes Corporation for National and Community Service programs, including AmeriCorps, through FY 2014. The bill is intended to increase the number of volunteers nationwide to 250,000, from 75,000. The measure also increases the education reward that full-time service volunteers receive to $5,350 in FY 2010, the same award as the maximum Pell grant. After FY 2010, volunteers would receive an award equal to the annual maximum Pell grant.
KEY CONCERNS:
*H.R. 1388 funds AmeriCorps at a level of “such sums may be necessary.” AmeriCorps has funded programs in the past such as Planned Parenthood of Western Washington and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center (LAGLC). In addition, they ran a program that gave $5 to children for each toy gun they brought in.
*The CBO Report for H.R. 1388 states that the bill authorizes $9.3 billion over the FY2010-FY2014 period. This is over $3 billion more than last year’s bill.
*H.R. 1388 stretches the definition of a volunteer by paying them for their service, frequently providing volunteers with health benefits, housing, and other items that undermine the definition of a volunteer.
*H.R. 1388 funds Learn and Serve, which has been described as “Not Performing: Results Not Demonstrated” by the Office of Management and Budget’s website, ExpectMore.gov. It also funds AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps which OMB describes as “Not Performing: Ineffective.” Some conservatives may believe that during a time of economic crisis, we should not be funding programs that have shown little or no results.
Amendments to H.R. 1388
Washington, Mar 18 - Miller (CA): Manager’s Amendment. This amendment would make various technical changes; allow interagency agreements between federal agencies to support national service programs by approving the use of service positions in projects carried out by other agencies; clarify that the goal of reaching 250,000 volunteers is throughout all national service positions, not just AmeriCorps; and clarify that the Corporation should promote efficiency and eliminate duplicative application requirements and report back to the authorizing committees on its progress in doing so. The amendment adds language to promote community based efforts to reduce crime and recruit public safety officers into service opportunities; adds “severely economically distressed community” as a new definition; includes a new activity under the Opportunity Corps focused on a musician and artists corps program that helps meet educational needs in low income communities; and incorporates language that would increase access to and participation in federally supported nutrition programs.
ADOPTED BY VOICE VOTE
Pingree (ME): Adds “providing clean energy related services designed to meet the needs of rural communities” to the list of approved activities for the Clean Energy Corps.
UPDATE: PASSED 388-36; VOTE REQUESTED
Hunter (CA): Removes veteran’s educational benefits from being taken into account when calculating the maximum award an individual could receive for participating in one of the national service programs.
ADOPTED BY VOICE VOTE
Loebsack (IA): The amendment creates a new program entitled the “Volunteer Generation Fund,” to assist nonprofit, faith based, and other civic organizations; and to increase volunteer recruitment; an to enable the people of the U.S. to effect change by participating in active volunteer and citizen service. It authorizes $360 million over five years.
UPDATED: PASSED 261-168; VOTE REQUESTED
Roe (TN): To set the authorization for AmeriCorps, the Trust, Innovative programs, audits and evaluations at the FY 2008 level for FY 2010, and as such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2011 through 2014.
UPDATED: FAILED 175-256; VOTE REQUESTED
Kilroy (OH): To provide volunteers to supervise physical education classes at elementary and secondary schools, provide nutrition education to students, and supervise, organize, and manage after school physical activity/education programs. The amendment would also provide services to these elderly people through food deliveries, legal and medical services provided in the home, and transportation.
UPDATED: PASSED 372-57; VOTE REQUESTED
Roskam (IL): To require all authorized programs to be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget’s Program Assessment Rating Tool, as well as require GAO to do a study on the National Civilian Community Corps program. Finally, the amendment would amend the underlying legislation to continue the annual evaluation requirement for the National Civilian Community Corps, rather than authorizing only one study by 2014.
ADOPTED BY VOICE VOTE
Markey (CO): To increase the operational support given to organizations for full-time individuals enrolled in an approved national service position. The amendment proposes increasing the support from $600 to $800 and from $800 to $1000 if the program supports at least 50 percent disadvantaged youth.
UPDATED: PASSED 281-146; VOTE REQUESTED
Hill (IN): Adds an eligible service program (under the National Service Corps) that would send care packages to Armed Forces members serving in combat overseas.
ADOPTED BY VOICE VOTE
Teague (NM)/Klein (FL): To encourage opportunities for veterans that utilize their experience in the Armed Forces, and would encourage programs to assist veterans in finding employment in the public and private sector. The amendment would aid veterans in their pursuit of education and professional opportunities, help veterans with the claims process, and assist rural, disabled, and unemployed veterans with transportation needs.
UPDATED: ADOPTED BY VOICE VOTE
Perriello (VA)/Titus (NV): To create a National Service Reserve Corps, requiring an annual service requirement of at least ten hours and/or annual training. The amendment requires that a member of the National Service Reserve Corps must complete a term of national service, fulfill training, and respond to national disasters and other emergencies. In addition, the amendment would require that these individuals be listed in a national database for the ease of immediate deployment in case of emergency.
UPDATED: PASSED 339-93
Updated: Republican Motion to Recommit H.R. 1388, the GIVE Act; PASSED 318-105
This would mean the following:
