On the heels of President Barack Obama’s first address to both houses of Congress, during which he called every American to commit to at least one year of higher education or career training, the House Committee on Education and Labor dedicated its first hearing of the new session to revamping community and national service legislation.
The Obama administration aims to link prospective college students with national and community service opportunities to help finance their postsecondary educations.
From 2002 to 2007, the number of volunteers across the country grew by more than a million, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Despite this growing trend, it has been over 15 years since Congress last reauthorized the National and Community Service Trust Act, which established the CNCS and formally launched AmeriCorps, a network of national service programs that engage Americans in service in the areas of education, public safety, health care and the environment.
In 2008, the committee laid the groundwork for reauthorizing the service programs by passing the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act. During Wednesday’s hearing, committee chair George Miller announced plans to move legislation through Congress soon.
“Last night, I was gratified to hear [President Obama] make national service a key part of his bold agenda,” said Miller, D-Calif. “To help get more students to college, he proposed making college more affordable for Americans who volunteer. He called for Congress to take action to launch a new era of American service. I look forward to working with this committee to deliver him this legislation.”
Testifying at the hearing, Grammy Award-winning singer Usher Raymond IV asked the committee to provide the resources for schools to offer service-learning programs where young people could “put their idealism into action.”
