House Proceeding 03-18-09 on Mar 18th, 2009 :: 0:04:30 to 0:20:00
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0:01:35 to 0:06:05( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: George Miller

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George Miller: . they help our communities they build you are communities, they strengthen our communities. we've seen them come from all walks of life, from young students who want to give to their community to senior citizens who continue to take the skills and talents from their working life and repay trat them back to the -- pe

0:04:38 to 0:04:58( Edit History Discussion )

George Miller: re-pay trait them back -- repatriate them back to the community. our generation was called on by president kennedy to do this, this generation is called on by president obama to do this. this is what strengthens our communities, this is what builds our communities, this is what makes america, amica. people do it, some for a small

0:04:59 to 0:05:19( Edit History Discussion )

George Miller: stipend, some for educational benefit, some for free. they come from all different places on the compass to help americans in our communities. there's a huge focus in this legislation on -- from middle school to senior citizens to tying this to a benefit for education, so young students in middle schools canarn a small bit of educational benefit they can redeem when they go to

0:05:20 to 0:05:40( Edit History Discussion )

George Miller: community college or the university and for young people who work full time at americorps, they can earn a stipend of almost $4,700 or $4,800 they can redeem to help pay for their college education. senior citizens, too, can get a stipend and get help for education if they want to co

0:05:41 to 0:06:01( Edit History Discussion )

George Miller: so it's very important piece, it's about american values, it's about the value of education, about the value of americans helping one another. it's about how we treat our communities. that's what americorps has done. we have an organization that's been building homes and building homes in louisiana after hurricane katrina in st.

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George Miller: bernard parish and today they welcome their 200th family back to a home.

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a gift from the community, from volunteers in america to those families that were ravaged that lost e that's what this bill will enable more americans to that. that's what this bill wil do i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman -- the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania.

0:06:28 to 0:06:50( Edit History Discussion )

Todd Russell Platts: mr. mckeen: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mckeen: i rise in support of h.r. 1388, the give act, which will strengthen and re-authorize america's national and community service programs. after 16 years this re-authorization is certainly overdue. in 1973, congress passed the domestic volunteer service act,

0:06:35 to 0:09:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Todd Russell Platts

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Todd Russell Platts: dvsa, foster and expand voluntary service in communities while helping lnerable and disadvantaged populations such as the elderly and the moor. the senior companion program and the retired and senior volunteer program. 17 years later, congress passed the national community service

0:07:16 to 0:07:37( Edit History Discussion )

Todd Russell Platts: act, ncsa of 19950. ncsa aims to meet unmet human, educational, environmental, and public safety needs as well as to renew a session of civic responsibility by encouraging citizens to participate in national service programs, authorized under ncsa are learn and serve america, americorps state and national grants and

0:07:38 to 0:07:59( Edit History Discussion )

Todd Russell Platts: the national civilian conservation corps. both dsva and ncsa are administered by the communitier is vision organization and both laws were amended most recently in 1993. while these laws expired at the end of fiscal year 2006, the

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Todd Russell Platts: programs that remained funded through annual appropriations measures. i'm pleased to have woed with champlee miller, with my -- chairman miller work my subcommittee chairwoman, carolyn mccarthy, as well as buck mckeon of california in crafting the give act and believe the bill makes common sense improvements to our

0:08:22 to 0:08:43( Edit History Discussion )

Todd Russell Platts: nation's national service programs. not only does it provide increased flexibility for states but also increases accountability and efficiency withinhe administration of the programs. h.r. 1388 strenhens existing community and national service programs by providing year-round service opportunities for students and the elderly alike and further

0:08:44 to 0:09:04( Edit History Discussion )

Todd Russell Platts: encourages volunteer involvement by disadvantaged youth this legislation also expands eligibility requirements programs such as foster grandparents, showing that people with an interest in serving have options available to them. i'm pleased that this

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Todd Russell Platts: reorganizes americorps activities into several different areas such as education, health care, clean energy, and veterans. in recent years, natural disasters, such as hurricanes in the south, as well as the wild fires in california, have showcased the important efforts of americorps and nccc volunteers.

0:09:27 to 0:09:35( Edit History Discussion )

Todd Russell Platts: i'm proud to support this effort to strengthen national service programs and ensure that participants can continue to aid disadvantaged and needy

0:09:36 to 0:09:52( Edit History Discussion )

George Miller: populations. mr. chairman, i hope all members will join me in supporting the give act. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield myself 15 seconds to say i thank

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Speech By: George Miller

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Carolyn McCarthy: congressman platts and congressman mckeen mckeon for their cooperation. i want to recognize at this time subcommittee chair carolyn mccarthy, who has been a driving forc national for her work. i recognize her for three minute

0:09:55 to 0:13:25( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Carolyn McCarthy

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Carolyn McCarthy: the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. mrs. mccarthy: i would also like to thank chairman miller for his leadership and for moving this important bill toward passage. also ranking member mckeon and certainly my good friend on my subcommittee on healthy families and communities, mr.

0:10:35 to 0:10:57( Edit History Discussion )

Carolyn McCarthy: todd platts, i would like to thank them for the work they've done. also the staff. s that bill that's been put together for over a year and a half and they have worked tirelessly. last month, poth because ma ood many this chamber and called on congress to pass legislation to inspire a new generation of service and volunteers in our nation.

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Carolyn McCarthy: serving our fellow citizens for the sake of service itself has become a hallmark of who we are in americans. from president roosevelt's work to psident ken -- kennedy's peace corps, we have shown that americans respond when they are needed. mr. chairman, i want to say

0:11:19 to 0:11:41( Edit History Discussion )

Carolyn McCarthy: that over the process of this last year and a half, so many different groups that have already been serving this country have come forward with new ideas, new suggestions, and we have put that all into this bill. the give act is a piece of legislation, in my opinion that is going to change again the way we as americans work together.

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Carolyn McCarthy: after world war ii, we had the veterans that came home and gave so much to this country to make it what it is. in this bill, we are reaching out from students in middle school, all the way through to our seniors and our retirees who are doneo much to improve people's lives. we have programs in here that

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Carolyn McCarthy: are going to help with our energy. we have mentoring programs, we have programs for our veterans coming home. to help other veterans get accustomed to being home again and helping them find jobs and also to see service. i have to say for those that have disabilities, we're bringing them into the fold now too.

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Carolyn McCarthy: so they can work with other students that might have disabilities and to help them. mr. speaker, this is a bill in my opinion, that is going to change the communities around this country. we have always seen americans stand together any time there was an emergency.

0:12:46 to 0:13:08( Edit History Discussion )

Carolyn McCarthy: we saw that during, unfortunately, the hurricane katrina, we have seen it after 9/11, we have seen it in so many tragedies. this is going to encourage those that have been trained to continue with their service, to be there, the first responders, when neighbors need help. mr. speaker, this is a bill that republicans and democrats,

0:13:09 to 0:13:25( Edit History Discussion )

Carolyn McCarthy: there's no name on this, on who should be part of this. this is a bill that can actually get this country up and going. we all know that we're facing terrible times during this economic downturn. i happen to believe that we will come out of it fully. i happen to be

0:13:26 to 0:13:48( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: americans will come together and make this a better country. this is our opportunity. i encourage everyone to vote for this amendment. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from -- the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. plths: i yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished ranking member of

0:13:30 to 0:18:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Howard P. Buck McKeon

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Howard P. Buck McKeon: the full committee, mr. mckeon. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mckeon: i thank the gentleman for yielding and i rise in strong support of h.r. 1388. neighbors helping neighbors. this happens countless times every day across america. a college student teaching english to immigrants a boy scout collecting nnedood for the hungry.

0:14:11 to 0:14:32( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: families taking in neighbor who was lost their homes in floods or tornado or fire. mr. chairman, the bill before us today aptly named the give act, encourages the selfless actions i just described by updating decades-old national service programs to make them more effective in the 21st century.

0:14:33 to 0:14:54( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: h.r. 1388 allows for year-round service learning opportunities. it also offers a new emphasis on emergency and disaster relief and recovery. finally, it offers increased opportunities for baby boomers, a generation known for its social activism. but i would like to inform my colleagues of one fact that has not been given much attention.

0:14:55 to 0:15:16( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: is bill includes powerful new safeguards to protect taxpayers by giving -- by making the service programs more accountable and performance-based. the bill also makes the programs it funds more competitive to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. in addition to h.r. 1388 ,

0:15:17 to 0:15:37( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: individuals can receive federal funding to serve at organizations of their choosing. of course to prevent fraud, these organizations will be closely examined. but after such screening, part of the funds the bill provides will be dedicated to these people who believe they can make the greatest difference at small organizations. yet this bill also addresses national needs.

0:15:38 to 0:15:58( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: for example, this proposal adds a new veterans' corps giving people who served in our military a chance to serve the nation once more and a chance for our nation to through the veterans' corps vets and others can help the families of servicemens through their hardships and aid fellow

0:15:59 to 0:16:22( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: veterans as they re-adjust to civilian life. finally this bill makes disaster assistance a priority. it allows the corporation for national and community service to develop a system to quickly mobilize former participants, if they are needed. it also allows people to extend their service if their terms run out in the middle of a disaster.

0:16:23 to 0:16:44( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: i would like to thank chairman miller, subcommittee chairman mccarthy, ranking member platts and our staffs for doing such an excellent job to work together an craft this bill. this is the way legislation should be passed. i think it's been an example and i wish all bills were passed in this manner.

0:16:45 to 0:17:05( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: you know, we've been hearing a lot in the last couple of days about a.i.g. and about the bonuses that were made to leaders of that company, a company that would not even be in existence if it were not for the federal government and the taxpayers that bailed them out.

0:17:06 to 0:17:27( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: the disaster -- the stimulus package that was passed was the last attempt that would have been able to stop those bonuses. there was an amendment in there, and i know the senator that's credited for that amendment says he didn't know about it, or didn't have part in it, taken care of if we had had

0:17:28 to 0:17:48( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: what was promised to us, 48 hours least to review that bill. or if we had worked together in a bipartisan way to craft that bill. that did not happen. i'm story that that did not happen, because of that, we have found now a terrible tragedy has taken place and i hope we'll be able to correct

0:17:49 to 0:18:09( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: it. but it could have been avoided if we'd just simply worked as we did on this bill in a bipartisan way to see that that never happened. . i support this bill because americans who give their time and talent to others clearly can help their nation. we as representatives should

0:18:10 to 0:18:31( Edit History Discussion )

Howard P. Buck McKeon: help thank you. i ask all my colleagues to support this bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: 1 1/2 23456 minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. taco, who has been key in this legislation and weatherization.

0:18:36 to 0:18:57( Edit History Discussion )

Paul Tonko: recognized for 1/2 minutes. mr. tongueo: this launches a new era of service during these challenging economic times. there are many new cores established in this legislation, amongst them clean energy as a corps. those members will be able to work in their given communities providing valuable service that is r housing for low-income households to improve their energy efficiency outcomes, to

0:18:50 to 0:20:10( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Paul Tonko

0:18:58 to 0:19:19( Edit History Discussion )

Paul Tonko: build energy efficient housing in low-income communities, to do and conduct energy audits for low-income households, and to install renewable energy technology amongst many other things. this energy improvement will be an empowerment to the given communities. i'm fortunate to havehriving volunteer programs in my region of new york state. amongst them are the south

0:19:20 to 0:19:40( Edit History Discussion )

Paul Tonko: advocacy association of new york, conducted through the as you susschuss -- auspicious of the american communication in sken net tech at this they provided for self-advocacy for people with disabilities and e capital district rsvp which places retired people in

0:19:41 to 0:20:01( Edit History Discussion )

Paul Tonko: projects that address the needs of their community wheree have over 1,200 volunteers providing 250,000 hours of service this is an exciting bit of legislation. it allows us to utilize volunteer power that has been a tradition with this nation. it dispells loneliness and despair. it builds a sense of dignity and hope.