Senate Proceeding on Mar 26th, 2009 :: 7:15:10 to 7:31:35
Total video length: 9 hours 39 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

Note: MetaVid video transcripts may contain inaccuracies, help us build a more perfect archive

Views:206 Duration: 0:16:25 Discussion

Previous speech:

Next speech:

7:15:09 to 7:15:30( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: quorum call: ms. mikulski: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland is recognized, and we are in a quorum call. ms call o the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. ms. mikulski: madam president, in just will be going to vote on final passage of the serve america act.

7:15:10 to 7:31:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Barbara Mikulski

7:15:31 to 7:15:51( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: this is going to be a great day for a great day for people everywhere in this country who wish to be able to give back to their it's also the content of the bill is outstanding and the way the process has worked has

7:15:52 to 7:16:13( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: been amazing. what is so wonderful about this bill is it showed that the congress of the united states and the senate of states can work together. we can check our party hats at the door and then concentrate on what we need to do to be able to help the american people.

7:16:14 to 7:16:35( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: this legislation passein the house. in the senate we've been deliberating on it for this week. this bill is the result of extensive senators kennedy and hatch, year on the but they, too, have devoted their lives to senator kennedy's role well-known.

7:16:36 to 7:16:56( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: for more than 40 years h steadfast commitment to the peace corps, to the vista volunteers, to being a founding father of americorps. he's time a obama legislation has passed that has -- a benchmark legislation has passed.

7:16:57 to 7:17:18( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: senator hatch brings his wonderful background, his commitment to service where he himself went on a service mission and to know how i changed their lives. so they have brought extensive work on the bill and they brought a lifetime of experience. i'm no stranger to national

7:17:19 to 7:17:40( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: service me, in 1989 introduced the national community service a with senators kennedy, nunn, and mccain commission and a demonstration project to look at national service. we actually wanted to test out ideas. and then in 1993 working president bill clinton, we took

7:17:41 to 7:18:03( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: national service to the next level by enacting the national and community service trust act. we worked on that landmark legislation with president clinton and it created the framework for the programs we're strengthening and expanding today. you know, madam president, when we did this in 1993, we did not

7:18:04 to 7:18:24( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: want national service to another social program. we wanted to see this as a social invention that would really at that time in the 1990's, everyone was worried about the "me" generation, where our people

7:18:25 to 7:18:45( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: legacy of what this country is the great habits of the heart of neighbor helping neighbor. we wanted to the "me" generation to "we generation." at the same time we faced the hard reality that access to the american dream, particularly higher education, was slipping away from many young people.

7:18:46 to 7:19:07( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: and it and you 2340e what we found -- and you know what we found? that the framework for americorps and other important programs that are in the corporation for did generate wanted. thousands and thousands of people stepped forward to volunteer.

7:19:08 to 7:19:30( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: people of all ages -- young people a not-so-ying people in americorps, the foster grandparent encorrespondent what is it we see now? what we see now as we exom into the new century, those habits of

7:19:31 to 7:19:51( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: the heart continue to burn brightly among and we're seeing that as the economy struggles, the american has b are -- the american habits of the heart are shining through. to volume fear if they have the opportunity to do so.

7:19:52 to 7:20:12( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: the city year applications are 180%. teach for america has received 35,000 slots. and americorps applications are three level. that is not because they don't have a job and they see

7:20:13 to 7:20:33( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: americorps or teach americas a substitute for a job; they see it as a calling. they see it as an opportunity to take all this talent and put it well, we're going to do that. this legislation helps us to harness a renewed energy for service to our communities and our country.

7:20:34 to 7:20:56( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: it increases the americorps volunteers to 250,0 volunteers a year, but we do it in a well-paced way and ao in an affordable way. this will take eight years to move to 250,000, but we will get the job done. we will provide oppor

7:20:57 to 7:21:19( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: for more americans to serve while we ensure that the corporation has time to the growth. also, we wanted to reform reinvigorate, and refocus americorps. in americorps now, we're refocusing it on the areas of

7:21:20 to 7:21:40( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: the most pressing national need, and we are where service can do the most good. that's why we've included permissible use of establishing educational corps to work in our young

7:21:41 to 7:22:02( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: more math skills, better attendance, we also have av. a health futures corps which will work to make sure people who are eligible for benefits can get them but also to go into sch to be able to help develop those new healthy last over a lifetime. we have a clean energy corps

7:22:03 to 7:22:25( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: that will work and also establishing clean energy corps. an opportunity corps to poverty and a veterans corps to help those families and women are deployed. that's why we're service efforts. this bill also includes many accountabili measures ensure to not only measure

7:22:26 to 7:22:47( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: outcomes but to ensure stewardship. i would like to thank senator enzi, the ranking member of the "help" committee, a vital partner on this bill. he brought his very accounting skills to the table and working together we found a way to ensure value for the taxpayer and value for the community. that's what i mean about working together, taking the time to

7:22:48 to 7:23:09( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: listen to one another, to recognize there's talent there this the community, there's talent right here in the senate. if we take the time to listen to one another and the ideas we have, sort them through, attention to one another, talk with o another -- first of all, talk with on it in a civil way, wow, we can

7:23:10 to 7:23:31( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: really do some very special things. and that's what we did in this bill. now, madam president, we know that our future lies with the next generation, and we know that young people who learn to serve take those lessons for them in a my colleagues -- hatch, dodd, year of service. my own work as a social worker

7:23:32 to 7:23:54( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: had a profound impact on me. my work as a foster care worker pands a child abuse worker will stay with me all of when i think about vulnerable populations and what we do. the work that i was able to do in my own community, working with women who were in jail, who had no programs to assist them when they came out, to the

7:23:55 to 7:24:15( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: church i belong to in the african community where they had -- did not except to the gougers and to the scammers and the schemers, who worked to establish a credit union and then of grass-roots volunteer, i helped fight a highway, a change that saved the neighborh baltimore.

7:24:16 to 7:24:36( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: it took me into politics. you know, in our country, sometis those of us who are active i raise the or dissent, end up in jail. i ended up in the city council, the house of representatives, and the united states senate.

7:24:37 to 7:24:57( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: i turned my protest amendment signs or into legislative signs, and this is what we see today. toe so habits and when we look at now what's happening in the where young people are already working, as i said, in the area of community health centers and

7:24:58 to 7:25:20( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: year of service, many of them are going into health caree. they're thinking about going into medicine, nursing, allied health, or in public health. 85% of the in this area want to go into some improvements. so this is what a

7:25:21 to 7:25:41( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: all about. now, when i worked in the community, i didn't do this because somebody asked me. i done. and it's not only about what i did as a young volunteer, but it's about what young volunteers are doing now. sure, president obama is

7:25:42 to 7:26:02( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: inviting them to particite. but a lot of young there see compelling human n and they want to make a these experiences, i think, are going to lifetime. we cannot minimize the impact that this will have on communities. because of what americorps has

7:26:03 to 7:26:23( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: already half that it has been in existence, it truly has changed lives and communities. when we talk to people where our young people have volunteered in public schools, we knowhat attendance went up, behavior problems went down, increased, and working with

7:26:24 to 7:26:47( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: those volunteers, they even took the time to look at what were the opportunities for scholarships and loans and grants that they could go on to higher they made a difference. when we take a look at what they were able to do, even responding assistance, weren't we proud of what our volunteers were able to

7:26:48 to 7:27:09( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: do to work side by side down there in where they helped new orleans dig out but not only dig, they dug in to help louisiana orleans move to a better future. those americorps young men and women helped clean debris, clean up after the

7:27:10 to 7:27:33( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: they're working with -- with habitat to build housing or to reir housing and also working side by side with pubc school leadership to create a orleans public school system. this is fan it i fantastic and every community that's been hard hit in many ways has the benefit of these programs. there were other programs that

7:27:34 to 7:27:54( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: we were able to do -- there were other programs that we were to do, but one of the things that we're especially pleased with i increase the education award named after its first founder, eli $5,300. there are other programs in

7:27:55 to 7:28:15( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: here, and i'm going to ask unanimous consent that it be included -- my full statement -- mr. president, inl a ask unanimous consent t statement be in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. mikulski: what i just did was a description of it. you know, when we talk about programs, it sounds so

7:28:16 to 7:28:36( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: bloodless, so yeah, there they go again. but there we go again. we are ladder for people to be able to -- we are creating an opportunity ladder for people to be able to participate in our society. there's no other country that is able to do this. i'm not just bragging rights for the united states of america. but it is a lesson learned. that in our society we have a

7:28:37 to 7:28:57( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: public sector, we sector, but we have a vibrant sector that's really in the nonprofit field where people can get involved and get and it's what we call the intermediary institutions. it's what de tocqueville called the habits of the hamplet it's

7:28:58 to 7:29:18( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: the little platoons of neighbors helping neighbors and it's what george bush the elder called the points of light. but whatever you called the serve voter soy we're going to be voting on this bill. i think we've done a good job

7:29:19 to 7:29:40( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: here. we've created opportunity, done it a way that's affordable. we've built in sound accountability measures and we've governed on a truly bipartisan basis. i would like to thank senator kennedy and hatch for being the lead architects of on this bill. i would like to also senator enzi and

7:29:41 to 7:30:05( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: for their very important contributions in improving this bill. i want to thank all of the staff who participated in this, from senator hatchess staff, chris campbell and byron hickman and jace johnson, from kennedy's staff, charlotte burrows, janice

7:30:06 to 7:30:26( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: michael mars, emma vedehara, from senator enzi's staff, beth buleman, adam arorma. from my own staff, julia fryfield, and march pri o'correspondent corporation's general counsel

7:30:27 to 7:30:47( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: was available to us all the through frank trinity. so i want to thank the staff who put in so many hours in helping design the bill, but also working with other senators to get the best ideas and the best thinking on how we

7:30:48 to 7:31:09( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: t do it in a way that accountability and an outcome measurements. but also when the american people hear about what we've done this week, this is such an antidote to last week when we were talking about a.i.g. and bonuses and ain't i greedy and all of what we are talking about here today is about the very best of

7:31:10 to 7:31:30( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: american people and how we can draw upon it, and also the very best of the senate. we do govern best when we work together. so today we weren't a red state, we weren't a blue state. we were the united states o america states. and we will be ready to vote on

7:31:31 to 7:31:39( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: it. mr. president, i will -- at the appropriate time, or even now i

7:31:31 to 7:31:51( Edit History Discussion )

it. mr. president, i will -- at the appropriate time, or even now i really urge the adoption of this bill. mr. hatch: the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: mr. president, senators are planes.