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March 18, 2009

Good News: GIVE Act Passes House, Moves to Senate

Posted by Kristina Rizga at 4:00PM

 

The GIVE Act (the Generations Invigoration Volunteerism and Education), HR 1388, passed the house with a bipartisan vote of 321-105 today. It is expected to move for a vote in the Senate next week.

If passed, how could it benefit young people?

It will create more jobs and community service opportunities for young people. It will more than triple the number of paid and unpaid volunteers of all ages serving in America, from the current 75,000 to 250,000.

It could create more paid opportunities at AmeriCorps. This federal agency places young people in non-profits working on issues that range from public education to environmental clean-up. The allowance is modest, but it will probably cover basic living expenses. Also, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 made college repayment more affordable for low-income students, such as those enrolled in AmeriCorps.

For students in college, volunteer hours could turn into college payment credits. The bill could also increase the education reward from $4,725 to $5,350 in 2010.

For high school students, the legislation will also provide new incentives to volunteer in the local communities. It would create a Summer of Service program to engage students in service and allow them to earn a $500 education award to be used for college costs.

The bill also includes the creation of Clean Energy Corps, (among other corps). These new service and volunteer programs for younger students could include programs that introduce young people to the green-collar jobs, such as performing energy audits and retrofits, weatherizing homes, rebuilding trails and parks, building and maintaining gardens and green spaces in communities, managing recycling programs, and more.

To find a Senator in your state and contact them in support or opposition of this bill, visit here. The United States Student Association has endorsed this bill.

To see what kind of National Service Programs exist in your state now and to take advantage of them, visit here.

To see the entire Bill, visit here.

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Mechanical Trainer - Retired

Posted by: delriobob on Mar 26, 2009 5:50 PM

Americans are the most giving people on earth. We don't need Washington to tell us to give.When Americans see a real need they respond with their pocket-books and strong backs. I realize that there are a lot of young people on this site, and you may not have a lot of life experience. The "GIVE ACT" which passed the House 300+ to 105, and now goes to the Senate is an excellent example of the kind of jobs Mr. Obama and our Congress call "shovel ready." Please don't be fooled by this bill. This legislation is just creation of another government run, public sector job which will require Department heads,staff, staff, staff and a huge budget on both a National and State level.Please go on line and listen to UK MEP Daniel Hannan, he's all over youtube. England has been a Socialist country for over 10 years.Pay particular attention to the bit where he tells PM Gordon Brown that he has created in the past 12 months 30,000 public sector jobs and lost 100,000 private sector jobs. "Give" is a public sector bill, creating a larger bureaucracy. If the government is your employer who are you going to vote for? I think you can see who. So can Obama and Congress.I encourage you young folks to give, and there are plenty of opportunities for you to do that without any help from Washington. Call or E-mail your Senator and urge him to vote against HR 2857.
 
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GIVE Act Authorizes Mandatory service council

Posted by: cfsg on Mar 27, 2009 11:38 AM

The GIVE Act authorizes the government to look into the feasibility of mandatory public service for all middle, high and college students.

Mandatory means you must serve or you won't graduate BTW
and I believe this is the spirit or intent of the law.

Furthermore, the law says that the people volunteering under the GIVE act can't engage in political speech.

It may seem 'paranoid' to think that there will be universal, mandatory public service, but Obama himself has called for these types of programs during his election campaign

I do donate my time to political and social causes on a regular basis. I doubt my service would count towards my potential service requirement.

A mandatory service requirement would amount to a new tax, because it would potentially restrict the career advancement of anyone who was forced to leave a good job to be a government subject, much like a soldier.
 
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thanks Delriobob and cfsg

Posted by: Kristina Rizga on Mar 30, 2009 11:11 AM

Delriobob, thank you for an opposing view on this bill. You are right, Americans are the most giving people on earth, but charitable giving is down significantly this year while the need for jobs and social services is up. I want to point out that this bill proposes spending 6 billion over five years is still a fraction of American economy with a total GDP of $14.58 trillion. The United States is the most market-oriented economy compared to Europe or Japan and private individuals and businesses will still make most of the decisions. This bill is just one part of a multi-prong strategy that will stimulate both the public and the private sector in the long-term. Consider this story on WireTap about Alvarro Jasso, who learned advanced carpentry and practical job skills that helped land his current job in the private sector.