Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District voted today in support of H.R. 1388, The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.  The bill, which passed in the House with a bipartisan vote of 275 to 149, had previously come before the House as the GIVE Act on March 18 and included an amendment offered by Congresswoman Titus to create a National Service Reserve Corps.  The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.

“Our nation is facing numerous challenges and our state of Nevada is one of the hardest hit.  With public need rising all across the country, now is the time to strengthen and grow our volunteer programs that provide an invaluable service to our nation,” Congresswoman Titus said.  “With the creation of a new National Service Reserve Corps, we are providing opportunities for those who have already shown the commitment and determination to serve their community and continue their efforts to help those in need.”

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act will increase the number of volunteers nationwide to 175,000, up from 75,000.  It establishes new corps to help build a green and energy-efficient economy, enhance services for veterans when they return home, expand access to affordable health care, and help increase student achievement.  The bill also increases the education reward that participants receive in exchange for their contributions to $5,350, the same as the maximum Pell Grant award.

Titus’ amendment creates a National Service Reserve Corps composed of alumni of AmeriCorps and Senior Corps as well as veterans that can be called upon in times of natural disasters and emergencies to start the relief and rebuilding process.  The Corps members will have valuable training experience from their previous service as well as annual training sessions in emergency response.

Nevada AmeriCorps volunteers have been invaluable to their communities, with over 2,000 members serving in 15 different programs.  They have provided more than 2.5 million hours of service and earned more than $4.7 million in education credits.  In 2007, AmeriCorps programs contributed more than 25,000 hours of service to Nevada and recruited more than 3,300 community volunteers.

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Tags: Serve America Act