GIVE Act Passes US House

MARCH 19, 2009 — The GIVE Act officially passed the US House of Representatives yesterday afternoon 321-105 expanding AmeriCorps form 75,000 to 250,000 (see full bill at http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/03/the-generations-invigorating-v.shtml).  Additionally, an amendment was passed from Iowa’s own Congressman Loebsack which will allow nonprofits and states to be better able to recruit, manage, and organize volunteers and expands volunteer infrastructure.  The Loebsack Amendment will authorize funding of $360 million over 5 years to support volunteer recruitment, management, and infrastructure.  Congressmen Loebsack’s remarks are included at the end of this message.

You can thank Congressman Loebsack for his leadership and support of volunteerism and service in the State of Iowa and throughout the country by sending an email to: Kara.Marchione@mail.house.gov.

This is a very exciting moment for Service in Iowa and America!

CONGRESSMAN LOEBSACK VOTES TO RENEW AMERICAN’S COMMITMENT TO SERVICE
CONGRESSMAN LOEBSACK ADDS CRITICAL LEGISLATION FOR A NEW VOLUNTEER GENERATION FUND THAT WILL BUILD ACCESS FOR MILLIONS OF NEW VOLUNTEERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, Congressman Dave Loebsack joined a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives voting to launch a new era of American service and volunteerism. The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act, H.R. 1388, will help increase our nation’s preparedness in responding to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other disasters that have devastated communities in recent years.

“My experiences of working side by side with AmeriCorps members after the devastating floods of 2008 have shown me first-hand what a small, concerned group of individuals can do for an entire community,” said Congressman Loebsack. “After the floods, AmeriCorps and all of the volunteers who came in and worked with our communities were the cavalry coming in and lending us the extra hands we needed. The GIVE Act honors the volunteers who provided effective and invaluable aid to our rural communities and flood ravaged areas.

“I am also pleased that provisions from my Teaching Fellows for Expanded Learning and After-School Act were included in this bill. This program will provide our educators with the staff and resources they need to improve our after-school programs, so that the children who attend these programs are being academically enriched.”

Congressman Loebsack included an amendment in the GIVE act that authorizes grants to to increase the supply of volunteers and strengthen volunteer programs nationwide. The amendment offers critical federal investment in a new Volunteer Generation Fund that will build capacity and access for millions of new volunteers. Congressman Loebsack also included his Teaching Fellows for Expanded Learning and After-School Act into the budget, which will improve after school programs, and promote expanded learning opportunities.
The GIVE Act would more than triple the number of volunteers, from the current 75,000 to 250,000, and increase the education reward they receive to $5,350 for next year, the same as the maximum Pell Grant scholarship award. The education award would also be linked to match future boosts in the Pell Grant scholarship in order to keep up with rising college costs.

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THE FULL TEXT OF CONGRESSMAN LOEBSACK’S REMARKS
I want to thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member McKeon for their bipartisan work on the GIVE Act.  I am offering this amendment today to build on this important legislation and increase volunteerism across this country.  I am confident that this amendment only strengthens the goals of the GIVE Act.

My amendment authorizes grants to both nonprofits and to states to increase capacity for volunteerism in this country.  Through this amendment nonprofits and states will be better able to recruit, manage, and organize volunteers.  These volunteers will be able to help address national and state priorities, especially in areas with the greatest need for this support.
 
I have never seen more clearly the need for volunteers than in Iowa this past year.  In June 2008, Iowa was overcome by severe flooding.   As my colleagues know, 85 of Iowa’s 99 counties were declared federal disaster areas, and the 2nd District, which I represent, sustained the greatest damage. Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed.  Families were displaced, and the devastation was indescribable.  We are still struggling to get back on our feet.

In the initial days after the floods we faced many obstacles.  Among them was the need to coordinate volunteer efforts.  United Way of East Central Iowa, Serve The City, a local ecumenical group, and several major corporations had been involved in various efforts to recruit and deploy volunteers. I am told by the United Way that the problem was the lack of a centralized location and point of contact to meet our enormous needs.
 
In late June, United Way of East Central Iowa formed a partnership with Community Corrections Improvement Association and they requested assistance from the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service & AmeriCorps. Together, they created the East Central Iowa Volunteer Reception Center which allowed for an organized and coordinated volunteer response to the disasters.  AmeriCorps/VISTA team members, working with United Way staff, got the Volunteer Center open within three weeks of the flood's crest and began taking calls from groups and individuals who were willing to volunteer as well as people and organizations which needed volunteer help. AmeriCorps members have helped coordinate over 800,000 volunteer hours through 8 Volunteer Reception Centers that the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service set up, and AmeriCorps members have staffed. 

Iowa would not have made the progress it has made in the wake of disasters without volunteers, and Iowa is not alone.  Across this country, states are faced with growing unmet public needs.  We can begin to better address these needs by leveraging the work of volunteers.

I truly believe we need to invest more in building the capacity of state and local volunteer centers to recruit, manage and train the number of volunteers needed to address things such as natural disasters, but also simply the numerous state and community needs, especially in the wake of the current economic downturn.

This amendment is the missing link in the current set of strategies at the Corporation for National and Community Service to achieve a goal of enabling all Americans to make a contribution through service. 

A modest but critical federal investment in a new Volunteer Generation Fund that builds capacity and access for millions of new volunteers can leverage billions of dollars in volunteer services to some of the country’s neediest citizens. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and before I conclude I would like to submit an article written by an AmeriCorps intern, Lacy White, who was inspired by the work all of the AmeriCorps Members were doing and as a journalism student asked if she could do her part by recording their story.