With the House action this afternoon to approve the Senate Amendments to H.R. 1388, the Serve America Act now goes to President Obama’s desk. The speed at which this historic legislation moved through both houses of Congress is remarkable and is a strong statement of support for national service programs across all ages and all parts of our country.
Just last September, the Kennedy/Hatch Serve America Act was introduced at the ServiceNation Summit in New York City when then Senator Obama and Senator McCain shared a stage to discuss service in the context of the 2008 presidential campaign. In his Inaugural Address, President Obama issued a new call to define citizenship century and in his Address to the Congress, the only specific piece of legislation the President mentioned was the Serve America Act. In mid-February, both the Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee and the House Education & Labor Committee held hearings on national service reform and subsequently marked up bills which we quickly brought to the floor and voted upon with strong bipartisan support.
Today is an exciting day for those who have worked so hard on this bill but, more importantly, it is a day when the dedication and commitment of Americans in service is affirmed and strengthened. This is especially important for Millennials in service, a generation answering a call to serve in response to large systemic problems facing our nation.
Service is in the greatest tradition of our country, made more important in these challenging times. It is in this spirit that we look forward to President Obama signing the Serve America Act into law.
Just last September, the Kennedy/Hatch Serve America Act was introduced at the ServiceNation Summit in New York City when then Senator Obama and Senator McCain shared a stage to discuss service in the context of the 2008 presidential campaign. In his Inaugural Address, President Obama issued a new call to define citizenship century and in his Address to the Congress, the only specific piece of legislation the President mentioned was the Serve America Act. In mid-February, both the Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee and the House Education & Labor Committee held hearings on national service reform and subsequently marked up bills which we quickly brought to the floor and voted upon with strong bipartisan support.
Today is an exciting day for those who have worked so hard on this bill but, more importantly, it is a day when the dedication and commitment of Americans in service is affirmed and strengthened. This is especially important for Millennials in service, a generation answering a call to serve in response to large systemic problems facing our nation.
Service is in the greatest tradition of our country, made more important in these challenging times. It is in this spirit that we look forward to President Obama signing the Serve America Act into law.
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