Posts Tagged ‘ Chris Dodd ’
This week, RPCV Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced s.1382, the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009. The bill, as currently written, would authorize $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; $575,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 — representing a gradual increase to double Peace Corps's current budget. The bill also requires the agency director carry out assessments that lead to a new strategic plan. (As of now, Obama hasn't appointed a new Peace Corps director, Jody Olsen serves as Acting Director.) Read the legislation (PDF). After it was introduced, the bill was sent to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (Is your Senator a member of this committee?) Here is the transcript of Dodd's speech on the floor of the Senate Thursday[ READ MORE ]
When the various bills that became the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act were in play, there was talk about eliminating the taxes from the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. In case you are new to national service, the education award is the post-service benefit received by AmeriCorps and VISTA members that can help them pay for educational expenses and/or student loans. It’s considered taxable income. It was never the Kennedy bill but rather a separate bill introduced by Senator Dodd of Connecticut that [ READ MORE ]
On Tuesday, April 21, 2009, President Obama took a tremendous stride toward supporting youth civic engagement in the United States by signing the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law. Included in the legislation is funding for a new innovative program called Summer of Service (SOS)[ READ MORE ]
Today, President Obama made the following remarks before signing the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The transcript was released by the Office of the White House Press Secretary[ READ MORE ]
How branding national service as an opportunity only for young people does more harm to the movement than good. Christian Witkin for TIME Magazine Christian Witkin for TIME Magazine While many service corps do have upper age limits — City Year, AmeriCorps*NCCC, Public Allies, and many other team-based programs — most programs do not have an upper age limit. In fact, several programs specifically recruit professionals — Atlas Corps, CUSO-VSO (the Canadian VSO), Volunteers for Prosperity, and United Nations Volunteers just to name a few. Others like Peace Corps and AmeriCorps*VISTA recruit almost entirely college graduates because of the skill required in carrying out service. And yet when people speak of service they almost always describe it as an opportunity for young people to give back, receive scholarship money, develop leadership skills, and go an an adventure before settling down with a real job. What difference does it make if most people think of national or international service as a pursuit for the young? Here are some reasons[ READ MORE ]
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