'GIVE' Act Would Give Back

March 8, 2009— -- In his address to Congress last month, President Barack Obama called on lawmakers to expand federally funded national service opportunities.

"To encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations, I ask this Congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Sen. Orrin Hatch as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his country -- Sen. Edward Kennedy," the president said.

Democrats say they may be able to respond to that call by the end of this month.

The Senate is working on the Kennedy/Hatch Serve America Act of 2008, and the House is working on a similar bill, called the Generations Invigorating Volunteering and Education (GIVE) Act.

Each would more than triple the number of AmeriCorp volunteers from 75,000 to 250,000, at an estimated cost of a billion dollars a year.

House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calf., said his committee will act on the bill this week, bring it to a vote by next week, with the goal of getting it to the president's desk before the April recess.

"This bill is going to the president's desk because he's absolutely captured the imagination of America to create a new generation of volunteers to expand the opportunities for volunteers from middle school to retired," Miller said.

Each program varies, but on average AmeriCorps volunteers earn about $1,000 a month, plus medical benefits, housing assistance and $4,725 in education awards that can be applied to future studies. The legislation would increase that education award to $5,350, the maximum Pell Grant award for the 2009-10 school year, and increase with Pell Grant increases over time.

It would also establish new programs for youth, including the Summer of Service program, in which middle and high school students could earn a $500 education award to be used for college costs. It would expand opportunities for Americans 55 or older to volunteer in both the public and non-profit sectors.