Senate Proceeding 03-24-09 on Mar 24th, 2009 :: 0:00:25 to 0:07:40
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Bill Nelson: after any national, be it local how our citizenry responds. and i'm v the number of young people that are responding who want to serv there's quite a contrast that i

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Speech By: Bill Nelson

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Bill Nelson: have seen in the young people today and what we've seen the last several decades. if you go back as far as my generation four decades ago, we were very interested in public service. we wanted to be public servants.

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Bill Nelson: we wanted to contribute something to our country. and it was very attractive as young person growing up to want to go into government and serve the public that way. we were inspired by a young president, president kennedy. and then along came those events

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Bill Nelson: that s young people. first of all, the split in the nation over an unpopular war, vietnam. we had three major assassinations i this country that was over a short period of time, including two brothers of

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Bill Nelson: one family. and then this nation went through the process of the resignation of a president of thunited states that was about the time of a lot of the protests and the drug culture and -- and it was a tough time. and there was a lot of cynicm

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Bill Nelson: that was bred out of that time and a lot of young people got turned off to public service. i'm beginning to see it again, young people really getting interested in public service. if -- if you have that heart for service, it's

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Bill Nelson: of what "time" magazine john celled on the cover of its manage -- magazine chronicled on the cover of its magazine back in the late 1960's, the "me generation," it was concerned about "me, and now we see so much interest in helping our communities as

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Bill Nelson: being more the "we generation." and so now we see a lot more young americans that are applying to the peace corps and it's -- and its domestic counterpart, americorps, and so many other national service programs. and so our new president has issued a new call f

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Bill Nelson: americans to devote at least one year of their lives to national service if i had my druthers, i would want every young person to have an obligation to serve at least one year in some capacity to their country, and i would be tremendous benefits

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Bill Nelson: down the they could choose the military. they could choose the peace corps. they could choose americorps. they could be a teacher's aide, a ho helping out our communities. but, of course, we are not at a

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Bill Nelson: point, especially with this economic condition that we find, that we could afford mandatory obligation. so what theew president has called for is for all americans to devote at least one year their lives to national service.

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Bill Nelson: and so we come today discussing legislation that is an acknowledgment across polit divides of our president's call to engage people in national service. and first sstantial investment in our nation's service programs in

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Bill Nelson: nearly two decade. -- in nearly two decades. what ts bill's going to do is triple the number of participants in our national service programs from 75,000 to 250,000. and these volunteers are going to serve as tutors and they're going to do that for

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Bill Nelson: children. and they would help build affordable housing, and they would teach marketable computer skills, and they would repair our parks and our waterways, and they would run after-school programs, and they would help respond to disasters in our communities. the legislation would create

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Bill Nelson: several new volunteer corps with national need, such as education education, health care, clean energy, and caring for our veterans. we have commended over and over our colleagues, senator kennedy and hatch, in crafting this legislation that will inspire

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Bill Nelson: and encourage citizens of all ages, not just the young, and all occupations to engage in national and let me say, where i see this -- this example of public spiritedness, i see it in senior cizens who have already had

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Bill Nelson: their professional lives, who are now their labors. and they, in turn, want to respond and are very much as valuable in this national service as the young people.

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Bill Nelson: th bill should be seen as an important national achievement and a good example of how we can come together and overcome the challenges that lie ahead. marion wright eddelman, the first african-american woman admitted to the state bar of

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Bill Nelson: mississippi said, "it's time for greatness, not for greed." she says, "it's a tim for idealism, not ideology. it's a time not just for compassionate words but for compassionate action." and heeding those words,

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Bill Nelson: mr. president, it's time for us