Political Quotes

“That is exactly my point. I do not believe that the priorities chosen by the National Service Corps are the priorities of the American people. Americans do choose where they give their time voluntarily. We know where people want to give and work as volunteers. Over 80 million Americans choose to donate unpaid time to charitable volunteer work each week and they choose their churches, their schools, their hospitals, the Red Cross, the Girl Scouts, the Big Brother/Big Sisters. They do not choose to donate their time to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, or the Department of Labor. I think the American people might well be shocked to learn that these Federal agencies were chosen over other well-known, well-established and much respected volunteer organizations which were turned down. I am sure that if you go back to the State programs, my colleagues will undoubtedly show me examples of Girl Scouts and Red Cross programs funded through the State commissions, one of two sources of funding, but that is not the area of national priorities. The corporation has clearly chosen not to fund those groups.”