Political Quotes

“I wanted to speak on the issue of national service. The new issue of Newsweek quotes the new Speaker of the House as unequivocally opposing national service because it is, in his words, ``coerced voluntarism.'' I believe the new Speaker does not understand national service or the grounding that went on behind it. As one of the founding godmothers of this initiative, I rise this afternoon to express my dismay at yet another attempt by Republican leaders to distort a bold approach to solving our country's problems. It appears from these recent comments and others made earlier on the floor today, that some in this Congress will try to lump national service in with every other program headed for the chopping block as part of our institution's budget cutting fever. Well, I am here today to say that national service is not a Government-run social program. And that is the point that the Speaker and some of national service's critics misunderstand. It is not a program but a new social invention created to provide access to the American dream of higher education and to help create the ethic of service and civic obligation in today's young people. Under national service, young Americans receive a reduction in their student debt, or a voucher for higher education, in exchange for full- or part-time community service.”