September 12, 2008
Presidential Candidates Support Expanded National-Service Programs
By Suzanne Perry
New York
The Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama both said on Thursday night that they support efforts to expand the country’s national-service programs. But Senator McCain, the Republican contender, said he was wary about too much government involvement.
“I want to be careful about expanding when my philosophy is, Let’s not have government do things that the private sector can do,” he said during a forum on public service here that was organized by ServiceNation, a coalition of nonprofit groups and corporations.
The presidential rivals were questioned separately by two journalists at Columbia University on the seventh anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Senator Obama, the Democratic candidate, unveiled a detailed national-service plan last year, but Senator McCain’s views have been less clear.
He did not make any specific proposals in New York, but he called AmeriCorps, the main federal national-service program, “one of the astonishing successes.” He also said that if he were president he would sign bipartisan legislation that is due to be introduced today by Sens. Edward Kennedy and Orrin Hatch to triple the number of national-service participants and provide new money to help nonprofit groups attract volunteers and develop innovative social projects.
“But I also want to caution again,” the Arizona senator added. “Government can’t do it all. The essence of volunteerism starts at the grass-roots level.”
Role of Government and Charities
Senator Obama has proposed increasing AmeriCorps slots from 75,000 to 250,000 and doubling Peace Corps slots to 16,000. He also proposed new national-service programs to tackle problems in areas such as energy, schools, and health; a $4,000 tax credit a year for college students who perform at least 100 hours of community service; and expanded programs for volunteers age 55 and above.
The Illinois senator told the forum that both government and charities have roles to play in solving the country’s problems, saying for example it was important to have a well-functioning Federal Emergency Management Agency to fight disasters like Hurricane Katrina.
“That does not crowd out the Red Cross,” he said. “That doesn’t crowd out the thousands of church groups that went down there.” He added, “I would distinguish between a government assist in providing people avenues for service and a government bureaucracy in which the notion is that the only way you can serve is through some defined government program.”
The presidential contenders were each asked about sarcastic comments made by Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, and others at last week’s Republican convention about Mr. Obama’s work as a community organizer.
Senator Obama said he was surprised by the remarks, saying his work with churches to provide job training to unemployed people and set up after-school programs for young people was “the best education I ever had.”
Senator McCain said Ms. Palin was responding to comments criticizing her inexperience and stint as a small-town mayor. But, he added, “Of course I respect community organizers. Of course I respect people who serve the community.”
Senate Proposal
Senator Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Senator Hatch, Republican of Utah, announced on Thursday that they planned to introduce the Serve America Act—which Mr. Obama noted had “many of the similar elements” to his plan.
The bill would expand participants in national service programs from 75,000 to 250,000, creating a variety of new “corps” to work on issues like school dropouts, energy efficiency, environmental protection, health care for low-income people, poverty, and natural disasters. The legislation would also create a tax incentive for employers who allow their workers to take paid leave for full-time service.
It would create “Community Solution Funds,” described as “venture capital funds to help the nonprofit sector seek talent and put it to work,” and a “Volunteer Generation Fund” to help nonprofit groups recruit and manage more volunteers, according to a statement.
The senators also proposed establishing a commission to study and improve how the federal government, nonprofit groups, and businesses can work together to meet national challenges.
Details about the bill’s price tag were not immediately available.
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It’s fine for the Presidential candidates (or anyone else, for that matter) to promote national service. It’s just as OK to promote volunteering. However, too many people are confusing the two concepts.
National service is not volunteering when participants receive pay in the form of cash or tax credits.
Volunteering is not volunteering when it’s made mandatory as a condition of school graduation. It’s not volunteering when a state or school dustrict is required to adopt a program in order to receive Federal funding to which they would otherwise be entitled.
Volunteering is the inherently voluntary (free of coercion) act of helping without expectation of compensation. Community service and national service are potentially great things, but they are not volunteering.
— Michael L. Wyland Sep 15, 11:40 AM #