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Issue #273
March 16, 2009

Ask Your Representative to Support National Service!

The U.S. House of Representatives has scheduled a vote on Wednesday for H.R. 1388, the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act. The GIVE Act would reauthorize funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which oversees national service programs around the country. Funding for CNCS has not been reauthorized in 16 years. For more information on the GIVE Act, visit http://www.voicesforservice.org/.

In the Senate, The Serve America Act is scheduled for a mark up on Wednesday. This legislation seeks to encourage 175,000 additional Americans of all ages to give a year of service to address specific national challenges in education, healthcare, housing, energy, and the environment. For more information on The Serve America Act, click here.

We need you to act quickly to contact your Representatives in Washington, D.C. and voice your support of these bills! There are a number of ways you can get involved in this important advocacy campaign:

1. Calls to the House of Representatives: We are asking everyone to call their representatives between now and Wednesday morning to weigh in and ask Members to vote for H.R. 1388, The GIVE Act.  To find your Representative and his/her contact information, visit http://www.house.gov/. Please encourage your constituents, alumni, partners, boards, volunteers and staff members to call and ask Members to vote yes. DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY, 9AM

2. Letters of Support for H.R. 1388 to Congressman Miller:  We are trying to generate as many letters of support for The Give Act as possible.  Letters should be sent to Margaret.young@mail.house.gov. DEADLINE:  TUESDAY 5PM 

3. Sign-on Letter from Voices, ServiceNation and America Forward in support of The Give Act:  We have 278 signatures against a goal of 500-the letter is attached.  Add your organization's signature to the list! We just need organizational names, not CEOs for this letter.  We hope to send this to House leadership by cob tomorrow. To sign on, email info@voicesforservice.org.   DEADLINE: TUESDAY, 5PM

4. Mayors Letter:  we are working on two sign on letters for Mayors as well-one for the Senate and one for the House.  They are pasted below.  Please encourage your Mayors to sign on.  DEADLINE COB TODAY, MONDAY 

Mayors who have signed on to date:
Washington DC
Boston
Oakland
Seattle
Trenton
St Louis
Pasadena
Havre de Grace
Columbia, SC
South Bend IN
Mobile
Louisville
Chapel Hill
Laredo
West Palm Beach
Philadelphia
Minneapolis
Miami
New York City

Points of contact to sign on:
Justin O'Brien                           Lindsay Ellenbogen
Mayor Diaz                               Mayor Bloomberg
202-429-0160                            202-624-5908- Direct
jobrien@miami-dcoffice.com   lellenbogen@cityhall.nyc.gov

Text of the two letters:

Serve America Act Letter
March  DATE, 2009

The Honorable Harry Reid                                The Honorable Edward Kennedy
522 Hart Senate Office Building                          317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510                                               Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell                     The Honorable Michael Enzi
361-A Russell Senate Office Building                 379-ARussell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510                                               Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Majority Leader Reid, Chairman Kennedy,
Minority Leader McConnell and Ranking Member Enzi:

We, the undersigned Mayors, support expanding community and national service opportunities for Americans of all ages. In this difficult time for our country, service remains an enduring American value that brings people together and reminds us of the strength of our common bond.

As mayors, we have seen first hand how important community and national service can be to help us address pressing challenges in our cities and towns. Service members are helping schoolchildren build greater academic skills. They are mentoring young people, improving our public parks, assisting the elderly, strengthening access to community health projects, fighting poverty, and acting as role models for us all.

Service also strengthens our democracy. Americans of all ages, from youth to baby-boomers, are volunteering to serve in record numbers. As mayors, we want to capitalize on this new undercurrent of civic engagement, and inspire Americans to stay involved by serving their communities.

Strengthening community and national service during this economic crisis makes great sense.  With unemployment soaring among young and older Americans alike, these efforts can put people in productive work and provide skills relevant to re-entering the workforce at low cost to governments and with no new bureaucracy.

We strongly embrace the effort to expand national and community service opportunities as proposed by President Obama and a bi-partisan group of congressional leaders led by Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Cities - home to the some of the nations' most vexing problems - will be partners with states in the promotion of service and the recruitment and deployment of America's volunteers. We urge the Congress to promptly pass and fully fund the bi-partisan Serve America Act.

The time is now to come together through service.

Sincerely,

cc:
Senator Thad Cochran
Senator Daniel Inouye
Senator Orrin Hatch
Senator Tom Harkin
Senator Arlen Specter  

(GIVE) Act Letter

March  DATE, 2009

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi                            
H-232 Capitol  Building                                  
Washington, DC 20515                                              

The Honorable John Boehner               
H-204 Capitol Building                       
Washington, DC 20515                                            

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner:

We, the undersigned Mayors, support expanding community and national service opportunities for Americans of all ages. In this difficult time for our country, service remains an enduring American value that brings people together and reminds us of the strength of our common bond.

As mayors, we have seen first hand how important community and national service can be to help us address pressing challenges in our cities and towns. Service members are helping schoolchildren build greater academic skills. They are mentoring young people, improving our public parks, assisting the elderly, strengthening access to community health projects, fighting poverty, and acting as role models for us all.

Service also strengthens our democracy. Americans of all ages, from youth to baby-boomers, are volunteering to serve in record numbers. As mayors, we want to capitalize on this new undercurrent of civic engagement, and inspire Americans to stay involved by serving their communities.

Strengthening community and national service during this economic crisis makes great sense.  With unemployment soaring among young and older Americans alike, these efforts can put people in productive work and provide skills relevant to re-entering the workforce at low cost to governments and with no new bureaucracy.

We strongly embrace the effort to expand national and community service opportunities as proposed by President Obama and a bi-partisan group of congressional leaders led by Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), George Miller (D-CA) and Howard McKeon (R-CA). Cities - home to the some of the nations' most vexing problems - will be partners with states in the promotion of service and the recruitment and deployment of America's volunteers. We urge the Congress to promptly pass and fully fund the bi-partisan Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act.

The time is now to come together through service.

Sincerely,

cc:
Representative George Miller
Representative Howard McKeon
Representative Carolyn McCarthy
Representative Todd Platts