Senate Approves National Service Bill (the Senator Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act)

[ProSense]

March 26, 2009, 6:00 pm

Senate Approves National Service Bill

By David M. Herszenhorn

The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill to broadly expand national community service programs, increasing the number of positions to 250,000 from 75,000 and creating new cadres of volunteers focused on education, clean energy, health care, and veterans.

The vote was 78 to 20, and the Senate renamed the bill the Senator Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, in honor of the Massachusetts Democrat who was a main architect of the legislation and has been undergoing treatment for brain cancer.

After the vote was tallied, Mr. Kennedy received a standing ovation on the Senate floor, his son, Representative Patrick Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island, was in the chamber for the occasion. And the elder Mr. Kennedy got a huge round of congratulations include a hug from Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, who was also a main author of the service bill.

“The whole Kennedy family has been a service family,” Mr. Hatch said.

The Senate measure will now be sent to the House, which approved a different version of the legislation last week. Officials said they expected the House to adopt the measure next week and send it on to President Obama, a huge proponent of community service programs, who will sign into law.

The service legislation is also a top priority of First Lady Michelle Obama who has said that promoting volunteerism will be a major focus of her time in the White House.

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Awesome!

[monmouth]

1. Gave me chills just reading it.....n/t

[ProSense]

5. Wonderful bill,

excellent name.

[Thrill]

2. That same 19 vote against everything thats good

Their whole purpose is to destroy this country

[lamp_shade]

4. I'm sure they bolted from the chamber just in time. Bastards.

[vaberella]

12. Boehner, Cantor, Pence, Bayh?, McCaskill?, et al.n/t

[lamp_shade]

3. Damn, I missed it. I've been watching cspan all day. I saw The Senator and then

I saw Patrick wandering around the well. I wondered why. Now I know. How wonderful. I'm choked up.

[Mass]

6. Thanks. It is good to see this passed and good to see the Senator back.

This is certainly a bill the freepers were very opposed to and fought hard against. They even tried to frighten people by saying that their kids would be forced to work in dangerous places if this law passed.

[bigwillq]

7. Awesome!

Great job, Senate! :bounce:

[jillan]

8. Proud to give rec #5

[Top Cat]

9. Great News

[Top Cat]

10. Great News

[politicasista]

11. Late kick. Great news n/t