National Service: Obama Wins Bi-Partisan Victory

President Obama will sign a bill into law today that will, among other things, triple the size of the AmeriCorps program, and expand ways in which Americans can give back to their local communities across the country. Via the AP:

It's all part of a $5.7 billion national service bill President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign Tuesday to foster and fulfill people's desire to make a difference, such as by mentoring children, cleaning up parks or building and weatherizing homes for the poor.

Bolstering voluntary public service programs has been a priority of Obama, who credits his work as a community organizer in his early 20s for giving him direction in life.

The Serve America Act is really the first big bipartisan victory for Obama, which passed the Senate by a vote of 79 to 19. One of the Senate Republicans who championed the bill was Utah's Orin Hatch, who co-sponsored the legislation:

As Hatch said during the Senate debate, they decided to marry the expansion of traditional volumtary, part-time community service, endorsed by generations of Republicans, with increases in government-subsidized, full-time service programs devised by Democratic presidents, beginning with the Peace Corps.

Good for Obama, good for Congress, and good for the country.


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