Shaheen-Gregg, Musician and Artist Corps, Amendment
Excerpts from the Congressional Record - United States Senate
National Service Reauthorization Act
Shaheen–Gregg, Musician and Artist Corps, Amendment
March 25, 2009
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
AMENDMENT NO. 712 TO AMENDMENT NO. 687
Mrs. SHAHEEN. I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment so amendment No. 712 can be called up for consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from New Hampshire [Mrs. SHAHEEN], for herself and Mr. Gregg, proposes an amendment numbered 712 to amendment No. 687.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To provide that an Education Corps may carry out activities that provide music and arts education and engagement)
In section 122 (a)(1)(B) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended by section 1302 of the bill, insert at the appropriate place the following:
"(__) providing skilled musicians and artists to promote greater community unity through the use of music and arts education and engagement through work in low-income communities, and education, health care, and therapeutic settings, and other work in the public domain with citizens of all ages."
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I appreciate your assistance in moving this amendment forward and certainly appreciate the Senator from South Dakota and, of course, the Senator from Maryland for helping me move forward with this amendment.
I bring this amendment forward on behalf of my colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Gregg, and myself. The Shaheen-Gregg amendment would simply add to the menu of activities that can be included in the Education Corps. It would include musicians and artists to promote arts in education. That, very simply, is the amendment.
I would also like to speak briefly to the pending legislation, S. 277, the Serve America Act. I want to begin by commending my colleagues, Senator Kennedy and Senator Hatch, for their leadership in working on this legislation and bringing it forward and, of course, Senator Mikulski and Senator Enzi for their work in making sure the discussion on this bill can go forward, so hopefully we can pass this legislation this week.
This Serve America Act clearly embodies the spirit of America—a spirit that calls on all of us to give back to our country and to work together to build a nation that can continue to offer endless opportunity to generations to come.
This bill could not come at a more critical time in our Nation's history. More and more people need help getting by in this tough economic climate, while more and more of even the most generous among us have less and less to contribute to charitable activities. That is what makes this legislation so special. It has nothing to do with status, with background, with privilege or circumstance. Every American is equal in their ability to give of themselves and their time. As Martin Luther King said so eloquently: Every American can be great because every American can serve—to paraphrase what he said a little bit. The Serve America Act encourages voluntarism at every stage of life—from students, to full-time workers, to senior citizens.
Throughout American history, the compassion of our people has gotten us through the most difficult of times. That spirit exists today in communities across America, and the Serve America Act taps into the strong desire of Americans to do their part to help our country recover and prosper.
No deed is too small. While the average American may not be able to save struggling banks from financial crisis, they can help a family to weatherize their home so they can save money on their heating or cooling bills. They can mentor a child so that child can reach his or her greatest potential, so they can hopefully go to college and compete in this global economy.
The Serve America Act will usher in a new era of service and civic engagement in our country, where we can solve our most difficult social challenges by using entrepreneurial spirit to bring about social change. It will build upon great success stories in voluntarism, such as AmeriCorps, by increasing the numbers of volunteers involved in volunteer programs nationwide from 75,000 to 250,000… (edited for length)
I have long been an advocate for national service because I have seen the power of these volunteers—power not only to help those in need but to empower citizens and strengthen communities. There is no question that the Serve America Act expands opportunities for all Americans to become involved in service in a wide range of areas of need.
Today, this amendment I offer will further extend the work of the service corps by offering opportunities for skilled musicians and artists to expand educational opportunity, promote greater community unity, and bridge cultural divides through the use of music and arts engagement.
The Serve America Act is so important to those in New Hampshire and across the country. I am very pleased and honored to join with Senators Kennedy, and Hatch, and Mikulski, to cosponsor such an important piece of legislation that invests in new, innovative solutions to our Nation's most persistent social problems, and I urge my colleagues to join me in support of the Serve America Act. I hope they will also support the amendment Senator Gregg and I are offering.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from New Hampshire, along with her colleague, the senior Senator, Mr. Gregg, for offering this amendment. It does make sure that service programs in the Education Corps are also allowed to incorporate art and music. We in the committee on both sides of the aisle support this. We support it both for content reasons and process reasons.
In the area of process, what the Shaheen-Gregg amendment does is actually incorporate art and music as eligible for funding, as do our colleagues in the House. So it puts it in symmetry with the House. This is what we like. It is when we are out of symmetry with the House that we do not like it. This makes it a high note for art and music.
Second, we know that for many of our boys and girls, the involvement in art and/or music can have a profound impact on, No. 1, school attendance—they really want to come to school to follow their passion; No. 2, it also seems to have a particularly positive effect in the area of behavior for special education children. Special education children seem to have a real affinity in engaging in music and art activity and often by the enrollment in those activities.
What we see in our public schools is that art and music programs have been the first on the budget block when it comes to the reduction of funds. Having talented young people come in with this kind of approach can really help school attendance, help with behavior problems in schools, and also unlock a talent in a child.
If a child grows up, as I see in Baltimore in that show called "The Wire"—where neighborhoods that are so drug saturated that there is constant police activity, and the informants become the wire—the children of those communities are so terribly disadvantaged. The teachers work under such Spartan circumstances that AmeriCorps being able to come in could change lives—could actually change lives.
The Shaheen-Gregg amendment is an excellent concept to add to our Education Corps. We, under normal circumstances, would accept it, but we understand a vote will be required. But when they call my name, I am going to be in the "aye" column.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
