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Text
FOIA Number: 2006-0458-F
FOIA
MAR~~[R
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Communications
Series/Staff Member:
Don Baer
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
10136
FolderiD:
Folder Title:
Americorps
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
s
90
2
6
3
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�COMMON THREAD
P.o. Box io31
Portsmouth, NH 03802-1031
Phone/Fax: 603-430-7983
August 12, 1995
Eli Segal
President
Corporation for National Service
1201 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. Segal,
We have met on two occasions, first in the New Hamsphire statehouse when you worked
things out with Governor Merrill and more recently, at the service learning conference held earlier
this summer in Washington. We spoke briefly at that time about an idea for an event in New
Hampshire during the primary season to provide a forum for highlighting the administration's
leadership in advancing the ethic and practice of service and its integration with other school reform
initiatives. I am responding to your request for elaboration of this concept.
Allow me first to set the context for this proposed event. In early February, 1992, the
Symposium for National and Community Service in New Hampshire was conducted at Loon
Mountain to coalesce support for the emergence of a community service movement in the state and
to gather insight and input for the purpose of fashioning New Hampshire's first community service
plan in accordance with the provisions of the National and Community Service Act of 1990. Due to
direct efforts of then Governor Clinton, Carolyn Elliott represented the Arkansas Department of
Education at the Symposium. Ms. Elliott was a compelling spokesperson for Mr. Clinton's overall
education priorities and the actual initiatives undertaken to link community service to school
reform. The Symposium was highly successful in achieving its goals and, as a direct result,
community service is growing and thriving in the Granite State. As you made reference to it in
your address in the Hall of Representatives in Concord, the New Hampshire paradox provides a
perfect backdrop for bringing together the Yankee spirit of industriousness and self-reliance with
contemporary emphases on cooperation, community and interdependence. You may recall a small
framed print I presented you in Senator Shaheen's office. That print had been the cover for the
Symposium program.
I convened the Community Service Network which was the principal sponsor of the
Symposium and designed and coordinated this galvanizing gathering. I now propose a second
Symposium, again to be held in February of the primary season. In 1992 the Symposium brought
together national experts in the field of community service with state and local educators, policymakers, youth workers, counselors, community leaders, parents and students in dialogue and
�planning. In 1996 the scope of the agenda will be broadened to consider the intersection of broad
social needs and initiatives in the areas of educational change, welfare refonn, workforce
development, youth and community development, both here in New Hampshire and nationally.
I see the event as an opportunity to gain wide attention for a major success of the administration,
and at the same time to practice forward-thinking in projecting new visions for approaching the
integration of education, community development, and civility in social affairs.
I believe that such a Symposium could be orchestrated in either of three ways. First, the
New Hampshire National and Community Service Executive Board could take the lead in
organizing the Symposium. The AmeriCorps Leader site application submitted by the New
Hampshire College and University Council on behalf of all five of New Hampshire's AmeriCorps
programs does call for the AmeriCorps Leader to be involved in coordinating a Symposium.
However, it has not yet been agreed upon as to the purpose, scope and structure of the
Symposium. Secondly, and this is my preference, the Symposium could be organized through a
collaborative sponsorship by state and national organizations interested in bringing policy issues
related to youth and education to the front-line during the primaries. In addition to New Hampshire
AmeriCorps, such organizations might include the National Council of Educational Opportunity
Associations, the New Hampshire Conservation Corps, the American Youth Foundation,
the Student Conservation Association, North Country Trailmaster, Tri-County Community
Action, the New Hampshire College and University Council and NEA-New Hampshire. The third
route might be that the DNC directly organizes and promotes the Symposium. How the
Symposium is ultimately organized will of course depend upon the "political" function it might best
serve. Such a forum could prove to be a model for similar events across the country throughout the
spring, summer and fall of next year. I would be most interested in coordinating an event that both
focuses a critical and constructive eye on the important issues of education, youth and workforce
development and at the same time allows you and others in Mr. Clinton's administration to point to
significant movement and progress in these areas. To tum this idea into reality a primary sponsor
of the Symposium is required and financial resources for planning and coordination.
Thank you for interest in this idea. I have shared much the same with Anita Freedman who
also encouraged me to put it in writing. I look forward to hearing your response.
/'
~_/
===~
cc.
Bob Coates
Anita Freedman
Larry Kelley
Terry Schumaker
��ROCKY HOUNTAIN NEUS
DENVER, CO
DAILV
350,203
FRIDAY
OCT 13 1995
61
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Americorps salutes President Clinton
Ron EdmondS/Associated Press
President Clinton is applauded by Americorps volunteers as he arrives in the East Room of the
White House for a cer~mony to swear in second-year members of the service group .
.r __.
�HOME NEWS &TRIBUNE
HEU BRUNSUICK. NJ
DAILY
54.000
FRIDAY
OCT 13 1995
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lAm!!iCorps helps kids
MCC sfuderiij
.
aid literacy - .
atAmandla...
~ TAMI UIHBY
·
SiAFF WRITER
'\.'•
' Keli Watkins ·alway& reads liooka to
~er 3-year-old daughter, Sydili. But
f!.ben she sat down Tuesday with Mitliael, 4, a formerlY ~ess cbild,
Watkins had to take a diferent ap-
iJI;oach.
. ..
.
_,.;"He seemeil a liWe distracted 80 1
•sked him what he likes to do," aaid ·
Watkins, a Franklin resident. "I found
out he's a big football fan 80 I bave to
find books about footbiilt:" · · . · ·: ..
. Watkins is one of nine Middlesex
County College students participating
in the federal ~ )iiugram, a
year-old national ai!rvice piOgram. A
lOth student should join the cOllege's
inaugural AmeriCotps program soon,
Patrick Donahue, the c::ollege's
cud
~eriCorps program diiector.
~-. For the next four semesteri, the
11tudents will spend several hours
e\rery *kday with the preschool
TANYA BAUN/Stlff photqrapht
t&ildren•at Amandla Crossing Transi!J(onai'Housi!Jg Program in Edison. In ~~ taacll: AmeriCorps menlber Rania EI-Sioufi, a resident of lijghland Parle and sophomore
tt!tum," the stUdents .Will' 'receiVe a Middlesex CountY College, comforts Dominique Robinson, 2, at Amandla Crossing. .
·
4rz,500 scholarship.
· '· ·
;'-1' The students will help the children · · ·
&velop literary skills by reading to
with children, cloesn't"bave a chil- .really have to push education or difference in someone' s life..
lllem and aeating stories with them, · clren's -6brary. So the students will · they'D have problems for the remain- · Donahue said he hopes to recruit :
~d Donahue. .
· ilart cine. They plan to bold book der of their academic lives," said Wat- graduate of the NJ. Youth Corps, :
.·· Amandla Crossing. Wbich provides drives !!nd ssk for donations. ·
kins, a single mother who joined oommunity service program for higl
~sing and cia~~ -psiJ1i~e moth"1be prescbool years is wben you AmeriCorps 80 she oould help make a achool dropouts, as the lOth member.
-·
.
..
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�GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE
GREAT FALLS, "T
DAILY
36,000
FRIDAY
OCT 13 1995
39
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,' New~st AmeriCorps volunteer sees
'tremendous
need' throughout
U.S.
r
.
.
. ·
j·
.
.
.
.
.
i.J......,;.
By MEG DEDOLPH
·
·
FortheTrlbune
he believed the
visit to the
White House
helped him "recharge."
:
"Standing up
there, looking
out at all the
people, includ~
iitg the founder
Rosenbaum
of the Peace
Corps, it was
empowering to see all those people
""\..
'
WASHINGTON - Flanked by 40
young adults from across the counj· try, Brian Rosenbaum of Great Falls
.:-vowed at a White House ceremony
· Thursday to "get things done,'' "per:., severe" and "find common ground"
as a 1996 ~riC_9JP.!,!Oiunteer.
He took the oath this week, but
Rosenbaum already has been tutor. ing thi~- and fourth-graders in Bal'timo~r nearly a month, and said
!. Voltiliteer:
who care and who have devoted
their lives to helping others," he
said.
Before the ceremony, President
Clinton said the program, criticized
by some members of Congress for
being overly expensive, is economically viable and "proves the Am·
erican idea is alive and well to meet
the challenge of the 21st century."
"It is a strong symbol that there is
no 11ason for apathy, no reason for
,,
!1
See VOLUNTEER. 28
Ready to serve
· FROM IB P.
divided feelings in the United States
of America. No one could meet these
young people and hear their stories
and continue to be cynics about this
country," Clinton said.
Harris Wofford, the newly swornin chief executive officer of the Corporation for National Service, which
administers the program, said the
AmeriCorps volunteers were stew' ards of a great idea and would be
;pointingthewaytoarebirthofgood
·. ·r enship
problems in the United States, lik,e
poverty and a lack of educatio~·:_ :
·. He said that the more he le!mep
'.,about AmeriCorp~, the more ~d;
·veloped goo~ feelings about the prq·
gram, espec1ally the way he. anct:t¥
ot~er volunteers . ~ec~e l!lvolvet:l
'!lth the commumtles m wh1ch ~e(y
hved. , . .
• .
~~. :
"W~ re hVIJ?g in Section ~ housm~
(pu.bhc ho~~ng)! and were. thr~e
white folk bVIng !n ~.predommateJ,y
black commumty, Rosenbaum
said. "At first there was a lot of
. a IZ
•
•
mistrust • people called us 'cops.'
•.Rosenbaum •. 24,. w~nt to Pacific Now, we've become close friends
,,Lutheran Umvers1ty i!' Tacoma, with the people living around us,
_·Wash., where he stud1ed b~o!ogy and they're sort of looking out for
and ~orwegian. He ~aid he JOmed us, which is neat.''
·
Amen Corps because It was a chance
For their work with AmeriCorps, .
.; to help and• learn about different volunteers earn a living allowance of .
; .,eople.
. about $650 a month, and will receive, ·
·: "While I was in school I ~pent a a $4 725 award upon completion to(
·aummer in Seattle tutoring kids, and use to pay for college or training.
'"'I began to see there was such a . ~
,.... .
.,
'tremendous need," he said. "I also
··
.. - - - ~
· spent some time in Africa and really
1
' got into the idea of the 'third world'
~ and everything that's going on
.•,there. My friends and I used to
' discuss
,...._ how we had these same
�SPORTS AfiELD
NEW YORK, NV
HONTHLV
508,692
HOUEHBER 1995
-6393
BUR(KUE'S
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ns.titut~d at the be~nning ?f President
IClinton s tenn, ~~Q~..Qn>S IS helping in
the recovery of fish species in Colorado and
waterfowl populations in Nebraska, as well
as improving water quality in California and
the Everglades. Niclmamed the "domestic
-----------------------------------------------------------------Peace Corps," the program has put thousands : hours of service, about $4725 to finance their
of people to work on conservation projects,
including five under the direction of the
Department of the Interior. Ameri~ memhers work on community service projects that
involve the environment, education, safety
and health, in return for a modest living
allowance, health coverage a.nd, after 1700
college education.
.
Twenty members are currendy working
with the Bureau of Land Management to
restore wildlife habitat, build erosion<Ontrol
devices, and eradicate non-native plants at
Fon Ord, a militacy base in California that is
home to several endangered species, l!CCOrd-
1\-
, ing to the Interior Depanment. Another proj- South Florida. There are more than 20,000
ect has workers helping in the recovery of AmeriCorps members now serving in various
three fish species in the Yaqui River Basin in consemuion and community projects around
_j
. Colorado. Other AmeriCorps members are the countcy.
1
updating maps and databases for the U.S.
Geological Survey, or living on top of Alaska's .•·Bering Glacier, studying it for evidence of :
global wanning. Still others have gathered and 1/
analyzed wildlife census data and infonna- l
lion on seagrass beds and exotic vegetation in !
,
�SUNDRY
STAR-lEDGER
NEUt:!RK. NJ
SUNDAY
720.174
OCT 15 1995
1&90
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Taking a jab at water-foul ':Y/7/J. ,-
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. .
·
Photo by Gene Boyara
__Arolrlca Corps' Cathy Dougherty of New Brunswlcl( 'works with Montclair State University student Michael Joyce of Bloomfield to help clean up
the banks of the Passaic River along Raymond Boulevard In Newark. The cleanup was organized by the Stude!Jt Conservation Foundation and
i.~-N«!W
~er~y Com"'unJty Water Watch
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�TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
WORCESTER, KA
112,256
DAILY
.;s2· swear
·by 'workh.
program
- By John J. O'Connor
Telegram & Gazette StatT
;, WORCESTER - Mark Richards
, ·is a teacher's aide at Tatnuck
Magnet School. He is also working toward a high school GED
and wants to attend the Universi' ~ of Southern Maine.
Angeiee · McBride has three
: children. She also works at the
Central Massachusetts Housing
Alliance and plans to attend
: Worcester State College.
. They were among 32 young
people sworn in as Ci~orks
', AmeriCorps members · by City
i: Manager Thomas R. Hoover during ceremonies yesterday in City
Council chambers.
. . Last year, the Worcester based
-'Ci~orks joined the new nation. al service program for young
• people,AmeriCorps.
·. · The members will be paid for
the communi~ work they do durIng the 38-week program 11nd will
also be awarded a stipend for
college.
Before yesterday's ceremonies, .
Richards said that he had problems lind dropped OUt Of high
CHRISTINE DUNSHEE
)Shoo!. He applied for the proCharisa D. White, 20 , of Worcester was very happy about being
:STurn to
CI~~~~~N~xt Page __s_w_o_rn_l_n_to_t_h_e_C_ityw
__
o_rk_s_p_ro_g_r_am_v_e....
st_e_;rd_a_y_.- - - - - - -
rcityworks swears in 32
Continued From Previous Page
I.
t·
~- In the communi~."
gram,
She said last year's tnembers
was accepted a.nd has been a fifth·
spent 50,000 hours aiding students,
helping to clean up the city and
. grade teach~r s aide for ~hree
.weeks. He wtll bl! there until the
working with the elderly and the
end of the school year. .
homeless.
"I love the program. I love going
Richard Collins, president of
to school and helping my kids out,"
Bank of Boston - Worcester, said,.
Richards said.
''This program puts young people
to work and funds part of the coiThe participants are eligible to
r· be In the program for two years. "I lege expenses. This kind of pro6::- hope to stay In the program again gram should continue to thrid and
prosper."
next year and then go to college,"
·he said.
School Superintendent James L.
~
McBride graduated from high
Garvey told the ·group, "I have
. school three years ago. She said
talked with teachers, principals
she was not ready for high school
and administrators and Jet me tell
but now she has "the opportunity
you, you do make a difference."
' to work before going back to school.
He said last year Ci~orks members spent 23,000 hours with stuIts an excellent program," McBride
~ said.
· dents either In the classroom or in
!.
During the ceremonies, Patsy c.
the school's summer programs.
Noting that Congress is looking
Lewis, executive director of the
'""'~ Worcester Community Action for areas to cut in the federal budg"''I!J1 Council, told the Ci~orks mem- et, Garvey said, "I hope Congress
bers, "You are very special. You
sees the light to keep this program
going."
will be performing important work
f
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�COLUnBUS DISPATCH
COLUnBUS. OH
DAILY
263 .&91
SATURDAY
OCT 14 1995
•••
lnEdli
avw~urs
""
.n ... Y
AmeriCorps recruifs
hope program sunives
~~ v:l-91 AT
The Statehouse Atriwn sounded
like a ninth-inning baseball nail-biter
as hundreds of pennant-waving
young people from throughout the
· state stood· and cheered during a
swearing-in ceremony for new
members of AlneriComi. ·
The pennants represented a
commitment to volunteerism. AB
with the Peare Corps, established in
1961, AmeriCorps has sought to ex· cite lumdreds of youths aboUt serving their country.
More than 300 gathered for the
swearing-in Thursday, following a
day of training and ceremonies to
begin AmeriCorpi' second year of.
public- and privately funded commu.
nity programs.
llanlll a..-e!IIW Dupaul!
\Wuntetn Julia Bo&mum, 11ft, Jolm m1s, boaDm rigid,
8lld Gr-eg HIIFJIII!U raise lbe torcb duriDg swearing-in
an:moales .... AmeriOJrps IICI'IIils .... 11mnday at the
SCatebouse Atrium. More dum 300 w1unteas were In to begin Ameri(Ap' SKIIIId year II IDIUIIIIIIity pro(pliiiiSo
.....
..
..·
. .
In its first year, 20,000 AmeriCorps volunteers participated in
more than 300 progrsrns nationwide
in education, public ssfety, hwnan
services and the environment.
Ohio received more than $3.4
million from the federal guvemrnent
to ftmd 12 state programs through
next year
·
·
But ·potential fed~~ budget
cuts have volunteers and leaders
ooncerned about· the future of their
~think it re~~~y shows we have
a. twisted idea of what the JllllllOile of
this coontry should be," said AmeriCorp! meJPber Jennifer Rubins, 20.. "Too many people need to see
it's too right for this time," sbe said
of the corp~.
Kitty Burcsu, executive director
of the Governor's Community Service Commission, said she's "optimis...., because 1 think the value of this
w;
~ is becoming very BPJIIV·
"Our position has been to let the
program get up and nmning and
ewluate it based 011 its worth and
then make decisions,"· BlllliCSU said. ·
President n:-•- _ __. his
\AU1LUIJ ..,...,...,..
'commitment to AmeriCorps on
Tluusday.
"EVen the General ~·~'6
A~,.,.;M
Office ssys that it more than pays its ·
way .and actually costs less than we ·
had originally estimated that it
would," Clinton said in a .statement
from the White House.
·
"It can be a shining symbol that
there is no need for cynicism, no
need for defeatism and no need for
tolerance of division in the United
States of America. That's why we
should oontinue AmeriCcill&"
·
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�NEI.IS-SUN
WAUl\ EGAN, IL
DAlLY
44,000
WEDNESDAY
OCT 11 1995
8VWU.E'8
UZ
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/OPINION
'The free press is the mother ofall our liberties and of
our progress under liberty." -Adlai E. Stevenson
.. PUBUSHER
Robert c. Pnpemlck
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
liii///.
·
D.G. Schumacher
EDITOR
fij.
'~:t
·•.
"-
Donald G. Asher
MANAGING EDITOR
Cluirtes Selle
A Copley Newspaper- The Ring of Truth
~Vz..~ 7,f\
.
.
EDITORW.
How to save AmeriCorps
)loo
Iff ISSUE: Salvaging the national service program
•in some form.
This newspaper, which enthusiastically supports the concept of
. public service, applauded the creation of AmeriCoros last year. And
: we still believe the program is worth salvaging in some form, even
; though Congress has earmarked it for extinction for the next fiscal
:year.
.
: The question is how to make it more cost-effective at a time when
; 'federal lawmakers are looking for ways to trim spending.
; AmeriCorps is a federally financed national service program
'aimed at getting young adults, • • • • • • • • • • •
:aged 18-24. involved in helping
; others who are less fortunate.
; Actually, it's an extension of the
; domestic Peace Corps, or
• Volunteers in Service to America
: (VlSTA), that was created three
: decades ago.
~
The 20,000 or so AmeriCorps
participants who are involved in
• more than 300 projects nationwide
: receive the minimum wage, plus
: health benefits, child care and a scholarship grant of $4,725 for each
: year of full service to help pay for college or vocational training. As
: initially envisioned, most of them are expected to serve a maximum
l of two years.
; The 103rd Congress budgeted $1.5 billion for the program over
! three years. But the Republican-controlled Congress which assumed
l office last year has decided that AmeriCorps is a luxury that taxpayl. ers can no longer afford. The decision is part fiScal and part political.
I President Clinton committed a tactical blunder by becoming too
dosely identified with this program. In so doing, he created an invit! ing target of opportunity for many congressional Republicans.
i
That said, the program is expensive. According to the General
~ I Accounting Office, which keeps tabs on federal expenditu~s. the
. I costs associated with each AmeriCorps participant is $27,000 per
! year. Although a tad less than the amount some GOP critics were
proclaiming, this is considerably more than the $17,000 to $20,000
·. t estimate proffered by Eli Segal, the program's chief executive offi' ! cer.
· I This begs the question of how many national service jobs could
1be created by the private sector if it were awarded federal funding in
• return for underwriting part of .the program's costs. Our guess is,
!. quite a few more than the current 20,000.
l To begin with, private companies have a far better track record of
! creating cost-effective jobs than does the bureaucratic public sector.
! Furtherm·ore, private firms are more apt to provide the close super- (
I vision needed to make this program succeed.
Getting young
adults involved
in helpingothers.
l
'l
'
. .
�TIHES
READING, PA
DAILY
47,117
TUESDAY
OCT 17 1995
8VMEt.l.€'$
472
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.
rr;eriCO~pS ~hoilla get
funding·
for ·next year
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. .: .-
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· By ltL tee Pelton
. ,: .- ;facing aoeiety as a whole. Partie!- oDCiary s&ool. curricul~s. These
M. the nation's colleges and
pants in AmeriCorps programs· . ..and other slmdar expenences
.universities go about the business find solutions to today'a problems, have streugthened Dartmouth's
or beginning new terms, a signifi-· · :addressing critical issues of . . ·. partnership with the community
cant educational opportunity is In ·.health education, hliman needs : and the public school system to
jeopardy of l!eiD& closed to them ,and the environmeJlt ~~ both rural · iniprove qilality of life for many
forever.
. ~.
and urban areas.·
of our young people.
.
. The House and Senate have . .'. . A2. President Clinton has said,
A dear friend of mine in higher
·voted to kill the~meriComs .· . ."Education is about more than
· educatiC>D is fond or saying that
'National Servici'PI'ogram. Presi; ·· :making money and mastering
we educate students to virtue.
dent Clinton intends to veto the
technology, even in the 21st centu- t:ivic virtue ought to be an essenbill in question and seek-restored ·ry. The idea behind national ser- ' tial component of the educational
funding for Ame'ricorps. .
. : ·vice is to make connection
.;
experience ofall·of.ourstudents.
. .The AmeriCorps progr8J!I has, •between ideas and the real world ·Service to others humanizes the
'·iluring its inaugural year, made a :or need out there beyond the
world ill whicb we live ..
significant contribution to the . ivory towers of academia, to make . · ID an even more profound
nation, our young people and . · ,a connection between earning · . sense, community service
Institutions of higher learning. ~ _ .'and education and advancing the . requires 'that we confront what
,AmeriCorps Is a program in · · . · quality of life for others who may ·· the moral philosophers and con:which students may trade commu- :not have had ll" · · ·
· · · -temporary·soeiologists refer to as
·-11ity service in return for tuition
·the other. And it is certain that in
. clollars. ; · ·
·., ... ~ .. , .... ". This, I belleve,~is the promise · our engagement with the other, ,
. . Amen Corps .,az:ti~ipants .~ : . ;ci(Amer~C.~ose b~tlight . ·:we come to know ourselves better..
· :tranted a modest hviDg
. . , of hope IS 1n Jeopardy cf be1n~
, This act of knowing represents
.allowance, and after a full year of . ,e~i~isluid by a part. of our go~-.. :. the essence of education and
.:demanding full-time community
ernment that re~lly sh~ld know· . : :moral development Community
service, they receive a financial
~better. . . . ·
' ·
:· service and soeial responsibility
award to help defray the cost of
As an admiDistrator at Dart- · · require us to step out of ourselves
· their college education. The fed· · ,lllouth ~liege- ~ insti~tion · and to shed, even if only temeral government 1111d those that
•recognized for ita commitment to ·porarily our mantels or self and
· ·benefit from AmeriCorps service
UJ:'dergraduate education:- I ~ave.· selfishn~ss. .
·
·
.share In paying for program ~sts .... ,Witnessed first-hand the s1gn1fi.
cant benefits ofnational service· ·· · 1 can wlak of few legislative
AmeriCorps is a miracle of exe- ·programs. Dartmouth received a . programs more fundamental to
eution in its capacity to bring · ;eoziuDunity service grant which
the American way of life than
about a covenant between the prl- allowed 22 of our students to tutor AmenCorps. It reinforces the sim·vate and public sectors of Ameri- English-as-a-second-language stu- .ple but basic virtue of rewarding
can soeiety. It mikes possible the :dents in communi~ public sec- · ·:hard work and sacrifice, while
. education of young men and ·:
,ondary Schools. .
making available opportunities
i~. women, many. of whom would be
A Dartmouth AmeriCorps ..
for higher learning to those who
.: unable to attend college without · ·w~rker also worked with a local.
might not ordinarily be able to
AmeriCorps. Most important, per- 'children's museum and the pubbc afford it. It deserves our fu;Jiest
.,.haps, it makes real a cherisbed
. schOQ) ~s~m. to develop a. pro- · :SUpport.
~;&nericaa virtue:. namely, that
Jl'am l'ac1htat~ng the creative . . .
· those who work hard ought to be ·.: classro011 use of computers and .
•
·.·rewarded for their efforts.
. ·computer-based education reM. Let Pelton is deem a[ Dan.
One of the fundamental
·sources in elementary and sec<fROUtl& College.
··
.aspects of AmeriCorps is the ,
, .· ., '" _.... , ..: ·- ....-"\. .
"""
recognition that the education of
our nation's youth does not stop at
the classroom door, but'extends
' beyond It into the larger world.
AmeriCorps not only proVides
~nefits for the recipients of ita
service, bl,lt for the participants
;as well. In the proeess of dedica. ·tion of selfand giving to others,
:.these 20,000 young men and · '•
. '!WOmen working In AmeriCorps .
programs in over 1,000 communi·
·:.ties learn how to cope with· the
· .·,many challenges posed for them.
. . These challenges are vast and ·r:;
•..,refiectthe numerous challenges
....
~,
... :··· •.,;···:"
�--
£.I. Segal
Corporation for National Service
1201 NewYorkAvenue,NW
Washington, DC
20525
l
------------
Gelling Things Done.
AmerlCorps, National Service
Learn and Setve America
National Senior Service Corps
CORPORATION
FOR NATIONAL
DsERVICE
Mr. Donald Baer
Assist. to the President/Speechwriting
&Research
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
I
�..
.
't!:l " "
Office of Steve Waldman, Sr. Advisor to CEO, CNS
FACSIMrLE TRANSMITI'AL SHEET
C0Rf0RA1'10N
FOR NATIONAL
fls E R V 1 C E
TO:
IS~
Du.
'&>oN
LOCATION:
FAX#:
FROM:
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PHONE#~~~' -1~13
Blancbe Tromeart for Steve Waldman
FAX #: !202) 565..2784
TELEPHONE #: C202) 606-SOOO. Ext. , - I &1
NUMBER OF PAGES (INCLUDING COVER SHEET) __.
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�CORPORATION
FOR NATIONAL
I'JS'ERVICJ!:
To: Don Baer, Bruce Reed, and Mike Waldman
From: Steve Waldman
July 31~ 1996
This is a draft of a memo Harris is working on for the President.
It tries to map out how he could, in his second term, take
national service from being a nice Peace Corps-style program to
something more like the GI Bill in importance.
The gist of the promise: Every young American who wants to
serve his or her country in exchange for college aid ought to be
able to do so.
We have suggestions for paying for this by, in effect, replacing
traditional government programs with service programs and by
"privatizing" the: Corporation.
We're eager to hear your thoughts.
1100 VCf'IIOIIt Avcmue. NW
Waahi"IIOI'· DC.<I0$25
TelephOAe~
FaxZOMOH938
Gtlldn1111llnllll DOne.
AmtiiCotlla. fllllloMI Semct
1..mn1 IIIII So!rw Americl
NotlanDI !ienlar Servb Corps
�---··.
---··-
CONFIDB>l'I1AI:.-DRAFT
To:
President Clinton
From:
Harris Wofford
Re:
The Second Term
. During your fir~t term, you have proven that national service can be an
extraordinarily effective way to solve problems. AmeriCorps members have cleaned
rivers, reduced crime. renovated housing. raised reading scores, and organized tens of
thousands of unpaid volunteers to do even more.
On average, each AmeriCorps member has leveraged twelve volunteers. That's
one of the reasons that Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, said recently,
"This anny of peaceful people is making good news happen all over this nation. We at
Habitat for Humanity feel privileged and honored to have AmeriCorps people with us,
and we want more of them. We love to be partners with you in this work."
The AmeriCoips program has provided an impressive model for how to
strengthen community, allow Americans to earn educational opportlmity and, at the same
time, ask for a greater sense responsibility.
We have also shown that even with a signature program. like AmeriCorps we are
willing to adapt and make improvements. In 1994, the average cost per AmeriCorps
member was roughly $19,000. By 1999. it will be $15.000.
But we have not yet met several important goals you set out in the 1992
campaign.
First, AmeriCorps has not yet become a major way for Americans to serve their
way through college. At 25,000 per year, we are reaching about one percent of the college
bound population.
Second, because of the program's size, we have not yet conveyed the idea that
national service can be a major fol"ce to unite our country. As you sensed during your
visit to City Year back in 1993, national service is possibly the most successful approach
yet invented to bring people of different backgrounds together in a common mission.
Yomtg Americans schooled in the politics of separatism on college campuses come to
Am.eriCorps and learn they must emphasize something else: teamwork. Indeed, I believe
that someday national service could be as effective, or more effective, than affirmative
action at providing opportunity and bridging the racial divide.
1
DETER~iiNc: 'roBE AN
ADMIN 1ST~.:. VE MARKJNG
INITIALS:..Qb__ DATE: &./!IrA
~oo&,-o'-/5~ F --,-,---
�. --·------ ·----
,.
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,.
---- · - - -
We need only look at recent Amcmcan history. The greatest class-mixing
institution of our time was the World War ll dnd't. The current U.S. Army is perhaps the
most effective institution at dealing with race relations. Yet since the end of the cold war,
the armed forces have shrunk by more than 200,000 recruits. We need to oomperuJate by
expanding civilian service opportunities that can help mix - and unite - Americans.
Third, we have not yet made national service a rite of passage - a common
e:xpectation for a large portion of young Americans. Although larger than the Peace
Corps, AmeriCorps is still a fraction of the size of the CCC, which reached 500,000 at its
peak. Consequently, we have not yet established firmly the principle of reciprocity, the
idea that government benefits ought to be tied to service.
After the next election, there will be a brief, perhaps fleeting, opportunity for
national service to take a quantum leap -~ becoming not merely a worthy, sensible
program but a major force in American society. I know you're used to cabinet secretaries
pleading for a five percent increase in this or a
percent Increase in that. I want to
suggest something ordcm~ of m~tudc bigger -- something akin to your original 1992
campaign promise - yet revenue neutral. I'm suggesting that you make national service a
focus of your second term.
ten
We have shown through AmeriCorps that national service can solve problems,
provide educational opportunity, instill patriotism and citizenship, and unite
Americans. Now we should open this up. Everv young American who wants to
perform substantial full~time §errice in exchange for educational aid should
have the opportunity to do so. And we can pay for this expansion either by
cutting government functions that can better: be done by national service or
through savings to the government generated by service. The era of solving
problems through big government is over; the era of solving problems through
citizen service has begun.
The basic elements of such a
:strat~gy
would be as follows:
1) Every young Amerif;!an who wants to perl'onn substantial full-time service
in exchange for educational aid should have the opngrt!mitt to do so.
Full-time service opportunities are already provided by a range of organizations
including Armed Forces, the Jesuit volunteer Corps, the Peace Corps. the Lutheran
Volunteer Corps, local conservation corps and the AmeriCorps progra..Tfls.
We would expand the number of these opportunities through three means. One is
a dramatic expansion of the AmeriCorps and Peace Corps programs. We can't know for
sure how many people would actually want to sexve if given the opportunity, but a
reasonable guc~~ would be 250,000. 'This is actually what you had asswne~ in 1992. One
of the reasons I have been pwhing to get our cosb down is to pave the way for such a
2
�dramatic expansion. When we get our average cost to $15,000, we could field 250,000
AmeriCorps members for about S4 billion a year.
Second, another 100,000 could participate in full-time rigorous sum.mcr programs.
at a cost of $600 nrilliou. These programs could be inte11se experiences for the corps
members and accomplish a great deaL In the past, our Sl:IDllller progmns have offered
$1,000 scholarship at the completion of setVice.
Third, by offering educational scholarships to non-AmeriCorps programs - an
idea championed by Sen. Chuck Grnssley, among others----we can help religious and
other non-profit groups expand the nwnbers of full·time stipended service opportunities.
We would essentially offer education awards to existing organizations- including the
faith-based groups- if they use the money to expand capacity.
But service comes in many forms. 1be next part of your pledge should be this:
2) Through e:x.undcd volunteering among people of llll ages, service $bould
become a common e;mectation of AmericUl citizenship amd a key method of solving
problems.
Specifically. by the end of your second tenn. another 500,000 college students
should do service during school as we transform the work-study program into serve-study
program.
By the end of your second term. service ought to be built into the educational
experience of every high school student. 'Th8t can come in many forms: acaden1ic courses
that utilize service as a learning technique, efforts to encourage significant extracunicular service activities, or even service requirements.
By the e:nd of your second term, 1,000,000 seniors should be engaged in
significant service. Currently, it l$ roughly 500,000. It is estimated that a typical
American will now spend a third of his or her life in retirement. This creates enormous
problems - how will these people keep fruitfully occupied? -- and tremendous
opportunities. If we start viewing these experienced. citizens not just as a financial bwden
but as a resource. we will have "discovered" an awesome tool for social rejuvenation. I
believe this idea will be extremely popular with seniors.
The incre;:tSe in senior service would cost $100 million. The increase in high
school student service could be stimulated by a minimal investment. The 500,000 work
study slots would be a redirection of money. not a net increase.
Championing these other non-AmeriCorps programs would strengthen the
message that AmeriCo.rps is not ..another government program" but rather part of a larger
effort to emphasize reciprocity and rejuvenate the civil sector.
3
�How would we pay for this? To prove that you are viewing national service is a
non-bureaucratic approach to solving problems, I would urge you:
3) To pay for this entirely either b.y §u.tting government functions that can
better be done by national service or through savings to gOTerp.mcnt generated by
service.
For instance. the AmeriCorps Habitat for Humanity projeets produ.ce affordable
sweat-equity housing at a fraction of the cost of HUD because they hamess the good-will
of unpaid volunteers. AmeriCorps education programs have directly raised reading scores
in disadvantaged areas, more effectively I would guess. than some other forms of federal
'education spending. Programs that teach immigrants English and job skills save money
by keeping them off government aid. Those that help young mothers make the transition
from welfare to work will save society billions.
Consider the health care area alone. Programs that get poor families to use clinics
instead of emergency rooms save local governments money and improve the quality of
health care. Our data also shows that each Senior Companion saves the goverrunent about
$76,000 in Medicaid cost:; by helping seniors live independently and stay our of nursing
homes. So a new corp~ of 20,000 national s~rvicc pe.rticipants who did nothing but kept
seniors out of nursing homes c:ould by itself save government $1.6 billion. Raise that to
50,000 and you've effectively ''paid for" the AmeriCorps expansion with that alone. As
the population ages. the relative savings go up.
At the same time you propose this expansion, you should propose something else
dramatic:
·
·
4) Privatize the Corporation for National Service. The goal should be to make
the Corporation an institution of the American public like the American Red Cross,
chartered by Congress but ultimately run as a foundation or non-profit We are tUtTently
exploring how this might be done but the general outlines would be: the U.S. Treasury
would continue to provide the living allowance for AmeriCorps members and the service
scholarships. This semi-private Corporation would take over our other functions:
program dev~lopment. training, ~valuation, monitoring and quality control. The boaxd of
this corporation could be appointed by members of both parties.
Privatizing the Corporation would severely undercut the argument that intrusive
government managers would destroy the spirit ofvolunteerism. Having the overseers
chosen by both parties of congress would ensme that it was not only non-partisan but
perceived as such.
This proposal knits together the key themes of your presidency. By emphasizing
local, volunteer-oriented solutions, this plan would reinforce your statement that the era
of big government is over. By making service a major way of paying for college, you
4
�.-.
~
would increase access to higher education and implant firmly the notion of reciprocity,
that with rights come responsibilities.
It also shows you are above partisanship. This is an idea that reaches beyond petty
politics and evokes a larger message of the common good.
President Kennedy had wanted the Peace Corps to come home to America on a
large scale but his death and the Vietnam War made that impossible. The potential of
domestic service was illustrated in the 1970s and 1980s through small experiments such
as the California Con.c:~f'Vation Coxps and City Year. But in 1993, with your candidacy,
the idea of national service ignited.
As is. AmeriCoxps is on the road to becomi:og like the Peace Corps - a smart,
worthwhile eXpenditure of taxpayer mo:oey. With some bold leadership, however:, it
could become more like the GI Bill - something that transforms the country.
5
�
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Title
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Don Baer
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Office of Communications
Don Baer
Date
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1994-1997
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<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36008" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431981" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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2006-0458-F
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Donald Baer was Assistant to the President and Director of Communications in the White House Communications Office. The records in this collection contain copies of speeches, speech drafts, talking points, letters, notes, memoranda, background material, correspondence, reports, excerpts from manuscripts and books, news articles, presidential schedules, telephone message forms, and telephone call lists.
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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537 folders in 34 boxes
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AmeriCorps
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Office of Communications
Don Baer
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2006-0458-F
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Box 17
<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0458-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431981" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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42-t-7431981-20060458F-017-009-2014
7431981