House Adopts Plan For ‘Volunteer’ Corps

Also requires new evaluation of ‘mandatory’ service for all

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a plan to set up anew “volunteer corps” and consider whether “a workable, fair, andreasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people”should be developed.

The legislation also refers to “uniforms“that would be worn by the “volunteers” and the “need” for a “publicservice academy, a 4-year institution” to “focus on training” future”public sector leaders.” The training, apparently, would occur at”campuses.”

The vote yesterday came on H.R. 1388, which reauthorizes through 2014 the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, acts that originally, among other programs, funded the AmeriCorps and the National Senior Service Corps.

It not only reauthorizes the programs, but also includes “newprograms and studies” and is expected to be funded with an allocationof $6 billion over the next five years, according to the CongressionalBudget Office.

Many, however, are raising concerns that the program, which isintended to include 250,000 “volunteers,” is the beginning of whatPresident Obama called his “National Civilian Security Force” in a aspeech last year in which he urged creating an organization as big andwell-funded as the U.S. military. He has declined since then toelaborate.

WND reported when a copy of the speech provided online apparently was edited to exclude Obama’s specific references to the new force.

The video of his statements is posted here:

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2009-03-20