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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree amends bill to support clean energy in rural areas

Today, by a vote of 321-105, the US House passed H.R. 1388—the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act. The bill included an amendment sponsored by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree that will encourage community service and volunteerism to develop clean energy in rural areas. The amendment passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 388 to 36.

Pingree called the GIVE Act “an important call to service for the entire country. It will offer opportunities to people of all ages, races, and backgrounds to get involved in their communities and make lasting changes to the places they live.”

The GIVE Act creates four new service corps in the model of AmeriCorps—providing educational grants and stipends to support and encourage service to the community. The new service corps are:

Clean Energy Corps to encourage energy efficiency and conservation measures.

Education Corps to help increase student engagement, achievement and graduation Healthy Futures Corps to improve health care access.

Veterans Service Corps to enhance services for veterans.

Pingree’s amendment involves the Clean Energy Corps and expands it to include any activity “providing clean energy services designed to meet the needs of rural communities.”

Pingree spoke in favor of the amendment on the floor of the House today, telling the story of people in her community who came together to propose a wind turbine project that will provide power for two offshore islands—North Haven and Vinalhaven. She said that “the project could not happen without the volunteer efforts of dozens of people in our community who have donated thousands of hours to make this clean energy project a reality.”

“This amendment specifically extends additional opportunities for volunteerism in rural areas like Maine,” she said. “So we can help encourage and support citizens of all ages who want to contribute to our clean energy future, whether that means working on local projects like the Vinalhaven wind turbine or community weatherization projects to help save energy resources.”

The Pingree Amendment received bipartisan support on the floor of the House. Congressman Todd Platts (R-PA) said, “Our rural communities are a vital part of America and this amendment seeks to assure they are equally served.”

Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) spoke in favor of Pingree’s amendment, saying it would expand opportunities for volunteers in clean energy related activities. Inslee said, “When we weatherize homes, when we install solar panels, when we get engaged in all these activities, it’s part of the whole clean energy revolution that this country is going through.”

(Additional background on the GIVE Act below.)

The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act

Calling Americans to Serve at a Critical Time

America is facing unprecedented challenges – the economy, health care, energy, schools in need of improvement and more. With our public needs intensifying in this recession, there’s no better time to support and energize community service and volunteerism to help our country get through this economic crisis, restore confidence and prepare our nation for the future.

President Obama has called on Congress to create new opportunities for Americans to build a stronger country by helping students perform better in school, prepare Americans for green and innovative 21st century jobs, rebuild cities in times of disaster, improve communities and much, much more. This legislation answers his call. It will launch a new era of service that will give Americans of all ages an opportunity to invest through service in our nation’s recovery. Specifically, the bill:

Creates 175,000 New Service Opportunities and Rewards Americans for Commitment 
Grows the number of volunteers nationwide to 250,000, up from 75,000. The bill also links the full-time education award to the maximum authorized Pell Grant award amount in order to keep up with rising college costs.

Provides Incentives for Middle and High School Students to Engage in Service
Establishes the Summer of Service program that engages middle and high school students in volunteer activities in their communities and allows them to earn a $500 education award to be used for college costs.

Makes High School Students Part of Solution to Challenges in their Communities
Establishes Youth Engagement Zones, a new service-learning program to help bridge partnerships between community based organizations and schools in high-need, low-income communities to engage high school students and out-of-school youth in service-learning to address specific challenges their communities face.

Recognizes and Supports Colleges and Universities Engaged in Service
Establishes the Campuses of Service to support and recognize institutions of higher education with exemplary service-learning programs and assists students in the pursuit of public service careers.

Boosts Opportunities for Disadvantaged Youth 
Expands opportunities for disadvantaged youth, including those with disabilities, to become more involved with service and strives to include people of all ages and those from diverse background in volunteerism.

Creates Green and Other New Service Corps to Meet Key Needs in Low-Income Communities
Establishes four new service corps to address key needs in low income communities, including a Clean Energy Corps to encourage energy efficiency and conservation measures, an Education Corps to help increase student engagement, achievement and graduation, a Healthy Futures Corps to improve health care access, and a Veterans Service Corps to enhance services for veterans.

Broadens Scope of Collaborative Service Efforts 
Expands the focus of the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) to include disaster relief, infrastructure improvement, environmental and energy conservation, and urban and rural development.
Encourages service partnerships with other federal agencies.

Recruits Scientists and Engineers to Service to Keep America Competitive
Recruits scientists, technicians, mathematicians and engineers into national service to help keep America competitive.

Expands Service Opportunities for Older Americans and Public-Private Partnerships 
Creates two new fellowships to engage social entrepreneurs, boomers and retirees, the private sector and Americans from all generations in service.

• ServeAmerica Fellowships: ServeAmerica Fellows are individuals who propose their own plans for serving in their communities to address national needs and are matched up with a service sponsor.
• Silver Scholarships and Encore Fellowships: These programs offer boomers and seniors, age 55 or older, opportunities to transition into service post-career as well as entrance into new careers in the public or nonprofit sector.

Creates a nationwide community-based infrastructure to leverage investments in service
Builds a nationwide service infrastructure through community-building investments and social entrepreneurship.

• Community Solutions Fund: Creates a Community Solutions Fund pilot program that awards competitive matching grants to social entrepreneur venture funds in order to provide community organizations with the resources to replicate or expand proven solutions to community challenges.

Establishes Call to Service Campaigns
Includes a Call to Service Campaign to launch a national campaign encouraging all Americans to engage in service and to observe September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.