Politics

Chairman Miller Blasts Republicans for Killing Community Service Bill

By Jesse Lee

From the Education and Labor Committee:

Roadblock Republicans in Congress Kill Legislation to Boost Community Service across America

WASHINGTON, D.C. ? Republican leaders in Congress today killed bipartisan legislation (the GIVE Act, H.R. 5563) that would improve American communities by supporting and increasing the ranks of community service volunteers who perform essential services like mentoring at-risk young people, tutoring schoolchildren, improving public safety, and rebuilding communities devastated by natural disasters. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a co-sponsor of the legislation, said the Republicans defeated the legislation out of pure political partisanship.

?The Republican leadership decided to hold community service programs hostage to its petty partisan political agenda,? said Miller. ?The GIVE Act would have supported the tens of millions of Americans who improve their communities through community service and volunteerism, but Roadblock Republicans decided to stop the legislation for the sake of simple obstructionism. They should be ashamed of themselves. Democrats acted in a good-faith way to develop this legislation on a bipartisan basis, and Republicans chose to take the low road. This is exactly the kind of obstructionism that led voters to remove Republicans from power in 2006, and it shows that Republicans still aren?t serious about working to find solutions that solve America?s challenges.?

BACKGROUND:

? Republicans voted against legislation that they supported. Last year, the Education and Labor Committee passed the GIVE Act with a unanimous bipartisan vote of 44 to 0.

? Republicans voted against legislation that they were closely involved in developing. Every Republican amendment that was considered by the House Rules Committee was made in order. All of those amendments were offered on the floor of the House, and all of the amendments that were approved by the House were later made part of the bill that Republicans defeated today.

? The GIVE Act includes provisions that would have required by law background checks on individuals participating in federally-funded volunteer and community service programs. As a result, by voting against the GIVE Act today, Republicans killed legislation that included in statute protections for children against sexual predators.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 12, 2008 (boomark / email).