Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 9, 1993 TAG: 9309090124
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The 57-40 vote, mostly along party lines, gave Clinton the first all-new program of his administration. The bill now goes to the White House for his signature.
Clinton said the vote was "in the best sense of reinventing government."
The program could be up and running by next June, said Eli Segal, who heads Clinton's Office of National Service.
The legislation fulfilled Clinton's campaign promise to create a domestic version of the Peace Corps, in which young people could serve their communities while earning money for college.
The bill was supported by 51 Democrats and six Republicans; four Democrats and 36 Republicans opposed it.
Virginia Democrat Charles Robb voted for the measure, Republican John Warner against it.
Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., the Senate Republican leader, accused the White House of sending conflicting signals by creating a new program at the same time it is proposing government reorganization with an emphasis on saving money.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass, who helped guide the bill to passage, said that if the program did not work, Congress could scrap it.
Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kan., who led opposition to the legislation, argued that the bill is "fraught with . . . overlapping programs, unnecessary legislative requirements and cumbersome bureaucratic structures."
But Sen. Harris Wofford, D-Pa., countered that the National Service program was an "innovative public-private partnership" that is "part of a process of reinventing government, not by more government but by igniting citizen action and citizen responsibility."
Supporters have argued that the program would benefit communities while helping middle-class students afford college educations. Opponents have said it is too costly and that the money would be better spent on existing college aid programs.
Under terms of the compromise, students who complete two years of community service work can earn $4,725 a year to apply toward college tuition. Clinton initially proposed $5,000 a year.
Participants also would receive living allowances of at least $7,400 a year and health-care and child day-care benefits.
The plan allows 20,000 participants in the first year, 33,000 in the second year and 47,000 in the third year, assuming an average cost per participant of $15,000. Spending would be limited to $300 million in the first year of the program, $500 million in the second year and $700 million in the third year.
by CNB