National Service Act Continues U.S. Tradition

npr.org — President Obama's signature on a massive $5.7 billion national service bill, which triples the size of the Clinton-era AmeriCorps program, harkens back not only to the days of FDR's New Deal but to an idea imbued in the American psyche since the country's earliest days. AmeriCorps has grown to some 75,000 members since the program, envisioned by President Clinton as a "domestic Peace Corps," was enacted in 1993. The new legislation provides funding to boost the number of volunteers to 250,000 over the next eight years and defines five categories of service: aiding the poor, improving education, encouraging energy efficiency, strengthening access to health care and assisting veterans.

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