Senators have adopted a procedural (cloture) motion to begin debating the Serve America Act (S. 277) by a vote of 74 to 14. The vote actually occurred on a House-passed bill, the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act (H.R. 1388), which will likely be replaced in full with the Senate’s version.
So to be clear, as has been the case countless times before, Senators are using the House bill as a legislative vehicle to advance their own version of national service legislation. It’s very similar to the House bill, with the Senate version costing around $1 billion less ($5 billion in total).
The overarching goal of the legislation is to fund, expand, and redevelop new and existing programs geared toward national service projects such as AmeriCorps. It’s expected to pass this week.
More detailed provisions can be found in this entry from earlier today.
Congress in Your Pocket
