Service Year Alliance Statement for the Record for the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on: 

Final Recommendations and Report of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Inhofe and members of the Armed Services Committee,

Service Year Alliance is pleased to submit this testimony for the record for the hearing on the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service.

Service Year Alliance is an organization working to make a year of paid, full-time national service — a service year — a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans. We do that through our Serve America Together campaign, which brings together a coalition of military and civilian service organizations, among others, to advocate to make civilian national service part of growing up in America. We also support service year programs and help stand up new innovative models, and maintain the only online portal — ServiceYear.org — that connects young people to all different types of available service year opportunities, including AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, YouthBuild and non-federally funded programs. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New Poll: As President Biden Calls for National Unity, Majority of Americans Support National Service to Bridge Divides 

Nearly 7 out of 10 Americans Believe President Biden Should Prioritize Programs that Work Towards Healing the Nation

WASHINGTON, DC – New polling data released today by the Serve America Together campaign show that the majority of Americans support President Joe Biden’s focus on healing the nation and believe an expansion of civilian national service opportunities for young Americans can help accomplish that goal. President Biden’s inaugural speech focused largely on the idea that for the nation to heal and move forward national unity must be prioritized, arguing that we never fail when we act together. More than three-quarters of respondents to the poll said they support Congress passing legislation that would expand national service opportunities, such as AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps. 

By JEFF HUBER, December 27, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Prominent Americans Urge Presidential Candidates to Expand National Service to Renew Civic Spirit

In an open letter to President Trump and Vice President Biden, bipartisan group advocates for national service to be prioritized as solution to countries’ challenges

WASHINGTON, DC (October 29, 2020) – In the final days of the presidential election, a diverse group of more than 120 Americans from across the country today called on President Trump’s and Vice President Biden’s campaigns to prioritize the expansion of national service in the next presidential term as a way to address the polarization of the nation. In a letter released as a part of the Serve America Together campaign, former governors and members of Congress as well as leading philanthropy, thought and faith leaders, impressed upon the importance of national service as a tool to unite Americans and to help renew the nation’s civic spirit. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

National Business and Workforce Development Leaders Call on Presidential Campaigns to Prioritize Expansion of National Service

More than 60 of the nation’s leading business and workforce development leaders sign bipartisan letter 

WASHINGTON, DC (October 26, 2020) – The Serve America Together campaign today released a letter signed by more than 60 of the nation’s leading business and workforce development leaders calling on President Trump’s and Vice President Biden’s presidential campaigns to prioritize the expansion of national service.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Over 80 National Security Leaders Sign On to Letter Calling on Presidential Campaigns to Prioritize National Service

National security leaders including former cabinet secretaries, State Department officials, and Pentagon appointees, join former National Security Council members and veterans on bipartisan letter to campaigns

WASHINGTON, DC (October 13, 2020) – Today, the Serve America Together campaign released a letter signed by over 80 diverse and bipartisan national security leaders to President Trump and Vice President Biden’s presidential campaigns calling for an expansion of national service. The letter, which is signed by national security leaders including former cabinet secretaries, State Department officials, Pentagon appointees, National Security Council members, and veterans from across the Armed Services, urges the candidates to prioritize national service in their potential future administrations as a way to maintain the strength and security of our nation...

By JOE HECK, October 5, 2020 

Throughout the course of history, Americans have, time and again, come together in moments of crisis to confront our challenges and move the country forward. As I envision a path out of the current crises facing our nation, I believe this moment is no different.

For the past three years, I served as the chairman of the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service, a position I was appointed to by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and which allowed me to continue my own service to our country, building upon my current service in the Army Reserve and my experience as a former three-term Republican congressman. Throughout the congressionally-mandated Commission’s tenure that explored America’s appetite for service and the potential need for a military draft, we traveled across the country hearing from Americans about their desire to serve, the barriers to service, and their ideas for inspiring more people to serve.

By JOHN BRIDGELAND, October 4, 2020

Even as we face the hard realities of a pandemic, the fight for social justice, and divisive national politics, recent national polling offers a spot of good news. More than seven out of 10 Americans believe they have more in common with one another than many people think.

Those findings are part of a recent survey conducted for Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights and Institute of Politics. Americans, it turns out, are not as divided as our politics and news media might indicate.

By JESSE COLVIN, September 22, 2020

Our country faces mounting public health, economic, and educational crises, as well as a nationwide reckoning on racial injustice — challenges that require thoughtful solutions to move the country forward. When it comes to addressing these critical issues, there are few solutions that have both bipartisan support and can be a true antidote in helping to rebuild in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a proud member of the Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advocacy Group (NIIAG), convened by Independent Sector and KABOOM!, Service Year Alliance is thrilled to see NIIAG lifting up national service as a way to strengthen our country’s civic infrastructure.

As we determine how best to address each of these individual challenges, we also must confront the growing lack of trust in our institutions and the hyperpolarization that threaten the civic fabric of American society. If we are to truly tackle these issues, it will require a solution that unites Americans around a common cause in order to knit our communities back together.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Coalition of Leading Military and Civilian Service Organizations Calls on Presidential Campaigns to Prioritize National Service

The coalition is part of the Serve America Together campaign to make national service part of growing up in America.

WASHINGTON, DC (September 14, 2020) – Today, over a dozen leading military and civilian service organizations released a letter calling on President Trump and Vice President Biden’s presidential campaigns to prioritize a significant expansion of national service in the first 100 days of their potential administrations. The first-of-its-kind coalition — which is the backbone of the Serve America Together campaign to make national service part of growing up in America — unites the military and civilian service movements under one banner behind a bold call to action for national service expansion.

As Democrats and Republicans take the stage over the next several weeks, sharing their visions for America, we are hoping that they include a vision for giving young Americans, who have been hit hardest by the unemployment crisis, an opportunity to serve their communities by addressing the impacts of COVID-19 in health, education, and food insecurity — all while getting them back on track for education or employment and helping to knit our society back together.

Home Instead CEO Joins Serve America Together as Campaign Co-chair

Huber brings fresh private sector perspective to campaign at pivotal moment for national service

WASHINGTON, DC (February 19, 2020) – Today, Jeff Huber, CEO of Home Instead, joined Serve America Together as campaign co-chair to advance efforts to make national service part of growing up in America. In his role as CEO of Home Instead — the leading global provider of home care for older adults — Huber is leading the creation of a new service year corps that engages the next generation of young Americans in the future of aging. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand accepts Serve America Together’s Presidential Challenge and commits to rewarding those who serve with debt-free college

Gillibrand is the second 2020 presidential candidate to formally accept Serve America Together’s presidential challenge.

WASHINGTON, DC (August 27, 2019) – Today, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand formally accepted Serve America Together’s presidential challenge. She touts her national service plan which would award individuals who serve for one year with tax-free financial assistance to attend two years of public or community college tuition-free. It also calls for appointing a Cabinet-level director of national public service. Gillibrand is the second candidate to respond to the campaign’s presidential challenge. Pete Buttigieg accepted the challenge on July 3, 2019.