Called the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, also known as the "Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act, is an Act to reauthorize and reform the national service laws. And was signed into law by President Obama on April 21, 2009.

Kelley Vlahos of Fox News reported that it is the most sweeping reform of nationally-backed volunteer programs since AmeriCorps.

But some opponents were strongly criticizing the bill before it ever left the House, she said, and were, and still are, calling it expensive indoctrination and forced advocacy.

The GIVE Act has an operating budget of $6 billion over five years, with $1.3 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service which already oversees AmeriCorps and its existing $260 million budget.

The act would create 175,000 "new service opportunities," more than doubling the number of participants in AmeriCorps. It would also expand volunteerism into new sectors, including a Clean Energy Corps, Education Corps, Healthy Futures Corps and Veterans Service Corps and it expands the National Civilian Community Corps to focus on additional areas like disaster relief and energy conservation.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) opposed HR 1388 in committee, questioning the utility of the cash-strapped federal government making such huge investments in what should be community-inspired projects and programs.

The bill's opponents say young "volunteers" could be forced into service since the bill creates a "Congressional Commission on Civic Service," tasked with exploring a number of topics, including "whether a workable, fair and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the nation."

"The act will leave no student, or senior behind and no one in between," wrote Judi McLeod at CFP.

In case you think the Corps means everybody but you, HR1388 also offers "increasing service opportunities for our Nation’s retiring professionals" and "members of the Baby Boom generation."

Kinda seems like Obama wants everybody made in his image in a plan that enshrines the "community organizer" as part of the U.S. pop culture.

But members 'PRESSED' into the service of the 1+ million-strong Youth Brigade, sanctioned by "Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE), will have none of the freedoms of the community organizer who started it all.

Because, by the way, there’s no room for God in Obama’s long promised Youth Brigade, no room to protest, petition, to boycott or to support a strike, and and loopholes to give its mandatory membership a pass.

Everybody in GIVE will follow the rules and you can bet next year’s crops that the letter O will most likely be somewhere on this 'Volunteer Army’s' uniforms.

Who exactly will be 'PRESSED' into the Obama army of community organizers?

Obama’s plan requires anyone receiving school loans, among others to serve as part of the brigade.

Lofty in intent, the GIVE Act aims to "leverage investments to increase State, local, business and philanthropic resources to address national and local challenges", but is very specific in what its members can and cannot do.

According to Voice magazine; "The Bill would forbid any student in the brigade to participate in "engaging in religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization,"

The new law also describes in the "Youth Engagement Zone Program" how "service learning" will be "a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency."

Yep, just gotta LOVE that MANDATORY VOLUNTEERING thing.

Not to sound too childish, I got just two words for them, Make Me.

Better than my old standby of I gots 2 words for ya and they ain't happy birthday.

If they want people to do mandatory 'volunteering' maybe they should bring back the draft and everyone does a couple years in the Military.

Semper Fi
Tattoo Gypsy