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In Nashua, Dodd issues a call to service
Dodd used his speech – heard by a mixed group of residents, campaign workers and activists – to criticize President Bush for not requiring Americans to do more after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Instead of calling for national sacrifice, Bush advised people to continue shopping, Dodd said. Americans yearn for a deeper sense of community but have lacked the presidential leadership that would harness this energy into national service, he said. But Dodd said he would take the steps necessary – including promoting a community service director to presidential cabinet-level status – to involve 40 million Americans over the next 13 years. Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic in the 1960's.
In Nashua, Dodd issues a call to service
In Nashua, Dodd issues a call to service
Published: Sunday, June 24, 2007
By ALBERT McKEON
Telegraph Staff
Caption: Senator Chris Dodd delivering his speech, "Rekindling the Flame - A Call for A New American Patriotism" in Nashua, NH on June 23, 2007. Photo: Chris Dodd for President
NASHUA – Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd unveiled a plan for national service that he believes will move the country to greatness by inspiring as many as 40 million Americans to volunteer by 2020.
The plan would expand AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, require high school students to perform 100 hours of community service, provide tax breaks to employers whose workers volunteer and enlist the skills of retirees, Dodd said Saturday at City Hall Plaza.
Dodd’s series of ideas would cost about $10 billion to initiate, he said. But the reciprocal value of having a generation of Americans volunteering would strengthen the nation and boost its image abroad, he said.
“By building on successful service initiatives and finding new ways for Americans to serve, I believe we can connect all generations to our most timeless ideals,” said Dodd, a
U.S. Senator from Connecticut.
Dodd used his speech – heard by a mixed group of residents, campaign workers and activists – to criticize President Bush for not requiring Americans to do more after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Instead of calling for national sacrifice, Bush advised people to continue shopping, Dodd said.
Americans yearn for a deeper sense of community but have lacked the presidential leadership that would harness this energy into national service, he said. But Dodd said he would take the steps necessary – including promoting a community service director to presidential cabinet-level status – to involve 40 million Americans over the next 13 years.
Among his initiatives:
• Require high school students to perform 100 hours of community service before graduation. Schools would risk losing federal funding if their students don’t meet this requirement.
• Expand AmeriCorps from its current level of 70,000 members a year to 1 million by 2016.
• Double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011.
• Establish a reserve corps of volunteers who would assist first responders in a crisis.
• Offer tax credits of up to $1,000 per worker to employers who offer paid time off for community service.
• Give seniors $1,000 grants for their or their grandchildren’s education in return for volunteerism.
Dodd’s campaign said ideas floated about volunteerism by John Edwards and Barack Obama, two other Democratic presidential candidates, stop short of involving an entire generation as Dodd’s would.
“Fulfilling this vision for an American community in our lifetimes is in our hands, but only with national leadership that asks Americans to be a part of something larger than themselves once again,” Dodd said.
The speech came more than 47 years after John F. Kennedy launched his successful bid for the presidency outside City Hall. Dodd noted that Kennedy’s promotion of volunteerism from the White House prompted him to join the Peace Corps and serve in the Dominican Republic.
Nashua resident Dennis Ryder was also inspired by Kennedy’s push for national service, but he actually heard the candidate’s first campaign speech at City Hall.
Ryder couldn’t remember where he stood, or what spot Kennedy spoke from, for that matter – but he made an impression on the young British native who had been in this country for only a year.
Dodd reading from his prepared text didn’t come close to Kennedy’s speech, Ryder said. But his idea is as “wonderful” now as when Kennedy proposed similar plans, he said.
State Rep. Michael O’Brien, D-Nashua, introduced Dodd. The senator applauded O’Brien’s service as a firefighter in the city and the dedication of all emergency responders.
Dodd also spoke to party activists in the morning at the Amherst home of Rick Katzenberg.
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Headlines: June, 2007; RPCV Chris Dodd (Dominican Republic); Figures; Peace Corps Dominican Republic; Directory of Dominican Republic RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Dominican Republic RPCVs; Politics; Congress; National Service; Connecticut; Peace Corps Bibliography; Peace Corps Directory; Peace Corps History; Bulletin Board; Peace Corps Headlines
When this story was posted in June 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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