3.20.2009

9/11, the gift that keeps on giving

Groundbreaking National Service Legislation Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives Advocates Establishing September 11 as an Annually Observed National Day of Service

March 10, 2009 3:02 PM EDT

WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- More than seven years after terrorist attacks on America left nearly 3,000 people dead, U.S. Congress took a major step today toward establishing 9/11 as an annually recognized National Day of Service.

Language to designate 9/11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance has been included as an important provision in the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, or GIVE Act, (H.R. 1388), which was introduced today and authorizes groundbreaking federal support for many innovative national service programs. Under the GIVE Act, the anniversary of 9/11 would be observed in ways similar to Martin Luther King Day. People would voluntarily engage in remembrance through personal and organized service activities and reflection, but 9/11 would not become a federal holiday. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (NY) and U.S. Rep. Peter King (NY-3), both of whom have long supported establishing 9/11 as a national day of service, worked with GIVE Act sponsors U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04) and U.S. Rep. George Miller (CA-07), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, to develop the 9/11 language for the bill.

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