The Senate approved the Serve America Act today, an initiative to expand opportunities for Americans to engage in service throughout their lives. Senator Warner successfully worked to include a Veterans' Corps component to the measure that will expand service opportunities and fellowships for our nation's military veterans.

Senator Warner said the program will go a long way to assist and support veterans, especially wounded veterans, by giving them additional opportunities to continue to serve their country when they return home:

“Military veterans have a unique set of leadership skills and experiences that can strengthen our communities at the same time we’re trying to promote and expand the role of public service across the country.”

The Veterans' Corps will help identify the unmet needs of veterans by:

• recruiting veterans into service opportunities;
• promoting community-based efforts to meet the unique needs of military families; 
• assisting veterans in developing educational opportunities, including professional and workforce certification; 
• and developing projects uniquely tailored to assist older veterans and disabled veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.  

Senator Warner also sucessfully amended the bill to include a six-month study of the best way to establish a Volunteer Management Corps within AmeriCorps to provide midcareer professional with an opportunity to provide specialized management expertise to non-profit groups and local, state, or federal governments.  Senator Warner believes that private-sector expertise could be applied through AmeriCorps to recommend efficiencies and taxpayer savings across government programs.  

The Serve America Act will expand AmeriCorps from 175,000 to 250,000 participants and create new corps programs focused on areas of national need, such as a “Campuses of Service Corps,” where students engage in service; “Encore Fellowships” for individuals 50 or older to help retirees transition to long-term public service; and a “National Service Reserve Corps” to deploy trained alumni to national disasters and other emergencies.  

The creation of the Veterans' Corps is the latest effort by Senator Warner to help meet the needs of veterans and their families.  

While he was Governor of Virginia, supporting the Commowealth's active-duty military, National Guard, and veteran communities was a top priority of his administration. The legislature enacted in-state tuition rates for military members stationed in Virginia and, at Governor Warner’s direction, covered the salary differential for state employees called to National Guard active-duty.  

He also assembled a blue-ribbon panel of leaders of significant veteran groups to recommend ways Virginia could improve services and service delivery to its estimated 800,000 veteran residents.  In 2003, the Virginia General Assembly adopted Governor Warner’s proposal to consolidate scattered and duplicative veterans' services under a single agency and state board. 

To learn more about the Serve America Act, click here.