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Rep. Paul Tonko was among members of Congress who joined President Barack Obama as he signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law Tuesday afternoon at the SEED School in Washington, D.C. By signing the bill into law, President Obama has launched a new era of service that will give Americans of all ages the opportunity to help our nation recover from the recession and solve problems with education, health care, and energy through volunteering.

“In times of crisis, Americans have always stood up to help, whether it was after September 11th or Hurricane Katrina,” said Rep. Tonko. “Volunteers are the muscle of our communities. They give of their time to help others in need. This bill will create a new, robust national service program that will serve the people who need it the most and help get our country back on track.”

The Serve America Act will more than triple the number of volunteers serving in this country from 75,000 to 250,000 and establish four new service corps: A Clean Energy Corps to increase energy efficiency and conservation, an Education Corps to help increase student engagement, achievement and graduation, a Healthy Futures Corps to help improve health care access, and a Veterans Service Corps to enhance services for veterans. Corps volunteers will receive and increased education award of $5,350, the same as the maximum Pell Grant scholarship, to help pay for college or repay debt. The award will also be permanently linked to match any future increases in the Pell Grant.

The law also creates new opportunities for older Americans and retirees and allows them to transfer their education awards – up to $1,000 for 350 hours of service – to a child, foster child or grandchild.

The Act will also establish a Summer of Service program to engage middle and high school students who can earn $500 towards college, strengthen disaster relief efforts, and establish a call to service campaign that encourages Americans to volunteer and observe September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Rep. Tonko sponsored an amendment to the House bill which creates a Social Innovation Fund. This fund will provide seed money to social entrepreneurs to implement new and innovative solutions to the problems that face many communities. One example of such a program is the SEED School in Washington, D.C. where today’s signing took place. The Seed School is the nation’s first urban boarding school, and the Seed Foundation is working to build other schools in underserved communications throughout the country.

The funds for the program will be administered through state grants and by the Corporation for National and Community Services. The Corporation oversees programs in the Capital Region through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Learn and Service America is a program for students from kindergarten through college that integrates community volunteer projects with classroom learning. Learn and Serve America has local programs in the Scotia-Glenville School District, the Greater Amsterdam School District, QUESTAR III BOCES in Troy, and the Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland.

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