President Urges Congress to Pass National-Service Legislation

“And to encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations, I ask Congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Senator Orrin Hatch, as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his country: Senator Edward Kennedy.”

Mr. Obama had pledged to expand the country’s national-service programs while campaigning for president. He had signed on as a co-sponsor of the Serve America Act while he was still in the Senate.