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For Immediate Release
March 21, 2007 |
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Clinton, Specter, Moran,
Shays Call for Creation of United States Public Service Academy
WASHINGTON, DC – At a press conference
on Capitol Hill, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and
Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Representatives James Moran (D-VA)
and Christopher Shays (R-CT) today joined with public service
leaders, educators and students to call for the creation of
a U.S. Public Service Academy.
The U.S.
Public Service Academy Act (The PSA Act) will
establish an undergraduate academy designed to cultivate a
new generation of young leaders dedicated to public service.
Modeled after the military service academies, the Public Service
Academy will provide a four-year, federally-subsidized college
education for more than 5,000 students a year in exchange
for a five year commitment to public service following graduation.
“We face big challenges as a nation that will require
an active leadership and citizenry. I have no doubt that Americans
are ready, willing, and able to answer the call and that is
exactly what this Academy would demonstrate every single day.
The United States Public Service Academy will tap into the
renewed sense of patriotism and civic obligation among our
young people. I am proud to work with my colleagues from both
sides of the aisle and both chambers of Congress to make this
idea a reality,” said Senator Clinton.
“I am pleased to cosponsor legislation to establish
a U.S. Public Service Academy,” Senator Specter said.
“The academy would develop leaders with a strong foundation
in civics and provide the country with a generation dedicated
to public service.”
“The U.S. Public Service Academy will be the premier
training ground for the next generation of public servants.
Our public sector faces a brain drain with the impending retirement
of the Baby Boom generation. Based on the success of the U.S.
military academies, we believe this institution will help
close that gap, providing the foundation for the civil service
leaders of tomorrow,” said Representative Moran.
"We need a 'West Point' of public service, to encourage
more young Americans to commit to a career in public service
and the build the skills necessary to provide successful leadership
in the public sector," Representative Shays said, who
service as Co-Chair of the National Service Caucus. "I
am so excited to work with Senators Clinton and Specter and
Representative Moran to build bipartisan support for this
powerful idea."
The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that
more than two million teachers will be needed in classrooms
across the country in the next decade. At the same time, more
than 80 percent of the nation’s 17,000 law enforcement
agencies report that they cannot fill needed positions due
to a lack of qualified candidates. Graduates of the Public
Service Academy will help to fill these vacancies by serving
their county for five years after graduation in areas such
as civil service, the public sector, and other needed fields.
A recent study by the Higher Education Research Institute
found that more than two-thirds of a college freshman class
expressed a desire to serve others, though the rising cost
of college tuition is a barrier to choosing a career in public
service. The Public Service Academy will allow such students
the opportunity to go to college and tap into the strong desire
to serve that already exists among college students.
Prospective applicants to the Academy will follow a nomination
process similar to that used for admission to the military
academies where each senator and representative nominates
candidates for consideration.
Senators Clinton and Specter are joined in sponsoring the
bill by Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Joseph Biden (D-DE),
Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Mary Landrieu
(D-LA) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) in reintroducing the
PSA Act. Representative Moran and Shays are joined in sponsoring
the House version of the bill by Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Tom
Davis (R-VA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX),
Sam Farr (D-CA), Charles Gonzales (D-TX), Al Green (D-TX),
Gene Green (D-TX), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), Sheila Jackson-Lee
(D-TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Nick Lampson (D-TX),
John Lewis (D-GA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA),
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), and Bennie
Thompson (D-MS). The PSA Act was first introduced in both
the Senate and the House of Representatives during the 109th
Congress.
Contact: Sarah Moore, 202/225-5541
Contact:
Sarah Moore, 202/225-5541
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