National Service Reauthorization Act

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/03/25/roll-call-vote-on-6-billion-national-service-boondoggle-14-gop-dissenters/

This speech, given by Senator DeMint of South Carolina regarding the National Service Reauthorization Act, is incredible!

Key points:

“That is the fatal flaw of the Congress today, is we forget that sacred oath of office that says: We will protect and defend the Constitution which says this Federal Government has a very limited function. And those functions that are not prescribed in the Constitution are left to individuals and to the States.”

“What have we done here that suggests we can manage anything like that?”

“Every time the Government steps in to solve a problem, it creates three new problems in its place.”

“This bill is everything wrong with how Congress sees the world.”

“Civil society binds communities, not by its fruits, but by its motives–charity, donations, giving without thought of getting anything in return. This is the selfless sacrifice that happens throughout America today. This is what works.”

“The big difference is private service organizations exist for the people who receive the aid. Government service organizations exist for the people who give it–in this case, for the people who are paid to do it. You cannot pay people to volunteer and expect the organization to remain focused on its mission. Charity is a private, moral impulse, not a government program.”

“Why at a time in economic crisis with unimaginable debt and spending do we come in and say: We need to spend another $10 billion over the next 10 years to create another Government program to do something that is already working.”

“At the same time, we are talking about creating this new bureaucracy to replace private voluntarism with Government programming. We are actually cutting some of the incentives for people to give to charity and for the private sector to work. The President’s budget actually cuts the charitable donations of the people who give the most to charity in this country. So look at what we are doing. We are making it harder for the private sector to work.”

“what we have done over the last several decades is essentially tried to destroy the motivation for people to serve a cause that is greater than themselves.”

“We cannot replace private charity with Government programs.”