“I join in celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of AmeriCorps, a remarkably successful program that promotes volunteerism to help build stronger communities.  I was proud to be a cosponsor of the legislation that created AmeriCorps and to have brought the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act to the House Floor in 2009 to expand it.  AmeriCorps is often called the ‘domestic Peace Corps’ because it provides opportunities for Americans to take time out of their lives to give back to their neighbors and communities full time in order to alleviate poverty and help make opportunities more broadly accessible.  It remains a wonderful expression of our citizenship and the call to service that pulls on each of us who love our country and our fellow Americans.    “As we mark this anniversary, I congratulate AmeriCorps’s volunteers, its administrators, and its alumni.  Together, they have made an indelible, positive mark on communities all across our nation, and, in doing so, they have changed our country for the better, brightening its future.  I look forward to continuing to support AmeriCorps and its work in the Congress as it looks ahead to its next quarter-century and beyond.”