Corps conservatives.

• Author: Sullivan, Shannon M.
• Position: Letters

I just recently read the AmeriCorps article by Senator John McCain ("Putting the National in National Service," October 2001) and I found it to be quite positive as well as somewhat ironic for a "conservative" representative to not only be supporting but also requesting the expansion of AmeriCorps. I was a member of the first "class" of AmeriCorps' NCCC program in 1994. At the time, Newt Gingrich and many other congressional Republicans associated the program with President Clinton and, therefore, wanted to stop the funding for the program altogether. Interestingly enough, the AmeriCorps legislation was originally signed under President George H. W. Bush's administration with bipartisan congressional support.

Another criticism of our program was that it promoted "paid" volunteerism, although this ignores the history of current...