The Plan - Rahm Emanuel called for Mandatory Community Service in 2006
By 186 on Nov 10, 2008
Rahm Emanuel outlined his favor of compulsory service for all Americans ages 18 to 25 back in 2006 in his book The Plan - Big Ideas for America. Amazon
This sounds eerily similar to Barak Obama’s “America Serves” plan which was scrubbed after one day on his “Change.gov” President Elect website.
From President Elect Obama’s new Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s book, The Plan:
It’s time for a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us. We propose universal civilian service for every young American. Under this plan, All Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five will be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic training, civil defense preparation and community service. …
Here’s how it would work. Young people will know that between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service. They’ll be asked to report for three months of basic civil defense training in their state or community, where they will learn what to do in the event of biochemical, nuclear or conventional attack; how to assist others in an evacuation; how to respond when a levee breaks or we’re hit by a natural disaster. These young people will be available to address their communities’ most pressing needs.
Emanuel gets into his mandatory service plan about 7:30 min into the video.
Civil Liberties Examiner: Obama’s chief of staff choice favors compulsory universal service
Emanuel and co-author Bruce Reed insist “this is not a draft,” but go on to write of young men and women, “the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service.” They also warn, “[s]ome Republicans will squeal about individual freedom,” ruling out any likelihood that they would let people opt out of universal citizen service.
Emanuel is also an enthusiastic supporter of the United States Public Service Academy Act, a lobbying group founded in 2006 in order to promote the foundation of an American public service academy modeled on the military academies - a youth corps whose students would be trained in “civilian internship in the armed forces”.
Hillary Clinton has sponsored S.960 - The Public Service Academy Act of 2007 pushing for the establishment of the establishment of a United States Public Service Academy.under the Department of Homeland Security.
March 22, 2007
Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mr. SPECTER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BIDEN, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
A BILL To establish the United States Public Service Academy.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Public Service Academy Act of 2007′.
House.gov - Rahm EmanuelClinton, Specter, Moran and Shays Call for Creation of United States Public Service Academy
Clinton, Specter, Moran and Shays Call for Creation of United States Public Service Academy
AEI - Short Publications - Is the U.S. Public Service Academy a Good Idea?
Is the U.S. Public Service Academy a Good Idea?
Posted in Constitution, Featured, Politics, congress, democrats, obama
E-Pluribus-Unum | Nov 17, 2008 | Reply
Is the Public Service Academy a good idea? Absolutely!The Academy would not be mandatory. Like the military academies, it would be open to students who voluntarily seek out a nomination and go through a rigorous application process. Like the military academies, it will be a prestigious, highly competitive institution that graduates only about 1000 or so students a year. The Academy will raise the visibility of the public sector and attract a new generation of young people to serve our country. By creating this institution, we would send a powerful message to young people that serving our country is of critical importance. Many of our most difficult challenges — from battling terrorists to educating our kids — will take place in the civilian public sector. Shouldn’t we want our top students to go into public service? This is a wonderfully American idea.
Millennial Public Servant | Nov 17, 2008 | Reply
Being part of the Millennial generation myself, I would have been ecstatic if I had the opportunity to attend the U.S. Public Service Academy. It is not just about a civil internship with the military. In fact, each summer between academic years is spent interning in different sectors. The first summer is spent learning the emergency response techniques– something that would have been quite helpful after a disaster like Katrina. The second summer is spent interning with a non-profit organization and the third summer interning in a military capacity. These three internships on top of the liberal arts education and leadership training will graduate well-rounded, highly-skilled leaders ready to serve in the public sector.