; Whereas service in AmeriCorps promotes bridge-building, collaboration, and leadership skills, and AmeriCorps programs bring Americans together from different backgrounds, generations, and geographic locations; Whereas AmeriCorps funds, conducts, and disseminates research on the civic health of the United States and the return on taxpayer investment in national service programs; Whereas AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers recruit and supervise millions of community volunteers, demonstrating the value of AmeriCorps as a powerful force for encouraging people to become involved in community service; Whereas, for more than five decades, millions of AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in the RSVP, Foster Grandparent, and Senior Companion programs have played an important role in strengthening communities by sharing their experience, knowledge, and accomplishments with the individuals they serve; Whereas, over the past 30 years, nearly 1,300,000 individuals have taken the AmeriCorps pledge to get things done for America by becoming AmeriCorps members through the AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps VISTA, and AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps programs; Whereas AmeriCorps members nationwide, in return for completing their service terms, have earned more than $4,500,000,000 to use to further their own educational advancement and career readiness at colleges and universities across the United States; Whereas AmeriCorps is a proven pathway to employment, providing members with valuable career skills, experience, and contacts to prepare them for the 21st century workforce; Whereas leaders across political parties and ideologies recognize the value that national service provides to their communities and country, leveraging the power of AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers to meet the most urgent and pressing needs