I don't think that I need to argue in favor of national service. In Congress, partisan differences have dropped away as legislators have declared their support for the national effort to promote service. I do, however, want to make clear why I and many others believe that fostering national service is absolutely vital to our national well-being.

In more than four decades in higher education -- half of that time as the president of two large, urban universities -- I have come to recognize that a central part of our educational mission is educating students for active citizenship, for positive participation in our shared democracy. We in higher education believe strongly that our students need a sense of community and social values, and that our democracy depends on the readiness of each new generation to take personal responsibility for the governance of society. As educators, we have accepted our obligation to demonstrate that there are life-enriching alternatives to cynicism, indifference, or a sense of civic powerlessness. Community service -- community engagement -- has proved to be the most effective and lasting way to inculcate the values and build the skills that will make our students active citizens.

Building on students' idealism, we work hard to graduate men and women who are eager to make ours a better and more just society -- who believe in something, will act on those beliefs, will volunteer, vote, and help to address community problems. Now, as our nation faces unprecedented challenges both within and well beyond its borders, the development of an active, engaged citizenry is utterly critical.

AmeriCorps has helped tens of thousands of Americans -- many of them young people in their college years -- to experience what it means to take an active role in efforts to address key social issues. President Bush himself has recognized the power of this program and has called for a major expansion of its reach, setting a goal of 75,000 volunteers -- a 50 percent increase over last year's figure.

But instead, AmeriCorps has been reduced to 30,000. The reason: not lack of heart or lack of willingness on the part of volunteers, but lack of funds. Across the country, excellent programs, proven programs, programs that have made a profound difference to hundreds of thousands of Americans, young and old, are being forced to close.

This is terrible social policy -- and false economy, as well. When Congress created AmeriCorps, it required that private money be used to match federal funds. The private sector has more than delivered its side of that bargain, but its support is at risk if the amount of public funding is reduced dramatically.

I want to emphasize that AmeriCorps is much more than a vehicle for handing out funds to worthy local programs. It provides the kind of support that enables good programs to succeed over the long haul: management assistance and training for both volunteers and program heads. It is a vehicle for sharing of ideas, building of networks of service, and replication of successful ideas.

What would it take to restore AmeriCorps to reasonable size? A sum that in the context of the national budget is modest indeed: $100 million will make the difference. And that difference will be tremendous to lives and communities across the nation.

To illustrate the need to keep AmeriCorps strong, I want to personalize it for you by describing a program that epitomizes AmeriCorps' social value and economic efficiency. The program, one I know very well, is Jumpstart. This exceptionally effective early childhood literacy program works toward the day that every child in America enters school prepared to succeed. Jumpstart Corps members work one-to-one with children from low-income families in need of language, literacy, and social skills.

San Francisco State University has participated in Jumpstart for several years, and I can assure you that it works. Jumpstart works for the children, who show measurable academic and social improvement. It works for our student tutors, who gain both teaching skills and the satisfaction of engaging in meaningful service. It works for our schools, sending more youngsters into kindergarten and first grade who are ready and able to learn.

So far, Jumpstart has prepared more than 10,000 pre-schoolers from low-income families to be ready to read when they start school. The Corps members who work with these children are offering hope during a particularly trying time in this current economic crisis.

I might note that one of Jumpstart's most important strengths is its replicability. The program has developed a clear, effective model that has worked over and over, in communities across the nation.

Jumpstart also is an exceptionally good value for all of us who are concerned about how effectively our public monies are used. In Jumpstart's case, for every dollar granted by AmeriCorps, Jumpstart raises four dollars from other sources, among them major corporate partners such as Starbucks, American Eagle Outfitters and Bank One. Restoring funds to AmeriCorps will also ensure that private sector funding continues to flow to communities in need.

Sadly the recent cuts forced Jumpstart to turn away college students who were ready and willing to serve our nation's youngest and neediest children. Universities that were eager to join the Jumpstart network had to be told that they, too, would have to wait. Those who really will suffer, of course, are the most vulnerable among us -- those children who now are in serious danger of entering school on a course set for failure. Our nation is not saving money but cutting AMeriCorps; it is merely deferring expenditure -- and ensuring that the delayed costs will be far greater. Remedial attention is expensive. Dropouts who cannot contribute to our economy are expensive. Crime-related spending and welfare are expensive -- and I am speaking only of fiscal loss, not the immeasurable human costs.

In the 21st century, national service should be part of what it means to be an American citizen. Our President has called on all Americans to be "citizens, not spectators" and "to build on their kindness and compassion to help build a culture of responsibility." AmeriCorps is an established and effective means supporting and encouraging those who want to serve, who want to make a positive, demonstrable difference in the lives of others.