Kerry pitches public service program

The United States would be strengthened at home and abroad by a fresh emphasis on public service, Senator John F. Kerry said yesterday, as he outlined a citizenship program whose hallmark would be a free public-college education for anyone who spends two years as a volunteer.

The Massachusetts senator accused President Bush of failing to quench a public thirst for service in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and of not fulfilling his campaign promise to ''rally the armies of compassion.'' Kerry's program would cost an estimated $3.2 billion annually, which he said could be paid by closing more than $60 billion in corporate tax loopholes.

This sounds very good and is a little similar to an Edwards plan.

In March 2002, Edwards proposed a community service requirement for high school graduation, and last November he proposed providing the first-year tuition at a public college to students who do at least 10 hours a week of community service.