Champion of social innovation and co-sponsor of the Serve America Act, Senator Orrin Hatch, issued a strong statement in favor of the bipartisan bill yesterday. Senator Hatch made a compelling case for the wisdom of investing in social innovation in the current economic climate.

I share the desire of many of my colleagues and, of course, of my constituents, to see more fiscal discipline here in Washington. But, in my view, an important aspect of fiscal discipline is investing in ideas that work. I support this legislation because I believe that volunteer service is such an idea.

As has been stated, 75,000 national service participants leverage an additional 2.2 million volunteers every year – volunteers that aren’t subsidized by the government in any way. That is a significant human capital return on what is, relatively speaking, a modest government investment.

In addition, there have been a number of studies that have shown that for every dollar invested in national service, there’s anywhere from $1.60 to $2.60 return on investment. That’s in social benefits paid back to our society, whether it’s kids being tutored, vacant lots turned into playgrounds and parks, homes being built, or aid in the form of disaster relief. It’s an investment that pays for itself.

We want to join Senator Hatch in urging the Senate to pass the Serve America Act! For ways you can help pass this important piece of legislation, click here.

Read Senator Hatch’s full statement here.