At least one group in Washington has escaped the long arm of the LEWINSKY scandal: AmeriCorps. The national service program is a favorite of PRESIDENT CLINTON’S, and its supporters were worried that it might be a target for his congressional critics. But the four-year-old program has won over skeptics by emphasizing its grass-roots structure and its alliance with respected nonprofit organizations around the country. Members are selected by and work for such groups as Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Habitat for Humanity. AmeriCorps prevailed on a key Senate funding vote in July by 58 to 37, winning over such former Republican critics as RICK SANTORUM of Pennsylvania and Daniel Coats of Indiana. On Friday, Clinton will preside at a White House swearing-in ceremony marking the program’s 100,000th member–a benchmark the Peace Corps took more than 20 years to reach.
–By Adam Cohen/New York
More Must-Reads from TIME
- L.A. Fires Show Reality of 1.5°C of Warming
- Behind the Scenes of The White Lotus Season Three
- How Trump 2.0 Is Already Sowing Confusion
- Bad Bunny On Heartbreak and New Album
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- We’re Lucky to Have Been Alive in the Age of David Lynch
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- Column: All Those Presidential Pardons Give Mercy a Bad Name
Contact us at letters@time.com