Claim: Ted Kennedy was a U.S. senator.

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act or Serve America Act -LRB- , Public Law 111-13 -RRB- was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on March 9 , 2009 , by Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York . Originally titled the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act -LRB- GIVE Act -RRB- , the bill reauthorizes and expands the AmeriCorps program that was first established in 1993 . It passed in the House of Representatives on March 18 , 2009 . The U.S. Senate debated and approved an amended version of the bill on March 26 , 2009 , renaming it the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act , after Senator Ted Kennedy . The House of Representatives voted on the bill a second time , approving the amended version on March 31 , 2009 . It was signed by President Barack Obama on April 21 , 2009 .