Washington — Acting in near unison, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate education committee approved a bill today that would authorize one of the largest expansions of national service in years.

Dubbed the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, or the GIVE Act, the measure would more than triple the size of the AmeriCorps program, to 250,000 slots, up from 75,000. Volunteers who serve in the program for a year become eligible for grants to pay college costs. Under the GIVE Act legislation, the education stipend would increase to $5,350, bringing it in line with the maximum Pell Grant.

The bill would also create, but not finance, a grant program to encourage service learning. As many as 25 institutions would be named Colleges of Service and would share a $7-million award, which would have to be appropriated by Congress.

The Senate is expected to pass the bill this week. President Obama, who worked as a community organizer in Chicago early in his career and has exhorted Americans to commit themselves to national service, has said he will sign the bill. —Kelly Field