HOUSE SLASHES NATIONAL SERVICE FUNDING
WASHINGTON-The House of Representatives last night accepted an amendment
to cut funding for AmeriCorps and Learn & Serve grant programs and the
Points of Light Foundation in half, as it deliberated the Fiscal Year
1998 VA-HUD appropriations bill. The original bill had proposed $402.5
million in funding for AmeriCorps and Learn & Serve America grants for
fiscal year 1998, which represents level funding with the current fiscal
year.
Corporation for National Service Chief Executive Officer Harris Wofford
released the following statement:
"It is very unfortunate that 25,000 AmeriCorps members and hundreds of
thousands of Learn & Serve students were caught between an effort to
support veterans and a partisan attempt to once again attack national
service.
Last night's action by the House will not stand. On the same day the
House cut national service funding in half, the Senate appropriators
proposed level funding. They know that the Bipartisan Budget Agreement
was achieved without cutting national service, and the President will not
approve any bill that eliminates or cuts AmeriCorps.
I appreciate the effort of Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Jerry Lewis (CA),
Ranking Member Louis Stokes (OH), and members on both sides of the aisle,
to fully fund national service. Although this amendment represents a
funding cut, this is the first time the House has endorsed any funding
for national service since 1994. In accepting the amendment, Rep. Lewis
flatly stated that national service will be fully funded in the final
conference report despite the amendment.
We've been through this before. While I had hoped that the strong
bipartisan support national service enjoys might prevent a replay of this
process, we all know how it will play out. Unfortunately, 25,000 young
people who are right now completing their AmeriCorps service year -- and
another 25,000 who are preparing to begin this fall -- awoke this morning
wondering why they are being used as pawns in a political debate. They
deserve better."
The SenateVA-HUD appropriation subcommittee yesterday proposed level
funding for AmeriCorps and Learn & Serve grant programs and the Points of
Light Foundation. The House Labor-HHS appropriations subcommittee
yesterday proposed level funding for AmeriCorps*VISTA and sizeable
increases for the National Senior Service Corps programs.
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